Homecare Cuts

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What do people out there think of the cuts to Homecare for the elderly! It is not so obvious in Auckland as it is in the South Island, but does exist.

I'm a caregiver in the Auckland area and it's getting nasty out there. I tell my clients, what ever they do don't give up there hours thinking they might get them back later. If you are children of people getting care, I suggest, if you can, be there for the assessment as the elderly will often down play there problems even pretend nothing is wrong as "they don't want to be a bother." No matter what you tell the assessor they will only take into account what the client has said SO prime them NOT to down play their condition! If you can, find out what the criteria is before an assessment is made. I hope this helps.

On the working side, not only are we paid near to the minimum wage, I know staff who have gone on holiday to return & found their clients have been poached by the temporary caregiver, as work is decreasing all the time. If you loss a client it is very hard to replace them so do be careful.

Most of all though the big worry is the poor people losing their help and not being able to fend for themselves. It is in some ways a false economy for the health sector as they will probably end up in hospital for either long or short term periods. Would a couple of days in hospital be the cost equivalent the a year of home care?

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