NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Ageing Disability & Home Care (ADHC)
Target Group
Carers of persons living in the community who, in the absence of basic maintenance and support services, are at risk of premature or inappropriate long term residential care.
What is the aim of the program?
Respite services refer to assistance received by a carer from a substitute carer who provides supervision and assistance to the care recipient (even though the carer may still be present). Respite services are provided in order to give them relief from their caring role.
Respite services are intended to strengthen and maintain the caring relationship by providing carers with a break from their caring responsibilities. The care recipient may be a frail older person or a younger person with a disability.
The purpose of Respite services is to enable carers of frail older people or younger people with a disability to continue their role as carers. This in turn, contributes to the primary objective of HACC of preventing premature or inappropriate admission to long-term residential care.
What service does the program provide?
Respite services are designed to be responsive to the needs of the carer. They are preventative in focus, time limited, and generally provided on a planned basis. The key elements of Respite services are:
The carer is the principal client
Services are generally provided from the home of the care recipient or in a host family home on a one-to-one individual basis
The usual carer is not present (in a caring capacity) during the service, and
Service planning is in collaboration with the care recipient and their carer/family to ensure that the respite program meets their needs, and to ensure that the individual’s full range of support needs are met during each service episode.
It should be noted that in the initial stages of the Respite service, the carer may be present until trust and confidence is established between the care recipient, the carer and the Respite service worker.
The following are the major activities that may form part of the Respite service:
Social interaction (sitting with, talking to, reminiscing, providing physically and mentally stimulating activities, and discussion with the care recipient)
Communication with carers where appropriate (communication with the carer/family is a fundamental element of providing Respite care and of developing an individualised Respite care plan that meets the needs of the individual and the carer)
Personal care (includes helping the care recipient with daily self-care tasks, e.g grooming and toileting. It may included medication monitoring. However, personal care should not be the primary purpose of the service provision but may occur in the course of providing Respite)
Meal preparation and assistance with eating (where this is not the primary purpose of the service provided)
Domestic assistance (A person providing respite care may assist with other activities as part of substituting for the usual carer, for example, washing dishes. These activities should be incidental to the provision of the Respite service and should not be the primary purpose of service provision
Overnight stays (The care worker may stay overnight in the care recipient’s home for the provision of respite)
Review and planning (Developing and reviewing a Respite care plan in conjunction with the individual and their carer/family, to meet the needs of their specific situation and respond to the changing needs of the carer and the care recipient)
Commonwealth Carer Respite Centres (Cooperating with Carer Respite Centres in the provision of information and advice regarding respite
Activities from the home (While he main focus of respite is in-home support, there may be opportunities to accompany clients for excursions into the community)
What is the program’s assessment and review process?
Phone assessment if appropriate, face to face assessment as required
Re-assessments (reviews) will generally be conducted on an annual basis, more frequently if appropriate.
When does the program operate?
Services provided weekdays, Monday to Friday, not on Public Holidays
What partnerships does the program have?
Commonwealth Carer Respite Centres, Carers NSW, other HACC providers, Aged Care Assessment Teams
Program Fees
$10 per hour for pensioners, $15 per hour for non-pensioners
Who can refer to the program?
Carers, other (HACC) service providers, Aged Care Assessment Team, GP, Hospitals, agencies or anyone in the community that has concerns for someone.
How do you refer to the program?
Customer Service Centre on 1800225474
Any other information
In using an enabling approach, the individual requiring support becomes an active decision-maker in the planning and implementation of their community care support arrangements. As they become involved in identifying goals that are important and meaningful to them, and participating in decisions that affect their lives, their confidence and personal wellbeing is enhanced.
Referral Criteria:
Who is eligible?
Carers of people who are HACC eligible, i.e. people
with a functional disability who experience difficulty in carrying out tasks of daily living and who have a need for assistance, and
people living in the community who, in the absence of basic maintenance and support are at risk of premature or inappropriate long term residential care
Who is not eligible?
HACC eligible people who don’t have a carer
Carers of HACC eligible people who are already receiving similar services from other government program
Is priority access given?
It is the aim of the program to provide the most benefit to the greatest number of people. Priority of need is based on the following factors:
The vulnerability of the individual to further deterioration
The effect of service delivery on the carer
The likely effect of the service provided in assisting individuals to attain their goals, for example reduce risk of admission to residential care or maintaining quality of life in the community
