The past year of 2019/2020 has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 virus. We are no different to the rest of the business environment and had to shut down our entire program from March 20th, unable to resume until late July 2020. This shutdown has reduced our output hours by one third for the year. Fortunately the Department of Health is allowing for the fact that providers are impacted strongly by the virus and are not penalising them where their figures are down on expectations.

The effect of the virus on the resumption of services in late July will impact next year’s results due to a much reduced service to fit the social distancing protocols with the additional care required due to the age cohort we service.

Additionally My Aged Care referrals (were stopped completely for most of our shutdown) and are in the main unable to be used as most of them are high care clients who need trained nursing and our volunteers are not trained in those areas. Due to the high number of people nationally waiting on packages (still 110,000 in March) many are being referred to the lower levels to give them some assistance whilst waiting. This results in us losing THOSE referrals quicker due to their high care needs. The loss of clients from our group outings has a very big impact on our overall client hours, and, this year we have lost both clients and volunteers due to COVID-19. Some volunteers have not returned citing COVID-19 fears, and some home visiting clients whose volunteers did not return have decided to not resume services with a different volunteer.

Additionally in the past 12 months we lost clients due to passing and health reasons. It is always with sadness when this happens and our volunteer team feels the impact. They continue to work towards ensuring we meet the new standards of quality care and now COVID-19 protocols.

Data Exchange

This area of the My Aged Care system has continued to evolve from DEX side of things. There have been new requirements to access the system requiring a change from the dated Auskey system to using a new MYGOV ID phone app. Although there were teething issues with the app, overall it is a smoother system to use.

The Program

The program continues to service the cohorts of Friendly home visiting, Wednesday Men’s Group Outings and Friday Ladies group Outings. The two outing groups use the bulk of our resources and time but they are programs much needed in the community. The Department of Health Audits (which we will be due from anytime from end of October) are very heavily focused on their mandatory new Aged Care Quality Standards. Their focus is now more on consumer outcomes and dignity and choice. Whilst we have always promoted these values it has become more in depth. There are 8 standards to be met. The main one that applies to us is standard 1 covering ‘Consumer Dignity and Choice”, (Itself having 7 standards to be met.) There are others that do affect us but as we are not a nursing home many do not.

Additionally the Craft Group is under my umbrella although it is now overseen by team leader Penny Kearse. The craft group has been adversely affected by the NALHN policies of who are able to access the hospital under the COVID-19 situation. As such at this time is not meeting inside the hospital on Fridays until further notice. They are keen to return as soon as they are able.

Friendly Visiting

At the end of June this program currently has 6 clients being visited, with one being lost due to illness. We are slowly rebuilding this cohort, which has been difficult as many of the referrals coming through My Aged Care continue to be not suitable being in the too high care category, or in areas we are not funded to have clients. Overall our clients are very happy with the volunteers that visit them. Once again we will need to ensure clients are encouraged to do for themselves as much as they are able to meet the quality standards. We are currently exploring options for referrals within the NALHN structure in the GEM and REHAB wards. They are very interested in our program and we are waiting for a date to do a presentation to them. This will be a welcome, particular for our home visiting program.

Wednesday Men’s Group

Overall we operate around 45 weeks of the year. There is a four week break over the Christmas New Year period and there are usually two or three weeks where the summer temperatures mean we need to cancel the outings due to our Heat Policy. As previously mentioned this and the Ladies groups have been severely affected by COVID-19.

As usual there have been a wide variety of venues the group have visited.

We have not been able to maintain the men’s group numbers at 16 this year due to the loss of some, and the previously mentioned difficulties in finding new clients. All avenues such as advertising, community presence, personal references etc. are being pursued to change this and rebuild our program. The men enjoy it when a new person comes on board and quickly welcome them to the program.

Friday Ladies Group

This fun group has seen the numbers during the past year stabilise. As mentioned they have also been reduced by COVID-19. Replacing them is a challenge as referrals are very slow and often unsuitable due to their high care needs. The ladies’ enjoyment of the outings has not diminished and we have some new volunteers led ably by team leader Cindy Shinakis adding new energy to the group.

The Craft Group:

This group whilst it was operating early in the year continued its quality and productivity. Team Leader Penny has maintained the quality and variety of cards, gift tags etc. and has expanded the range of activities. . Most of the board and materials used by the group comes from generous donors and or we receive very good discounts on any purchases. The group continues to average around $310 per month profit. The cards are sold through our retail outlets. Some of the team continue to make these from home and donate them to the association. They remain dedicated and await the time they are able to come together again as a group.

NRC assists people from all culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

Here is a snapshot: Total 29 clients

Quality

Continuous and new training of volunteers around our approach to our clients. This will fit in with the Dept. of Health focus on Aged Care and Quality Standards.
Communication with, and re-education of the clients (particularly the outings groups) will be increased around the renewed focus on keeping them independent for as long as possible. New Charter of Aged Care Rights has been given to and signed by all clients
Continued presentations in the community will drive home the value of using a local well tried and successful program.
Strengthen the continuous improvement process by the changes developed to assist in better, quicker reporting of statistics to the governing body.
Improved conditions for our clients (e.g. a new fold down step for one of the buses) ensure better satisfaction, greater safety and positive comments.

Training

Training has been given every second month and will continue this way.
Workshops have included Mandatory training, Keeping Connected, Dementia, (Including problem solving with behavioural issues), Aged Care Quality Standards, and training in Advocacy.
In the latter part of the financial year we were joined by several team members from Modbury who gave positive feed - back on the value of the training.

Benefits of Northern Respite Care

Focusing on wellness & re-ablement, the care recipients can be treated as an ‘ordinary person’ and assisted to lead enriching lives and maintain their independence for longer.
Respite can relieve a person’s isolation and the carer’s anxiety about leaving their loved one alone.
Everyone benefits from this program including the volunteers who feel they make a valuable contribution to the welfare of others and get to benefit from the experience and wisdom of our older citizens.

Future plans & initiatives

Network with other providers to identify people in need
Continue to assist carers in the community
Target our advertising more specifically.
Work with My Aged Care and data exchange to fulfill funding body requirements
Continue to promote the program through various organisations and community groups
Overall Actual client hours were down. As mentioned above there were increased hot weather cancellations which hurt our hours badly. January for example saw no ladies outings and this was exacerbated in February as quite a few of these days fell on the Friday. Although the number of referrals from the “My Aged Care” websites have improved in the latter half of the financial year, we were unable to process many of them due their unsuitability to our service for varying reasons. As well we are no longer able to claim any hours used interviewing potential clients and to arrange their meeting of the volunteer. This part of the process is now not considered to be offering a service until they actually start with us.

Our client numbers will need building up to 44 to create a small waiting list to allow for natural attrition. We have openings with the ladies now, and can utilize two buses instead of one.

SUMMARY

Overall, for the year, the program used 14 volunteers. The program requirements continue to evolve and present new challenges. The volunteer team is dedicated and training is continuous throughout the year to enhance their knowledge and skill base. Client feedback is positive, and some of our new clients have been direct referrals from our current base of clients. The future is challenging but positive.

As you would be aware by the time you read this my time with the association will have finished. I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful support throughout my time in the role of manager. I have been blessed to work with so many inspiring volunteers and to meet so many wonderful clients.

I leave knowing the program is in excellent hands with the new manager Michelle Turner. Michelle’s vast Aged Care background, her caring nature and natural ability to engage people, with her already demonstrated networking ensure the program can move forward.

Welcome Michelle and goodbye from me.

Peter Hall

Next: Fundraising

Previous: Club 84