Briargate offers carer support services on the North Shore, Auckland

A Carer is a person who looks after someone with a disability at home on a full time basis. If you do this and you need time out, then you may be eligible for the Carer Support subsidy.

The Carer Support subsidy is flexible relief care funding for Caregivers and helps to pay for someone else to look after the person you usually care for whilst you take a break.

This information focuses on the needs of carers of older people, those 65 years+

You can get Carer Support Subsidy if you are:

• Looking after someone who is terminally ill, or has an ongoing health or mental health condition, provided they need 24-hour care / supervision, or,
• Looking after someone with a disability at home who needs 24-hour care - and you are not being paid to do so.

Generally, you will have been doing this for at least six months.

A person with a disability is “a person who has been identified as having a physical, psychiatric, intellectual, sensory and/or age-related disability which is likely to continue for a minimum of six months and result in a reduction of independent function to the extent that ongoing support is needed.” (Ministry of Health Policy Guidelines 1995)

How do you get Carer Support Subsidy?

You access Carer Support Subsidy in different ways depending on the needs of the person you care for:

• If you are caring for a person who requires 24-hour care because of an ongoing health condition or terminal illness, contact your doctor.
• If the person you are caring for has a disability, contact your local Needs Assessment Service. See contact details at end of this leaflet, or ask your GP to refer you.
• If the person you are caring for has an ongoing mental health condition, your Community Mental Health Key Worker will assess.

How it works:

• You telephone the appropriate assessor – see above.
• You and your family/whanau have a Needs Assessment.
• You are given a number of days per year, starting from the day of assessment, when you can have a break.
• You can now plan your ‘time out’.
• The assessor sends your information to Ministry of Health.
• Ministry of Health sends you a letter explaining how payment is made. Terms they use are ‘full time carer,’ that’s you, and the person who provides short-term care is the ‘support carer’.
• If you lose your Carer Support form, phone Ministry of Health 0800 281 222 for a replacement. They can also tell you how many days you have left.
• If you feel you need more Carer Support days during the year, ask for another assessment.
• Any days not used within a year of assessment are cancelled. You will need another assessment to get a new allocation of days.

How many Carer Support days do you get?

If you are looking after someone who is terminally ill, has an ongoing chronic health condition or has an ongoing mental health problem, the GP or mental health worker can allocate up to 28 days per year.

If the person you care for has a disability, the number of days depends on the assessment - you are not automatically entitled to any specific number of days.

Residential Care in Rest Homes

If you decide on short-term care in a rest home, you will find it difficult to book in advance. If you wait till closer to the time, there are usually a number of rest homes with vacancies that you can choose from.

There is now a large gap between Carer Support rate and the District Health Board contract rate. The shortfall can be over $300 per week and there is no additional funding to meet this cost. In short-term care you usually provide your own medicines, incontinence products and pay for your own GP.

If you have to consider moving into care permanently, ask for a reassessment from your Needs Assessor. Your Carer Support funding cannot be used to pay for long-term care, even if you have some days left unused.

Contact for further information:

Ministry of Health Help Desk
Private Bag 1942
Dunedin

Phone: 0800 281 222
Fax: 03 474 8584

Who to contact:

If the older person you are caring for has a disability, you can arrange a Needs Assessment by phoning the assessment service, or your GP can refer you.

Northland Needs Assessment
Whangarei (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890
Kaitaia (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890
Dargaville (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890
Bay of Islands (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890
Hokianga (09) 405 7709

North Shore and Rodney
Waitemata NASC (09) 442 7171

Waitakere
Waitemata NASC 09) 442 7171

Auckland
Auckland NASC (09) 631 1234

Counties Manukau
Counties Manukau NASC (09) 276 0040

Glossary

NASC Needs Assessment and Service Coordination
Residential Care Includes rest homes, specialist dementia rest homes and hospitals

Seniorline

Seniorline is an information service for older people and their family / whanau. We can answer questions about rest homes and hospitals, the services that should be provided and supports to help you stay at home. The service is for people living in greater Auckland and Northland.

Phone (09) 375 4395 or 0800 725 463
Fax (09) 638 0358
E-mail seniorline@adhb.govt.nz
Website www.adhb.govt.nz/rcline