Care finder case study

Rodney, an 85 year old man, was living in a bungalow at the back of a house in the western suburbs of Melbourne. He has lived independently his whole life, never married and has no children. Recently he had been experiencing some mobility and cognitive issues, which were impacting on his ability to live independently, and had a friend who was providing him support but was beginning to struggle to provide care.  The owner of the property was keen to sell, and issued Rodney a notice to vacate from the bungalow, saying he could stay another 6 months. Rodney and his friend went to the local homelessness service for assistance, and they referred them to HAAG.

Rodney’s friend had been helping him to apply for private rentals, but with no luck, and he doesn’t have enough money for a retirement village. However, he had too much money for priority on the Victorian Housing Register, which meant he was only approved for Register of Interest (ROI).

Our care finder worker discussed the possibility of respite or residential aged care with Rodney which he was open to exploring.  She registered him with My Aged Care (MAC) and organized an ACAS referral for him, so that he could be approved for these services. She advocated that he be prioritized due to the impending eviction. At the assessment he was also approved for a Home Care Package (HCP) with case management and a personal alarm, as he had had a few falls.

We organized a visit to a Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) that was very close to where Rodney used to live, and he liked the place. Although he was immediately put on the waitlist, there were difficulties in filling out the income and assets form due to a lack of Aged Care Specialist Officers at Centrelink. We were told they are no longer doing face-to-face appointments, and phone calls go to messages, without the option for a call back, or else over an hour on hold.

Rodney can’t access respite, residential aged care or home care without these forms, or he would incur full fees with no government subsidy. This story demonstrates the frustrations with dealing with the aged care system for older people at risk of homelessness, and the need for care finder support.