Your Aged Care Compass

Coral talks to James Whitelaw, co-founder and director of Trilogy Care, a home care provider offering a self-managed model. James discusses the origins of Trilogy Care and why he decided to start this company. Trilogy Care has grown exponentially in since it began taking clients. By listening to industry experts and building systems that fit the business, Trilogy has become incredibly successful....

Here's more about Support at Home (SaH). It's a big, confusing topic. People want to know what it will cost them, what services they will receive, how will they be assessed, and many other queries. This week, Coral and Michelle answer more questions that they’ve been asked directly or that have been asked through the different social media groups they’re on. A reminder also that the rollout of bot...

Support at Home (SaH) is still causing confusion for so many home care recipients. We're frequently asked questions about how the new program will affect those already in the system and those who are yet to enter. Coral and Michelle have put together the questions they are most commonly asked and answered them for you in this episode. Note also that last week the government announced that it was d...

Join Coral and Anna as they discuss what SaH will look like for the non-grandfathered participants. That’s anyone who was assessed as eligible for a home care package (HCP)after Sept 12, 2024, and before July 1st, 2025. Learn about services, co-contributions and unspent funds and how they will affect this group of participants. In this episode: The three different groups who will enter Support at...

General practitioners (GPs) support older people in several important ways. It’s not just about diagnosing illness. Coral is joined today by a Cairns GP, Dr Garry Hartrick, who has been a GP for 40 years. Coral and Garry discuss the different ways a GP can help the older person to remain well and able in their own home through not only monitoring their health but also by helping them to access oth...

With July 1st fast approaching, Flexi Care is preparing for Support at Home (SaH). Providers are still waiting for all the information they need from the government. Flexi Care has adopted a proactive approach to preparing both their staff and their clients for the changes that are coming. Coral and Adrian discuss how Flexi Care is preparing and the challenges they can see. Adrian highlights...

Depending on when you entered the aged care system, you may be grandfathered under SaH. Learn what this means for you and how you will be affected. Grandfathering relates to financial contributions only. It does not relate to the level or number of services you may receive. If you need to be reassessed into a higher classification, you’re still protected financially but you may lose the flexibilit...

Understand how your support plan informs your care plan and therefore the support and services you may be able to get from your service provider. The support plan and the care plan are two separate documents yet they are both linked to the in-home support you may receive. It’s important that each one is as detailed as possible to ensure you get the level of in-home support that’s right for you. &n...

Having an assessment for in-home support requires preparation on the part of the older person and their family/carers. The assessment tool, the IAT, gathers the information given by the participant and works out a level of support for that person. If the information given is incomplete or lacking in detail, you, as the participant, may miss out on the in-home support you need. Ensure you know what...

With all the changes coming on July 1st, understanding Support at Home is crucial. Coral and Kathryn discuss how Dovida is preparing to meet this challenge. Unfortunately, providers still need more information about how the program will look once it’s implemented. Regardless of all this, vulnerable older people need continuity of care. They need to be reassured that their services and support won’...

Good home care providers want their clients to be well supported and have their needs met. This leads to greater independence and better outcomes for the older person. Dovida (formerly Home Instead) is one such provider. Coral has a chat with Kathryn Ewen, a networker with Dovida Perth Metro, about Dovida’s processes for supporting their clients and how they fulfil their motto of “Your life, your...

Welcome back for our first episode of 2025. The aged care sector is undergoing huge changes with the implementation of Support at Home on July 1st. Those changes started last year. Coral and Michelle discuss the topics that we’ll be exploring further on the podcast this year and the guests we’ll invite to join us. We have some very knowledgeable speakers lined up. They’ll be helping us and you, ou...

We’re often contacted early in the New Year by people who have spent Christmas with their older loved ones and noticed increased frailty in the older person. This can be quite confronting and lead to some distress and uncertainty about what they should do. Don’t panic. Enjoy your celebrations together and then start some gentle conversations about getting some help at home and what that might look...

Support at Home (SaH) is the new aged care program, developed in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. It will replace the current Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care programs from July 2025, and, eventually, the Commonwealth Home Support Program. Today Michelle and Janine have a chat about the changes that are coming, and those alr...

Supporting an older loved one to move from their own home into residential accommodation is a task that often takes an emotional toll on all family members involved. Sometimes the move can be planned, when the older person acknowledges it’s time to make the move. But more often this significant life change happens during a crisis, when there’s been a massive decline in the older person’s health, o...

Laura Stasinowsky is an occupational therapist (OT) and dementia consultant who is passionate about supporting people to live well with dementia. Laura works within the Your Brain in Mind clinic in Brisbane. She supports people at any stage of their journey with dementia, working with both the individuals who are diagnosed with dementia and their families. Coral and Laura discuss managing the stre...

Laura Stasinowsky is an occupational therapist (OT) and dementia consultant who is passionate about supporting people to live well with dementia. Laura works within the Your Brain in Mind clinic in Brisbane. She supports people at any stage of their journey with dementia, working with both the individuals who are diagnosed with dementia and their families. Coral and Laura talk about the role of th...

Psychiatrist Dr Kailas Roberts helps us understand what dementia is and how it is diagnosed. He discusses the four most common dementia diagnoses and how they commonly present. He talks about other health conditions that may mimic early-stage dementia. Learn about what tests are done to diagnose dementia, medication that may improve symptoms, and strategies to help maintain cognitive function, eve...

As Dad’s end of life approached, we worked together as a family to keep Dad comfortable and safe. We had great support from Coral’s GP, Dad’s geriatrician, and Dad's amazing carer, Kath. Those last days were an emotional rollercoaster but from them we have some very special memories. Dad kept surprising us, right up until he took his last breath. This is our story of supporting Dad to die at home....

Dad had four strokes in 2017, his last year with us. He developed delirium after each stroke. Dad did not recover so well after the fourth stroke and his needs were high. We discuss what that looked like for us from a caring role, and what aged care programs we were able to access to support us to bring Dad home from hospital. Our priority was Dad's quality of life. We were in the very fortunate p...

What did Dad’s diagnosis of dementia mean for him and for us, his family? We’ll discuss the challenges Dad faced in the months and years after he was diagnosed and what we did to support him. Mum’s care for Dad was incredible and we made sure we supported her as well, so that she could continue to care for Dad. Focusing on what we could influence and keeping Dad well and content was key to looking...

We're asked so many questions in the course of our work. Our first Ask Me Anything podcast was unbelievably popular, so we’re devoting one episode a month to answering your questions. Send your questions to us and we’ll answer as many as possible during these Ask Me Anything episodes. In this episode: Home care package funds for commercially prepared meals Basic daily fee vs income tested fee Does...

Today we chat about our own father’s diagnosis of dementia and how it came about. Coral was aware that things were changing with Dad and something wasn’t quite right. She started the process of getting a geriatrician involved. Dad moved through diagnoses of depression to mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Coral was pushed into explaining the diagnosis to Mum and Dad because the geriatrician de...

The support plan is the document that is given after a person has been assessed by either the Regional Assessment Service (RAS) or the Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT). When a person is assigned their home care package (HCP), they sign up with a provider. The care plan is the document that is drawn up with the home care provider. This guides what services and support a person will receive from the...

The wait times to receive some home care packages (HCP) have tipped out to around 12 months. This has increased significantly in the past year, from about six months in September 2023. This article described the frustration of the adult daughter in not only having to wait such a long time for her mum’s home care package (HCP) to be assigned, but her belief that the providers couldn’t offer service...