A good care plan begins with a range of comprehensive assessments to help build a picture of each individual participant, followed by matching suitable services and supports to meet those assessed needs.
Your assessments, goals, care plan and quarterly budget are all inter-connected, and they guide the way your funds are allocated across each quarter.
Here are the Top 10 things you most need to know about Support at Home care plans:
- As your provider, we must work in partnership with you to develop and agree on your care plan goals and actions.
- We must provide you with a copy of your care plan before or on the day your first care service starts.
- Your SAS assessment and our care assessments are the joint foundations for your care plan development. It doesn't matter how long ago your SAS assessment occurred - those issues you discussed with the assessor are the reason you were approved for the funding level you have today.
- Your goals, needs and preferences should be reflected in your care plan, and because everyone is different, it must be individually tailored to your specific needs.
- Your care plan must be reviewed and updated at least once every 12 months or as your needs change, for example, if you have been in the hospital, experienced a deterioration in health, or if other circumstances have changed for you.
- Your funding level and quarterly budget is matched to your care needs and is meant to be fully utilised to meet those assessed needs.
- Your care plan should include your goals, and the actions and services in place to help you meet those goals.
- It should include all the informal care and supports you receive to help you meet your goals including the help your family, friends and others provide to you, even if your quarterly budget funding doesn’t pay directly for them.
- Relevant parts of your care plan should be shared with people who will be helping you to meet your goals, such as support workers, nurses etc.
- It should be a flexible document that changes and updates when new supports and services are recommended for you. All your quarterly budget spending needs to be aligned with your care plan.
You can help to keep your care plan up-to-date by ensuring your support workers and care partner are aware of any changes, and by participating in the necessary reviews and updates when new services and supports are recommended or required.
Also read: What is the Support at Home program?
Please contact your Care Partner for a chat about your care plan goals and to make sure your quarterly budget is being fully utilised to meet your assessed care needs. Call 1300 160 170 (and press 2) to get in touch.