1. Prepare to Care
Topic 3 of 4
Advocacy in action
Everyone wants independence and freedom to make their own decisions, but there may come a point in a person’s life where they are unable or unwilling to manage their financial and personal affairs.
A trusted and informed individual who loves them, has their best interests at heart, will act according to their wishes and who will fight for them, is the most valuable person any elderly person can have.
Select ‘Play’ to view situations of advocacy,
Advocacy is speaking on behalf of your loved one when necessary and under their instructions. Advocates make sure their elder hears and understands what is going on and always has the opportunity to speak for themselves when they are ready. An advocate supports their elder to make their own decisions. An advocate makes sure the elder is at the center of all conversations.
An advocate represents their elders when they cannot represent themselves. At all times, an advocate promotes their elders wishes, feelings, and preferences.
What do you need to put in place?
Having a plan can help you manage the care of your loved ones and get the right help when you need it. For some practical guidance go to the Resources section to see a Webinar including the Public Trustee, the Public Guardian and Palliative Care speaking about planning ahead. Let’s explore some of things that you may need to put in place.
Select the headings to find out more.
Get to know your elder’s GP, attend appointments (if you can), take notes, organise follow up treatment and learn what medications your elders take – see Module 2 for more on health. Of course, using The Notebook is the key. It may be difficult to keep up with your elder’s health and all that’s involved, but it will be invaluable in supporting them to stay independent.
There are several forms and processes that you can start planning with your elder. We all need to do this eventually so take the opportunity to put this in place for you.
Enduring Guardianship:
Your elder decides who can make decisions on their behalf regarding accommodation, health, and lifestyle, in the event they cannot do so. These decisions may include support services, dental work, moving houses, and more.
Enduring Power of Attorney:
This power enables a substitute decision maker to organise all things financial. ‘Enduring’ in ‘Enduring Power of Attorney’ means the power will start either when your elder chooses or when they lose the capacity to handle their finances. The ‘Power of Attorney’ will allow the same power to the chosen person but will end when the said person can no longer make decisions. See Module 5 for more information about substitute decision making.
Become a ‘Nominee’:
A ‘Nominee’ is a person that can speak or act on behalf of their elder with Centrelink.
Become a ‘Registered Supporter’:
A ‘Registered Supporter’ can speak to and get information from My Aged Care on your elder’s behalf. For more details see Module 3.
Aged Care Services:
All aged care services are accessed through one place called My Aged Care. There is information about almost every aspect of aged care here – services, providers, processes. But if you just can’t face another website, call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 open from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 2pm on Saturday.
My Aged Care also have people that you can talk to in person called Aged Care Specialist Officers (ACSOs) in Centrelink offices – Burnie, Launceston and Hobart. Call 1800 227 475 to make an appointment.
Care Finders:
Care Finders are there to help you find services if you are having difficulty. It could be that you live in a remote area and can’t find a provider. The Care Finder also supports people over 50 who are homeless.
In Tasmania, four organisations provide Care Finder services. Look at the Finding Help page under Resources below. Council on the Ageing (COTA) Tasmania offers statewide coverage, while the other three – CatholicCare Tasmania, The Salvation Army Tasmania, and Wintringham – are location-specific and specialise in supporting individuals with housing and homelessness needs, as well as aged care navigation.
The Care Finder programs are supported by funding from Primary Health Tasmania (Tasmania PHN) through the Australian Government’s Primary Health Networks Program.
More information including links and phone numbers is available in the next section.
MODULE 1
