Choosing A Care Home

If you feel the time has come to look at receiving some help with your daily living, a chat with your local GP is a step in the right direction. He or she will be able to advise you of what services/facilities are available in your area until you can arrange an appointment for an ACAT assessment.

Your local General Practitioner will be able to advise you of where your local ACAT team is or you can call the Aged Care Information Line on 1800 200 422.

An member of an ACAT team (aged care assessment) will spend time with you to talk about your current situation and the activities you are finding a little harder to manage.  Your options will be discussed and you will be advised of how you can access the services that are available to you which could be either a Home Care Package or a higher level of care. You may like to ask a family member, friend of carer to sit in with you on the assessment for a little extra support.

After the assessment, ACAT will write to you and let you know the outcome of your assessment and will specify the services you are approved to receive and the reasons why. An ACAT assessment is free and remains valid indefinitely.  You will however need to be reassessed should you wish to change from a Home Care Package to a higher level of care (Residential). Having an ACAT assessment does not mean that you have to enter a care home but it will speed up the process should you need care. For further information on ACAT or to find out what assistance you may be entitled to contact the MyAgedCare Contact Centre on 1800 200 422 or go to www.myagedcare.gov.au.

 

Once you have been assessed or have chosen to move to a Residential facility, it is advisable to research the costs and fees involved before making a final decision on a particular facility. There will be quite a number of questions which you may have ranging from accessible location, costs, is there a waiting list and if so how long? etc.

Calculating the costs of moving into a Residential Aged Care facility – The Federal Government sets the maximum fee that can be charged for Residential Services which are approved for Government support.  The types of fees for aged care are:

• An accommodation payment (lump sum or daily fee)
• A basic daily fee
• A means-tested fee
• Additional or extra service fees.

Below is a list of UPA’s Residential Facilities and contact details; a member of the staff will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have as well as arrange for you and family or friends to take a tour of the facility.

Click on a link below for Residential Accommodation in UPA’s Regions:

• Carramar NSW – Heiden Park Lodge
• Casino NSW – Richmond Lodge
• Dubbo NSW – Bracken House
• Henty NSW – Myoora Homestead
• Holbrook NSW – Holbrook Village
• Howlong NSW – Oolong Residential Care
• Jindera NSW – Jindera Aged Care Services
• Lavington NSW – Murray Vale Shalem
• Molong NSW – Prunus Lodge
• Orange NSW – Ascot Gardens
• Pendle Hill NSW – Melrose Lodge
• Stanwell Park NSW – Frank & Jess Kennett Home
• Ulmarra NSW – Rathgar Lodge
• Wagga Wagga NSW – Gumleigh Gardens
• Wahroonga NSW – TRA Aged Care
• Wallsend NSW – Woodlands Lodge
• Yeoval NSW – Yeoval Aged Care

Each of the above UPA Residential Homes differs with their own operating routines, environments, activity programs, staff, consumers etc. all under the same roof but you can always be assured of receiving help with the many day-to-day tasks which you found were becoming a little more difficult and there is always a comfortable environment, a choice of daily activities and companionship close by.