Carer Support Subsidy

8/14/2019 Carer Support Subsidy

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CARER SUPPORT

SUBSIDY

A carer is a person who looks after someonewith a disability at home on a full time basis.

Do you do this? Do you need time-out?

You may be eligible for Carer supportsubsidy. This gives you a break by helpingto pay for someone else to look after the

person you usually care for.This booklet focuses on the needs of

carers of older people, those 65 years+


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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 theyneed 24-hour care / supervision, or,

Looking after someone with a disability at home who needs24-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 ashaving a physical, psychiatric, intellectual, sensory and/or age-related disability which is likely to continue for a minimum of sixmonths and result in a reduction of independent function to theextent that ongoing support is needed." (Ministry of Health Policy

Guidelines 1995)

This pamphlet focuses on the needs of carers of older people, iethose over the age of 65 years. Systems for younger people workdifferently. There are contacts for assessment services for

younger people listed in the back of the pamphlet.

Carer Support Subsidy does not cover:

Long-term care

Convalescent care

ACC claimants

Purchase of items or services other than relief care, even ifrelated to the person's disability

Carer Support and Respite Care are different :Respite Care is a formal scheme providing a higher level of relief

care than Carer Support, ie you get more days, and care is oftenat hospital level. It is funded at a higher level also.

Clients are very dependent older people living at home withfamily / whanau, and can receive help from both schemes.


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How do you get Carer Support Subsidy?

You access Carer Support Subsidy in different ways dependingon the needs pf the person you care for.

If you are caring for a person who requires 24-hour carebecause of an ongoing health condition or terminal illness,contact your doctor.

If the person you are caring for has a disability, contactyour 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 mentalhealth condition, your Community Mental Health KeyWorker will assess.

How it works:

1. You telephone the appropriate assessor see above.

2. You and your family/whanau have a Needs Assessment.

3. You are given a number of days per year, starting from theday of assessment, when you can have a break.

4. You can now plan your 'time out'.

5. The assessor sends your information to Ministry of Health.

6. Ministry of Health sends you a letter explaining howpayment is made. Terms they use are 'full time carer.'that's you, and the person who provides short-term care isthe 'support carer'.

7. If you lose your Carer Support form, phone Ministry ofHealth 0800 281 222 for a replacement. They can also tellyou how many days you have left.

8. If you feel you need more Carer Support days during theyear, ask for another assessment.


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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 ongoingmental health problem, the GP or mental health workercan allocate up to 28 days per year.

If the person you care for has a disability, the number ofdays depends on the assessment - you are not automati-

cally entitled to any specific number of days.

How can you use Carer Support?

You can choose how to spend your subsidy, as long as it goesto someone who cares for the person you usually look after.

You can choose when you want to use your Carer Supportdays and how much you want to use at a time. You can use itin half days (up to 8 hours), whole days or any length of timeup to your total allocation.

There are several choices. You might decide to pay for: Day Care

Someone to take over from you at home

Care in someone else's home

Short-term residential care, eg rest home

Cost is something you may need to think about; you will haveto meet any shortfall between Carer Support subsidy and thefull cost of care.


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Payment Who is paid and how much?

There are two subsidy rates paid by Ministry of Health for a

24-hour day - formal and informal.

Formal Rate = $75.56 (GST incl) per 24 hour day.This applies to relief services provided on a formal orcommercial basis, eg if the person you care for goes to a

rest home or if a homecare agency provides care at home.In formal Rate = $64.50 (GST incl) per 24 hour day.This applies to relief services provided by friends,neighbours and family members. Family member includesdaughter, son, sister, brother or cousin who does not live

with the client.

Usually Ministry of Health pay direct to the person or servicethat provided care, after care has been given.

Some agencies providing formal care prefer payment inadvance. If you choose one of these agencies, you will needto pay them yourself and then claim the money back fromMinistry of Health.

Residential Care in Rest Homes

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

There is now a large gap between Carer Support rate and theDistrict Health Board contract rate. The shortfall can be over$300 per week and there is no additional funding to meet thiscost. In short-term care you usually provide your own

di i i i d d f GP


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Who to contact:

If the older person you are caring for has a disability, you can

arrange a Needs Assessment by phoning the assessmentService, or your GP can refer you.

Northland Needs AssessmentWhangarei .............................. (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890Kaitaia .................................... (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890Dargaville ............................... (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890Bay of Islands ....................... (09) 430 4131 or 0800 888 890Hokianga ................................. (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

For carers of younger people with disabilities, ie those under 65years, contacts for Needs assessment are as follows:

NorthlandNorthAbleNorthland Disabilities Resource Centre .............. (09) 430 0988

Greater Auckland


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ContAct for furiher infOrmation:

Ministry of Health Help Desk

Private Bag 1942

Dunedin

Phone: 0800 281 222

Fax: 03 474 8584

Glossary

NASC ........................ Needs Assessment and ServiceCoordination

Residential Care ....... Includes rest homes, specialistdementia rest homes and hospitals

Seniorline

We are an information service for older people and theirfamily / whanau. We can answer questions about resthomes and hospitals, the services that should be providedand supports to help you stay at home. The service is forpeople living in greater Auckland and Northland.

Phone .................... 375 4395 or 0800 725 463

Fax ...................................................... 638 0358

E-mail ....................... seniorlineOadhb.govt.nz

Website .................... www.adhb.govt.nz/rcline

Documents

Carer Support Subsidy