Volume 9 Edition 11 Financial Care Services Newsletter

Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles

Volume 9 Edition 11 – 30 November 2019

Preparing for the holiday season

The holiday season starts next month. On the one hand we expect to gather the extended family. On the other hand we want to relax on holiday away from the responsibilities of caring for the extended family.

Here are Christine’s ideas for preparing for to balance the needs of the carers, the hosts and the seniors.

Advance booking Respite Care for seniors to enable the carers to take a real holiday break.

If the elders are relying on your almost daily visits then what happens when you need a holiday. Respite care for the frail seniors can provide them with a comfortable place and caring staff while you have a real holiday.

Check the senior’s ACAS to ensure that Respite Care is allowed. Then book ahead for a fortnight of holiday respite for the carer.

Respite care in Commonwealth regulated aged care facilities is charged at the Basic Daily Fee, currently $51.63 per day.
Additional Service fees may be charged for Respite stays in aged care facilities of a markedly superior standard and those that provide additional services. Asking about additional fees at the time of booking respite care could avoid a financial surprise on your return.

Respite stays can also be arranged for private aged persons accommodation, called Supported Residential Service (“SRS”) in Victoria. Each SRS sets its own fee levels and the extent of any personal support offered to residents. Maybe a weekly charge of in the order of $900 for private respite care would unsurprising in Melbourne’s outer suburbs.

Preparing your home for family visits

Before the family come for the holiday season is a good time for looking into cupboards and clearing out excess stuff.

First there is the bathroom

The bathroom cupboard looks so much neater when all of the tubes are together and the little bottles are lined up in a row.
Yes, it looks neater but not everyone reads the labels every time they grab an item from that bathroom cupboard.
Sadly I have met the lady who put whiteout in her eye instead of macular degeneration drops because someone had tidied for her.
Then another lass mistook eucalyptus oil for cough mixture late one night.
We might hope that some people would wash their mouths out but please do not leave the antiseptic cream alongside the toothpaste.

Christine’s suggestions for safe tidying
• Put the toothpaste and mouth ulcer gel on a different shelf from all of the skin creams in regular use.
• Isolate the eye drops for the vision impaired to a place easily accessible only to their owners.
• All of the other tubes, little bottles and occasional use items could go into storage.
• A steel toolbox with a combination lock makes a secure home for occasional use items that could endanger casual users.

Second there is the bedroom

The spare packet of medication in the bedside table just in case you need it during the night. But quite attractive to a little visitor exploring his grandparents’ home.
Please remember just one of grandpa’s tablets might be enough to kill a small child.
All medication should be out of the reach of youngsters.
Medication not in daily use could also live in that locked box.

Then there is the cleaning department

Regular household cleaning fluids are not nutritious.
Many are dangerous even fatal, if swallowed.
Please tidy away your cleaning products into spaces that little hands cannot access.

Finally there are the trip hazards right through the house.

Do you really want to be remembered as the host household where granny fractured her hip? Therefore you could remove or fasten down any mats or worn carpets.

Then you might deal with all of those extension cords and cables on the floor. Tidying away the stuff off your floors has the added bonus of simplifying the cleaning.

Gates to access the stairs could spare your visitors an embarrassing fall.

Once the house is prepared then you can plan the actual family party.

Christine at Financial Care Services your independent adviser

Financial Care Services is an independent advisory service specialising in retirees of modest means and aged care entrants. Our core values include working with clients in claiming DVA and Centrelink entitlements.

The team at Financial Care Services are here to answer your Age Pension questions and guide your understanding of aged care costs. Help with Centrelink challenges is available from Christine Hopper at Financial Care Services, the specialist adviser to seniors in transition to new lifestyles.

Christine charges fees based on the work involved in advising you about pensions and aged care fee solutions.

To make an appointment for confidential, independent and professional advice about aged care, retirement lifestyle costs, granny flat or Age Pension issues please contact Christine Hopper or call +61 3 9808 0338.

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Financial Care Services

Christine Hopper
Financial Care Services Pty Ltd
Independent aged care, strategic lifestyle and Social Security advice for seniors in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Telephone – call +61 3 9808 0338
Email – contact info@financialcareservices.com.au
Address – mail to 172 Warrigal Road, Camberwell Victoria 3124
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Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is of a general nature only and does not constitute “financial advice”.
All eligibility for Commonwealth benefits will be determined by Centrelink or DVA, based on your personal position as documented and the legislation and Regulations in force at that time.