Grey Power NZ’s misgivings over Home and Community Services’ (HCSS) ability to carry out its work in New Zealand, due to a lack of financial resources and staffing issues, has prompted the Federation to challenge the Government on its stance.
The Federation recognises that seniors are particularly impacted due to age, lack of mobility, social isolation and neurological disorders. Therefore, it has responded with a submission to the Health Select Committee into the aged sector’s current and future capacity to provide support services for people experiencing age-related incapacity and neurological disorders.
The Federation contends that HCSS clients are not regularly receiving the appropriate services to enable them to live with dignity in their own homes, care they were assured of receiving.
It states: “Ageing in place” is the preferred option for many older people because it provides them with choices about where they live, connection, feelings of security, familiarity, identity, independence and autonomy.
Narratives show us that many Grey Power members and other older people, who receive HCSS to enable them to remain at home instead of living in rest homes, are in danger because of the way home support is currently funded, coordinated, and delivered.
In other words, good home care requires home support workers who receive adequate compensation for their work, who are well-trained and who are supported by providers using professionally managed systems, including adequate communication.
Grey Power’s experience is many older people rely on this care so they can live at home as long as possible and believe this is government policy.
However, the Federation has received many stories from older people and their families regarding the removal or reduction in this service.
Specifically, this includes a complete loss of assistance, reduction in hours of care, different carers each week/fortnight, no set arrival time, lack of carer training, withdrawal of shopping assistance, re-assessments for care from providers’ employees, insufficient travel time between jobs for carers, and denial of domestic assistance unless a client requires personal care.
These issues are causing insufficient and inconsistent care for older people and are of particular concern to seniors who suffer from neurological disorders such as mild cognitive impairment, dementia, brain injury and other disabilities which accompany ageing.
In keeping with its concern about reduced support and care options for those in need, Grey Power has made the following recommendations to the Health Select Committee:
- That the Government and Opposition parties support E tū and the PSA’s call for sufficient investment in home support services to enable high quality care and support for our most vulnerable, so people who need support services can continue to live safely and with dignity in their own homes. The lives of all older people, including Grey Power members, who live in their own homes depend on this.
Home care workers need:
- Permanent regular shifts like other health workers
- Adequate support and training, especially for those dealing with neurological disorders
- A proper wage acknowledging the work they do, including travel time
- Genuine access to breaks
The sector is in crisis and almost at the point of no return where much needed aged care services will disappear and our older people will bear the brunt of government underfunding (from Aged Care Matters media fact sheet May 4 2022)
Diminished services include:
- Complete loss of home care assistance
- Reduction in hours of care
- Different carers each week/fortnight
- No set arrival time
- Lack of carer training
- Withdrawal of shopping assistance
- Re-assessments for care being done by providers’ care workers
- Insufficient carer travel time
- Denial of domestic assistance unless a client requires personal care
Older clients are hesitant to complain about services for fear of repercussions. Worst fears include cessation or reduction of care hours.
Funding for New Zealand’s infrastructure and support systems for older people is unevenly distributed across the country. This results in inequitable service delivery. Services need to meet the test of being person-centred, not system-centred, and evidence-based using best practice.
