Many of you will be familiar with this picture. You are operating at the peak of your game and you are in a great role with a great company. It’s taken a while to get to this point and lately you have been spending more time with your older relatives as they need extra help, more medical appointments, are less confident driving and perhaps forgetting things including how often they have called you. And heaven forbid you get the dreaded phone call at work letting you know your older parent has had a fall.
All of this takes a toll when you have a busy career and often your own immediate family commitments as well.
Caring for ageing parents can come at a cost for families of ageing parents. Many adult children report significant carer stress and burnout due to the financial, social and emotional strains that caregiving can place on carers. There is a growing number of adult children caring for their ageing parents or have concerns for one parent who is caring for another. This results in exacerbating health issues for older people and caregivers alike.
According to Associate Professor Gery Karantzas, from Deakin’s School of Psychology, by 2025, families will be expected to provide much of the primary care for ageing parents as the Government and aged care providers struggle to meet the welfare needs of our rapidly ageing society.
As an example, currently there are over 1200,000 people across Australia waiting for a government funded home care package. That said those ranked most in need and most urgent will get a package over those that can continue to manage or can find alternative options.
What can you do?
Often people may assume that because a relative needs help they need 24-hour care or must move to a nursing home. This is not always the case and in fact a vast proportion of our older population do live well at home. Sometimes it is about working out what works for your circumstances.
For some people learning about, understanding and navigating the aged care maze in order to obtain either council help or a home care package can take days and weeks of your time. Then there is the overlaying matter of financial assessments for care recipients which may result, in some instances, a poor option for funded care compared to the hours of care your relative may actually receive.
At Luxe Care we offer a complimentary consultation whereby we discuss your needs and provide general advice regarding some of the benefits and pitfalls of a variety of options. Some services that may be suitable for your loved ones may include (but are not limited to):
– Council help
– Government funded home care package
– Private Home Care
– Respite care
– Alternative residential options
– Residential aged care
– Palliative care services
Contact us if you are worried about any of your older relatives
Call our office on 1300 848 365 any day of the year and talk with us to discuss your needs with a member of our experienced team.
