NEWS SERIES HIGHLIGHTS CHALLENGES IN AGED CARE INDUSTRY

A recent series of stories about aged care in the New Zealand Herald highlighted some of the challenges faced by the home care industry, and the effect on elderly who want to stay in their own homes rather than rest homes. The government is belatedly putting more focus on ensuring our elderly have the option of being able to stay in their own homes and get home support assistance, but the amount of funding being set aside for this is falling short. The following http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11163782 highlighted the low pay rates of carers and suggested the prospect of any improvement in coming years is dim. The increase in funding for home help is simply not enough to allow for the lift in wages that is required to ensure there are enough people available to do this work in years to come. While the bulk of services provided by Miranda Smith Homecare are on a private basis, we share the concerns of others in the industry, and people who want their elderly family members to be able to remain in their homes with some publicly funded assistance. As the article said, despite spending increases, “the home care budget is still only a fraction of the $928 million public subsidy for residential care”. Miranda Smith Homecare says home care workers play a vital part in ensuring elderly can retain a quality of life in their twilight years, and more and more of those workers will be needed as New Zealand’s population increases to age. However, the industry is becoming a less attractive one to get into because of the poor pay rates and average prospects. “There has to be an element of job satisfaction, opportunities for promotion and a pay scale that reflects someone’s experience and capabilities,” says managing director Miranda Smith. She says with a mixture of a strong and upbeat home care workforce, and input from families who are increasingly aware of the benefits of keeping elderly in their own homes, New Zealand could have an aged care infrastructure to be proud of.

NEW CHRISTCHURCH PARTNERSHIP

Miranda Smith Homecare is now working in conjunction with Acute Demand services in Christchurch to provide urgent last minute care for clients. This is a new service which started in June, exclusively for Christchurch with Pegasus Health. These services range from people being discharged from hospital who are requiring support at home, to urgent last minute care for clients who have suffered an injury/illness, identified by their GP as requiring assistance until something can be organised. The range of care extends from childcare while a mother is recovering from an illness, to personal and homecare services, to overnight sleepovers, giving peace of mind to the client and family. The support allows the client/patient to maintain independence as much as possible at home when family are not able to be there. One client who was waiting for an ACC referral to be processed requested Miranda Smith Homecare continue with the care, and was very pleased with the outcome. The client and her family approached her GP, and together they worked with ACC to get the care from Miranda Smith Homecare continued. The client said the carer was fitting in well with the family. “We could not have chosen a better person to provide such wonderful support. The carer is just lovely, respectful, caring and I could not be happier. This is such an amazing service. I never knew I could receive such excellent care.”

TESTING WINTER FOR WELLINGTON TEAM

Miranda Smith Homecare’s Wellington team and their clients are looking forward to a more settled few months following a winter that delivered two large earthquakes and one of the worst storms in the city’s history. While the quakes were frightening, the June storm had the worst effect on clients and carers. Some communities were left isolated, houses were damaged, and power and phone communications went down in many areas. In some cases carers were unable to make scheduled shift changes or return home due to blocked roads. Robust emergency procedures and health and safety plans were enacted and Miranda Smith Homecare was quick to make contact with all clients and check on their welfare. When communication problems arose, the job of phoning up clients was taken up by Miranda Smith Homecare’s Auckland staff. The team of carers also went the extra mile in awful conditions to make sure their clients were safe and sound. There was some very positive feedback from clients, who showed their appreciation to carers once the storm settled, and were pleased at the overall level of support shown by Miranda Smith Homecare.

AUCKLAND STAFF LOOKING FORWARD TO POSITIVE AGEING EVENT

Miranda Smith Homecare is looking forward to being part of the International Day of the Older Person event at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau on October 3. Miranda Smith Homecare staff will have a stall at the event and encourage anyone who might be considering using private home care for themselves or ageing family members to drop in and discuss options which can be tailor-made to suit a wide range of needs. International Day of the Older Person is an initiative organised by Age Concern Counties-Manukau, and it’s expected to attract over 3000 people. Age Concern says the day is about celebrating positive ageing on an inter-generational level. There will be free parking, free entry, and super gold card holders will be given a free Devonshire tea. There will be plenty of entertainment, information, food stalls and exhibitors to visit.

