Support for older people

A Needs Assessment Service or NASC works with people who have a health or disability concern to help support them to continue living at home. A NASC can:

• talk with you, your carer/family or doctor to understand your needs and eligibility for support
• discuss your concerns and arrange for an assessment to ensure you get the right support for your needs
• assess what support your family/wha¯nau can give and what support they might need in order to be able to help you
• refer you for specialised assessments from other services if you need them.

You, or someone else (with your consent), can refer you to have your needs assessed to find out what is the best support for you. A trained health professional works with you to identify what you have difficulty doing and to prioritise your needs.

You work together to decide what support you need. Support services may include, for example, personal care, home help or equipment to make your home safer for you.

Contact Disability Support Link (DSL), which is Waikato DHB's Needs Assessment and Service Coordination (NASC) agency.

Email: dsloffice@waikatodhb.health.nz
Phone: 0800 55 33 99

Anyone, including the older person themselves, can refer an older person to Disability Support Link for a needs assessment.

A full list of Needs Assessment and Service Coordination (NASC) agencies for each district health board in New Zealand can be found on:

New Zealand Assesment and Service Coordination Association
www.nznasca.co.nz

Note if you are receiving DHB funded care you will be given a choice of  a home support agency if that is possible in your locality. You do have the right to change to another provider if you’re not happy with the service you receive. Your choice may be limited to a small number of contracted agencies.

Eldernet
Provides a region by region listing of service providers.

Home and Community Health Association
This provider listing includes HCHA members who provide home health services.

Some services, such as household support (eg, cleaning), are available only to community services card holders. However, if you need other support such as personal care, you may be eligible for some funded household support services. ‘Personal cares’, which include helping you get out of bed, showering, dressing and medication assistance, are funded by your local DHB and access to them does not require a community services card.

Your NASC can advise you about your eligibility for funded services and whether you qualify for these services. Any help you get from natural supports (eg, family members living with you) will be taken into account when your needs are being considered.

If you are not eligible for DHB funded services, your NASC can advise you about agencies in your area that are able to provide you with the services you need, at your own cost.

If you are assessed as needing long-term residential care your needs assessor will give you a list of residential care facilities in your area. You have the right to choose any aged residential care provider in New Zealand with a DHB contract to provide your assessed level of care need. You can also find out about residential care facilities in your area through your local Age Concern office – find them in the phone book, or check for your local branch on their website.

Eldernet
Provides a comprehensive checklist to help you make the best decision.

Ministry of Health
You can also check a summary audit report on the rest home you may be considering on the Ministry of Health website.

You may like to spend some time visiting rest homes in your area, to see what they are like. Remember to ask them if there are any additional charges. Once you have moved into a residential care facility it’s OK to change your mind and move to another facility. Your admission agreement will state what advance notice your current place requires.

Eldernet
List of available beds by facility, locality, and by level of care – updated regularly.

Disability Support Link
For more information, phone 0800 55 33 99.

If your needs assessment determines that you need long-term care in a rest home or continuing care hospital, and you want to apply for the Residential Care Subsidy, your needs assessor will give you a Residential Care Subsidy form so you can apply to Work and Income for a financial means assessment.

It is important to send in your financial means assessment application form as soon as possible, even if you can not supply all the papers required by Work and Income, as eligibility for the Residential Care Subsidy can only be back-dated for up to 90 days before the date of the means assessment.

You must continue to pay for your care until it is confirmed that you are eligible for the Residential Care Subsidy.

The services covered by the subsidy (contracted care services) include:

• Food services
• Laundry
• Nursing and other care
• General practitioner visits
• Prescribed medication
• Continence products
• All health care that is prescribed by a general practitioner
• Transport to health services.

The Age Related Residential Care contract with district health boards requires rest homes and hospitals to tailor services to meet the needs of each resident. They cannot charge subsidised residents for services that are covered in this contract. The services a person can expect should be set out in the admission agreement or private contract they sign with their rest home or hospital.

The services that are not covered by the subsidy (that are not contracted care services) include:

• Specialist visits (not publicly funded by the DHB or ACC)
• Transport to other services or outside social functions
• Toll calls (made by the resident)
• Private phone or cellphone
• Newspapers, books and magazines (personal)
• Personal toiletries
• Recreational activities, where those are not part of the normal programme
• Hairdresser
• Dietitian, podiatrist or other services that have not been prescribed by a doctor or are not funded by the DHB
• Spectacles, hearing aids and dental care.

Any extra services a person agrees to pay for must be set out in their admission agreement or private contract with their rest home or hospital.

If you are concerned that additional charges are being made, please contact:

Residential Care Information Line
0800 737 777

Waikato DHB's Health of Older People
07 834 3646

AgeConcern
Provides free and confidential Elder Abuse Response Services in many major cities and provincial areas throughout New Zealand.

AgeConcern
Provides assistance in person or over the phone to a range of queries from older people and their carers.

Disability Support Link
Provides needs assessment and service coordination for people with age-related disability lasting longer than six months who meet eligibility for publically funded services.  

In the first instance you could contact the service manager of the agency or organisation and discuss the issue with them. For example this may be the home and community support services agency manager in the Waikato local office; or the residential care facility manager.

Waikato DHB's Health of Older People
07 834 3646

Health and Disability Commissioner 
0800 11 22 33

Talk to your pharmacist at the pharmacy that usually issues the prescribed medications.

If help with taking medication is needed, contact Disability Support Link on 0800 55 33 99 for an assessment.

Often the best support is from people who understand your situation. For information, support and advice we recommend:

Carers NZ
Charitable trust dedicated to improving the lives of family carers.

Alzheimers New Zealand
Support for family, friends and whanāu coping with the demands of caring.

Dementia Waikato
Information, education, support, advice and personal advocacy for people with dementia and their carers.

Age Concern
Our Accredited Visiting Service is a befriending service that provides regular visits to older people who would like more company.