Dinah was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 12 years ago. 

“My son, a neurologist, first suspected Parkinson’s when he noticed an involuntary twitch in my left ankle,” Dinah shares.

Dinah’s husband, who is a retired GP, is her full-time carer. 

Since last year, 82-year-old Dinah has been using her Home Care Package funding to get extra support from her Mable support worker so she can continue to live independently. 

Finding Mable

Dinah’s daughter Sharon first heard of Mable during Dinah’s aged care assessment interview. 

Sharon signed up on Mable and found the family could connect with support workers in their area by using the various filters available. She also found it easy to use the Mable app. 

“You can really narrow it down,” Sharon says. “My parents are in Bondi, where there are more than a thousand support workers. That’s an incredible number to choose from, but we were able to filter the results further.”

Sharon and Dinah also liked that the profiles show photos of the support workers because “you kind of get a feel for who you’re reading about”.

A day in Dinah’s life

Dinah lives in her own home with the assistance of her two children, a cleaning lady and her Mable support worker.

Dinah shares, “My day begins with breakfast, prepared by my wonderful husband! Then I prepare a light lunch. I do basic house cleaning. We sometimes walk to the shops.” 

Dinah and her husband aren’t as socially active as before, but they spend a lot of time with their family. Dinah says her “four amazing grandchildren are the centre of our lives”.

Dinah also enjoys playing Wordle, reading, and listening to classical music. Lately, Dinah has been busy editing a collection of short stories. “My children intend to publish it for my birthday!” she says.

Getting support through Mable 

Dinah has been getting support from Mable for about 6 months. Dinah says Margaret, her support worker, has improved their quality of life. 

“She helps us with making the bed, cleaning the shower, shopping, running errands and preparing delicious meals.  She always comes to work bright and happy.”

Margaret also supports Dinah by taking her to medical appointments and taking her to see her sister who lives 40 minutes away. 

Sharon says,  “Keeping in touch with family and friends is important for her mental health. Unfortunately, I am unable to take her back and forth every few weeks, so that’s been a game-changer.”

They are also keen to build a support team for Dinah as Margaret is preparing to take some time off.

“It’s a good idea to have two people because you want to make sure you’ve got someone to step in when your usual support worker isn’t there.”

Self-managing a home care package

Dinah was able to use her home care package funding to book support on Mable, and Sharon self-manages the home care package on behalf of her mum.

She says, “Once you’ve chosen the support worker and it’s all in the system, it’s basically self-service. It literally runs on its own engine on Mable.”

By choosing to self-manage, Dinah is in complete control of how she uses her funding and can choose her own support workers.

Sharon says they have got better value through Mable. “It’s more beneficial to go with Mable than a traditional service provider as their fees were much higher. You can get more hours with Mable and that was the cherry on top for us,” she says. 

With Dinah currently on a Level 2 home care package, Sharon’s family is grateful for the $16,147.60 the government provides annually for her support. “Mum’s condition is getting worse every year,” she explains. 

“But we can now ramp up that support as she needs more help. For instance, she’s starting to find it hard to get up from a chair on her own. We’re going to book an occupational therapist through Mable and get her a remote-control chair.”

Peace of mind through Mable

Before using Mable, the onus was on Sharon to “jump in and provide things as needed”. 

Although her father was managing well for so long, she feels happy that he now has the support worker to lean on. “If he wants to go out, get a bit of exercise, someone can stay with my mum, so it gives him freedom.”

Sharon adds, “When decisions are made for older people and strangers are coming into their home, it can be a bit scary. What I love most about Mable is it gives older people the choice and opportunity to know who the support workers are that will come into their home.”

If you have a Home Care Package, you can also find support through Mable. By booking and managing support through Mable:

• You have choice and control over who supports you, when and where they support you, and how much you pay for the support.
• You’re safeguarded by Mable’s strict approval and verification process, and the high-level suite of insurances arranged by Mable on behalf of support workers.

NOTE: Image is for representation purpose only.