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER

Miranda Smith Homecare has been getting positive feedback from the senior community north of Auckland as it moves to expand its services into the Rodney district. Agency representatives have been meeting with groups such as Parkinson’s in Orewa and Warkworth to discuss what Miranda Smith Homecare can offer, and with a co-ordinator now set up in Orewa, the agency is keen to hear from both potential clients and caregivers in those areas. Meanwhile, the Auckland office has been busy bolstering its network of carers and is also keen to take on new clients. The Christchurch team is busy, as is Wellington, which is getting most of its enquiries as a result of recommendations from existing clients who have had great experiences with Miranda Smith Homecare. With the onset of winter and elderly being vulnerable to colds and flu, all offices are taking measures to ensure client have adequate warmth and are comfortable as the weather deteriorates. Miranda Smith Homecare also wants to remind people of its convalescence service, which involves discharge planning and aims to take the stress out of returning home following a stint in hospital. Carers will take practical and simple steps to ensure clients have the necessary assistance and best chance of recovery when returning home. They include ensuring beds have clean linen so as to reduce chance of infection, shopping and ensuring meals are readily available, organising medical prescriptions and assisting with exercise, etc. Day to day routines like cooking and cleaning are also undertaken by our carers. See our website: www.mshomecare.co.nz for more details

EXTRA DEMENTIA FUNDING POSITIVE

MEDIA RELEASE May 1, 2013 An extra budget allocation of $70 million for aged care and dementia is a positive sign that the Government is continuing to address under-funding in the aged care sector, says national care agency Miranda Smith Homecare. The government announced yesterday that $70 million over four years would be allocated to aged care and dementia services, including $20m for home support services to ensure more elderly can stay in their own homes longer. Miranda Smith Homecare managing director Miranda Smith says New Zealand’s rapidly ageing population will require huge resources and extra beds in coming years, and dementia is a major concern for an already starved health system. “One of the pleasing aspects of this is that extra home support services funding will ensure family members or other unpaid carers will have more support and relief,” Ms Smith says. “It’s great to see the need for more home-based care is being recognised, but with the rate of dementia increasing at 4 percent a year, the strain on the health system will continue to grow. The demand for dementia care will continue to outstrip funding.” Miranda Smith Homecare believes that industry support throughout all health providers needs a more collaborative approach to tackling care for a fast growing elderly population. Visit www.mshomecare.co.nz for more information about this agency.

EXPANDING INTO OREWA

MEDIA RELEASE March 13, 2013 HOMECARE AGENCY EXPANDING INTO OREWA Private homecare agency Miranda Smith Homecare is expanding into Orewa to help cater for the town’s escalating senior population. Being one of the country’s fastest growing regions, and with a high percentage of the population being over 65 years old, Miranda Smith Homecare considers Orewa a logical place to focus on. Being in close proximity to its busy Auckland office will also be beneficial to the operation. Managing director Miranda Smith says Orewa is a popular place for retirement villages, and adding homecare options to the region makes sense. “Orewa is a lovely area, and we want to be able to offer alternative options for elderly people who want to remain in their homes but may be getting to the stage where they need assistance to do so.” That assistance could range from visits from a carer to assist with basic day to day tasks, right through to more intensive live-in care. A local co-ordinator is setting up in the town and the agency is in the process of recruiting carers with the required skills. Miranda Smith Homecare is the longest running private homecare agency in New Zealand, with offices in Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Christchurch, and contracted carers spread throughout the country.

RECRUITING IN OREWA

Miranda Smith Homecare is keen to hear from potential carers as it moves to expand its operations into Orewa, north of Auckland city. With a strong presence in the Auckland region, Miranda Smith Homecare sees it as a logical step to put a co-ordinator in Orewa and focus on offering its services to the large population of elderly who may want to spend a few more years in their own homes rather than move to rest homes. Auckland area manager Rebecca Gadston-Green says staff are in the process of setting up networks in the Orewa region, where Gwen Prenderville will be co-ordinator, and the agency is keen to hear from people who have the right skills to work in the homecare industry. In the meantime, Miranda Smith Homecare service co-ordinators are in the process of visiting all their Auckland region clients for a catch-up and to check if any re-assessments are required.