This year there has been some significant changes to government funded home care, not least of which is giving you, the consumer, the power to make purchasing decisions about who you want to deliver services under your home care package.
But how can you choose the best provider?
There are some things to look out for when choosing a service provider. these are:
Exit Fees
Will the home care provider charge you a fee to leave their service? If they do, the amount should be clearly stated in the provider information on the myagedcare.gov.au website and also in the Home Care Agreement that they are required to give you.
Case Management Fees
Will the service provider charge additional fees to ‘case manage’ your service with them? If they do, these charges should be clearly explained to you before you sign the Home Care Agreement.
Administration Fees
What percentage of your package will be available to be used for services in your home? Service providers should not charge more than 20% of the package in administration fees. You should have at least 80% available for you to use on services, anything less than that and you should shop around for a better deal.
Insurance
Does the home care service provider hold the appropriate insurances? Insurance is something that we hope to never have to use but if something happens and someone is injured, then insurance is worth every cent. Ask your provider how much they are insured for professional indemnity and public liability, the more cover they have, the better security for you.
5. Screening procedures for workers
What screening procedures are in place to ensure the most appropriately skilled and qualified people will be coming to your house? At an absolute minimum, all workers should be police checked, reference checked and have their qualifications and experience confirmed. In addition, working with children checks should also be conducted so that you can be satisfied that they can be around children, especially if you have your grand children over.
After hours telephone service
Does the provider have an emergency after hours contact number? This is very important and will provide you with peace of mind if you ever need to contact your service provider outside of ordinary business hours.
At Colbrow Care, we do not charge exit fees or additional fees for case management. Our administration fees are kept to a minimum at 20% which means you have 80% of your package available for you to use on the services you need to keep you in your home for as long as possible. We have $20 million in professional indemnity and public liability insurance so you can be assured that in the unlikely event that something went wrong, we have the appropriate insurance behind us. Our 60 years of experience has taught us what we need to look for in our staff and we conduct rigorous screening on all potential staff members. Our after hours telephone service means that if you need to reach us outside of our office hours (5.30am to 10.30pm), we will be there.
Call us on 1300 33 11 03 or email homecare@colbrow.com to find out how we can help.
Your Home, Your Life, Your Choice ®
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane
