What is personalised home care and why does it make such a difference to your wellbeing?

We spoke with Nyree Thompson, Home Care Coordinator at St Louis Victor Harbor about why personalised care makes such a difference in the health and wellbeing of our clients.

What is personalised care and why is it important in delivering home care?

“At St Louis Home Care in Victor Harbor, we allocate a care coordinator to each of our clients so that they know there is one person in charge looking after their home care plan. The care coordinator gets to know them personally, understanding their needs at home and also staying in close contact so that the care plan can change as they need it to.

Personalised care is care that is tailored around a person’s needs and goals, and without this additional support, often people will not get the maximum benefit of their home care packages.

When we meet with our clients to discuss their home care plan, we ask questions to understand their needs and what they want to use their home package for. We advise them on how to spend the funds and ways of making the most of their home care package.

For example, some of our clients ask for more social support so we find out what sort of social activities they want, whether they prefer one on one or group social activities. Or do they need more help in the garden, the grocery shopping or the cleaning?

Ultimately though, it is always up to the client to decide how they use their home care funds. Sometimes people will say they want to spend their whole package on cleaning and even if we think differently, it is always their choice.”

You have often mentioned the importance of communication, can you elaborate?

“Communication is key to our clients feeling happy and safe at home. We have a local number and offices that are centrally located in Victor Harbor, and the team who run the home care packages is local, so we know the local community well.

A coordinator is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm to discuss your home care package and for emergencies, there is a 24 hour number that will link you to an actual coordinator, not just a customer service voice on the phone fielding calls.

We are a smaller boutique home care provider, we are accessible and when you ring, you are not left waiting for someone to call you. Help is only a phone call away.”

Can you provide an example of where this level of personalised care has made a difference to your clients?

“One of my clients came to St Louis before she had an ACAT assessment and we helped her through the whole process. By doing that, we came to know each other well. She felt safe and comfortable with us, and we knew how she wanted to be supported.

Over time, we worked with the client to have her home care package assigned and when this was done we started delivering the services. A year later she needed respite care after a hospital stay. Because we knew her well, we were able to easily transition her from the hospital back to her home. Eventually she needed to go into permanent residential care. As we knew her history and had a trusted relationship with her already, we were able to help her get comfortable in her new home.

It’s a personal service, in the case of this client we were here to help from home care, to respite care to residential care, with a smooth transition from one stage to the next and our support every step of the way.”

People are always welcome to drop in to our office in Victor Harbor

“We are in partnership with our clients from the start to the end. Our clients know they can call us at any time and we always encourage people to pop into the office, say hello and chat to us about aged care options in Victor Harbor. We offer a cup of a tea and you never know who you might bump into.”

How do you advise people if they already have health practitioners they prefer using?

“If our client is already receiving other health therapies prior to the package and they are happy with them, we would encourage them to stay with their allied health provider and we only take over the management of the service, within the home care package.

The cost of the packages also concern many of our clients, so we spend quite a bit of time with them to make sure they understand their costs, fees, the breakdown and what they all mean.

We are passionate about aged care and making sure the ageing population in our community is supported well. We are in a partnership with our clients helping them stay well at home. So we do everything we can to ensure their packages are meeting their needs.

Call the home care team at St Louis Victor Harbor about personalised care

Call the team at St Louis Victor Harbor on 8552 1481 and have a chat about your home care plans. It takes up to eighteen months to be assigned a package so it is best to start planning sooner than later. You can also drop in to our office at 31 Victoria Street, Victor Harbor for a cuppa and chat!