For many Australians, Home Care Packages provide crucial support needed to remain living independently. But what if your package is not giving you the level of support you need? While for many pensioners, and even self-funded retirees, finding that extra help at home might seem out of reach, it doesn’t need to be.
As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, as at June 30, there were about 120,000 people waiting in the queue for a home care package. Of these, about 48,000 had received an “interim package” – a lower-level package than they need – while they waited.
With the average waiting time for home care packages at over 12 months, the difference can have huge consequences. Australians receiving inadequate hours of support report additional strain placed on family caregivers, increased risk of falls and even a greater chance of needing to move prematurely into residential care.
Are you on a lower level package but need more support?
Mable is an online platform that provides a safe and easy way to find independent care and support workers from your local area, for you and your family. With low administration fees, people who choose to use their home care package to find and engage their own support workers via Mable can access more hours of support than they would working with a traditional provider. But even if you’re already using your home care package with another provider, Mable provides a flexible and affordable way to ‘top up’ your support with as many extra hours as you need.
One of the most flexible, affordable community support available
Mable works by connecting you with independent support workers from within your community. You can browse the profiles of support workers in your local area to find someone who could be a match for you. You choose your individual support worker, what services they will provide and when they provide it. Mable enables consumers and independent workers to agree a rate between themselves. The consumer then pays this agreed rate plus 7.95% and the independent worker will receive the agreed rate, less 10%, so you’re not subject to large administration fees as you may be with other providers. Mable could be an affordable way to get more hours of support a week.
What does support via Mable look like?
Mable’s community of independent support workers include experienced aged care workers who have worked in both community and residential aged care settings. It also includes allied health professionals, registered nurses and people simply offering clients help around the house and to get out and about in the community. You agree your schedule with your worker, so if you would like to engage someone to pop in once a day to help prepare dinner or help with your morning routine – or once a week to drive you to appointments, you can. Support doesn’t need to be what you would typically consider aged care to look like. Click here to watch how client Doug works with independent support worker Pam to do something a little different.
It’s completely free to sign up to Mable. Create your profile to start searching for and contacting independent support workers in your local area.
