Flood updates - October-December 2022

Council continues to support the community as it recovers from the October-December 2022 floods.
For the latest information please click on the link below.

More information

Commonwealth Home Support Program

Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP)

The CHSP aims to support frail, older people (65 years and over, or 50 years and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) who are living in the community to maximise their independence. This includes support within their own home and the community, for as long as they can and wish to do so through the provision of timely, entry-level home support services.

The CHSP also supports the care relationship between CHSP clients and their carers who provide the support necessary to help the older person stay at home.

The objectives of the CHSP are to:

  • Enhance wellbeing and quality of life by providing high-quality support (at low intensity on a short-term or ongoing basis) or higher intensity services (on a short-term or occasional basis). This is to maximise a client’s independence at home and in the community for as long as they choose.
  • Support clients through direct service delivery of planned respite services, allowing regular carers to take a break from their usual caring duties.
  • Support clients to delay, or avoid altogether, the need to move into more expensive forms of aged care, such as Home Care Packages or residential aged care. This ensures sustainable whole-of-system aged care costs as the population ages and number of people requiring care increases.
  • Ensure all clients, including those with special needs, have equal access to services that are socially and culturally appropriate and free from discrimination.
  • Assist with client choice – this enhances the independence and wellbeing of older people, and ensures services respond to a client’s needs.
  • Provide a standardised assessment process which includes a complete view of clients’ needs.
  • Provide flexible, timely services that respond to local needs.

 

Cost

A fee is charged for each service according to the CHSP Client Contribution Framework. The fee is established with the client at the time of assessment.

Services

Please see below a list of services provided. Click on each box for more information.

Domestic care

This service provides assistance with house cleaning to support clients and carers to maintain a comfortable home environment.

The domestic care service undertakes a range of essential cleaning tasks of areas regularly used by the client. These areas include:

  • Bathrooms
  • Toilets
  • Kitchens
  • Living rooms
  • Bedrooms

Workers may be assigned to perform tasks such as:

  • Mopping
  • Vacuuming
  • Changing bed linen
  • Clothes washing
  • Essential ironing

Personal care

Our personal care service enables clients to live independently by assisting with personal tasks that they are unable to perform on their own. These tasks may include:

  • Assistance with showering
  • Dressing or grooming
  • Assistance with mobility
  • Assistance with food preparation, and
  • Shopping

Unfortunately, our staff are not able to assist with the dressing of wounds. If this type of care is required, your District Nurse should be contacted.

Respite care

Our respite service supports the caring relationship by providing carers of frail older people and people of any age with a disability, with a break from their caring responsibilities.

Our service also provides the opportunity for the person being cared for to have a break, or go on an outing without their usual carer.

Respite may be arranged:

  • On a regular planned basis
  • For a one-off emergency situation, or
  • For a short-term period, where there is a change in the caring relationship, such as the illness of a carer

This service can be provided in a variety of ways and in a range of locations, including:

  • The consumer’s home
  • On a one-to-one basis, or
  • In the community where clients can participate in individual or community activities with the support of our staff.

Planned outings for clients may include visits to the Echuca Swimming Pool, Kerang Bowling Alley or bus excursions.

In all cases we aim to provide enjoyable, age appropriate, meaning activities for our clients.

Property maintenance

Our property maintenance service provides assistance with the maintenance and repair of your home, garden or yard to maintain the home in a safe and habitable condition.

The types of maintenance available are:

  • General maintenance
    • Garden and lawn maintenance
  • Access and safety
    • Installation of safety rails
    • Smoke detector checks
    • Light bulb replacements
    • Installation key safes
    • Improvements to paths and steps
    • Some anti-slip measures
  • Preventative maintenance
    • Minor maintenance and repairs
    • Low maintenance gardens
    • Minor fence repairs
    • Repairs to fly wire screens
    • Climate change initiatives

Frequency of service:

Our regular clients receive their service every four weeks. Occasional clients only receive this service as required.

Delivered meals

Delivered by our wonderful team of volunteers, this service provides a healthy, well balanced midday meal to eligible residents, within Kerang and Cohuna, five days per week.

There is also the option of additional weekend meals, delivered frozen on a day that is suitable for the client.

Frozen meals can also be arranged for clients living outside the Kerang and Cohuna areas. 

Social support - individual

This assistance is provided by a companion (paid worker or volunteer) to an individual – either in their home or while accessing community services. It is largely centred around meeting a person’s need for social contact and/or company in order to take part in community life.

Services include:

  • Visiting services
  • Telephone and web-based monitoring services (including other technologies that help connect older people to their community, e.g. to assist people with sensory impairments or those living in geographically isolated areas).
  • Accompanied activities (such as assisting the person through accompanied shopping, bill-paying, attendance at appointments and other related activities).

Social support is usually provided one-on-one, but may also be provided to more than one person, for example, where social support is provided to an aged couple.

Social support - group

This service provides an opportunity for clients to attend and participate in social interactions held away from their home, located in (or from) a facility/centre or community-based setting.

These structured activities are provided in a group-based environment and designed to develop, maintain and support social interaction and independent living.

Activities may take the form of:

  • group-based activities held in or from a facility/centre (such as organised or tailored activities that promote physical activity, cognitive stimulation and emotional wellbeing)
  • group excursions conducted by centre staff but held away from the centre

Services may include light refreshments and related transport and personal assistance (e.g. help with toileting) involved in attendance at the centre.

Social support - transport

Transport refers to delivery of a structure or network providing accessible transport to eligible clients. It includes:

  • Direct transport services which are those where the trip is provided by a worker or a volunteer.

User Rights and Responsibilities

Your rights:

  • The right to respect for your individual human worth, dignity and privacy.
  • The right to be assessed for access to services without discrimination.
  • The right to receive a HACC service where you are eligible, regardless of your capacity to pay.
  • The right to pursue any complaint about service provision without the fear of retribution.
  • The right to involve an advocate of your choice.
  • The right to knowledge about and access to information of processes, both internal and external, for handling complaints.

Your responsibilities:

  • To respect the dignity and rights of persons providing the services.
  • To respect the dignity and rights of other clients.
  • To take responsibility for the results of the decisions you make.
  • To cooperate with the service provider in the provision of your services.
  • To inform your service provider of any complaints you may have with the service.

For more information, phone (03) 5450 9333 or visit http://www.health.gov.au/

 

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