Types of care

The Australian Government aims to ensure that affordable, accessible and quality aged care is available to all older Australians who need it. Most people prefer to stay in their own homes. Whenever possible, community care assists people to remain at home despite the effects of ageing. Where it is no longer possible to stay at home, aged care homes are available across the country offering quality care and services in a safe environment.

Community care

Are you an older person who is living at home who might need a little extra help from time to time? Are you caring for an older relative or friend who wants to stay at home rather than go into an aged care home?

Growing older in Australia comes with many choices. Choices about where you live, whether in Broome or on Bribie Island, and how you live, whether you are golfing or grand parenting. Many things affect your choices, but often your health plays a major role in your lifestyle as you get older.

For many people, living in the comfort of their own home is an important part of growing older, but for some older people this may become difficult without extra help. This is where ‘home help’ or community care services comes into the picture – providing help with everything from housework, meals and personal care, to assistance getting out and about for social activities.

Most older Australians prefer to stay in their own homes, so there are a number of programs available to help out with daily living activities that may have become harder for you to manage on your own. This is called ‘community care’. The Home and Community Care program (HACC)  and Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) are two such programs, with services specifically designed for older Australians who would qualify for at least low-level care in an aged care home. CACP provides a package of services where as, HACC may, provide one or more services.

HACC services aims to meet basic needs to maintain your independence at home and in the community, and they include community nursing, domestic assistance, personal care, meals on wheels, home modification and maintenance, transport, and community-based respite care .Two other programs Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) and Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia (EACH D) also provide services for high-level care needs at home. Eligibility for CACPs, EACH and EACH D is assessed by Aged Care Assessment Teams (ACATs or ACAS in Victoria).

Aged care homes

Some people find it simply too difficult to manage at home and have trouble doing everyday things that used to seem fairly easy. If this is the case there are a wide range of aged care homes available across Australia, which may be able to help.

If you can no longer live at home because of ageing, illness or disability, there are publicly-funded places in aged care homes that you may be able to access. This is called ‘residential aged care’.

There are two types of residential aged care in Australia – high-level and low-level care. High-level care provides nursing care when required, meals, laundry, cleaning and personal care, while low-level care gives you assistance with meals, laundry and personal care, except when required. To be eligible for either of these aged care places you need to be assessed by an ACAT.

Sri Om Foundation is in the process of liaising with the Federal Government to develop these services specifically for the Indian community.

Sri Om Care brings the skills and expertise for caring for the elderly from the Indian Community. With our wide volunteer base that are trained in many of the Indian languages, and our broad experience in working closely with numerous seniors, we have the skills to identify and customise the needs of the seniors and assist them in “Active Ageing”. Through the recruitment of high quality and accredited staff followed by the application of rigorous peer review standards, we ensure that we provide seniors with the best possible care.

Our services are recommended by numerous health professionals. We are committed to provide the best possible care for seniors and in assisting them with active ageing. Being a not-for-profit organisation, we are primarily focused on the well-being of seniors and hence most of our services are at a very minimal cost or at no cost at all.

Sri Om Foundation is developing programs to help you or your carer to understand the various types of community care services available and how to arrange them.