Mable is all about empowering clients to make their own choices and decisions around their care. For older Australians who are continuing to live independently at home, support needs may change from time to time, and flexibility is important. Self-managing your own Home Care Package gives you control to change the services you receive, who provides them and when.
Meet 72-year-old Trish, who has a team of independent support workers that she connected with on Mable to not just attend to her daily requirements but also provide companionship. She is on a Level 4 Home Care Package and accesses support for her day-to-day life including personal care, dressing, meals and household tasks.
Trish also arranges to receive social support as part of her Home Care Package. “I also need someone who’ll do the creative, fun side with me so I can have a bit of fun.” That could be jigsaw puzzles, mosaics, watching comedies on TV or just having a good old chat.
Having used traditional providers in the past, Trish says she used to struggle with having “different people all the time” come to provide support. With Mable, she has a number of support workers with whom she’s grown to build a great bond. Julia, who was Trish’s first support worker through Mable, has now been with her for three years. She does Trish’s shopping, helps with maintaining the garden and the two ladies have lunch together. Julia also does the laundry and Trish’s daughter was most impressed with the “beautiful” way she folds the clothes!
“The nice thing with Mable,” Trish explains, “which is not possible with other providers, is if the support worker wants to go away, as Julia did recently, for instance, I can arrange someone else that I’m familiar with to take her shifts.”
Trish’s team all know where everything is in her house such as the vacuum and the fridge, and they know how to operate her laundry machines. She says having to explain herself all the time can be frustrating but with Mable, it’s not an issue at all.
“I’d recommend Mable 100 percent,” Trish smiles. “My experiences with them have been far and beyond what the other providers were providing. Having a support worker, someone you’ve chosen yourself – that you like – is really important.”
Trish has built a team of support workers that enable her to enjoy the types of support she chooses. Having a team means she always has backup if a support worker needs to cancel or if they’re sick or on holidays.
