5 things you may not know you can access with your Home Care Package (HCP)

Feeling unsure about the services available through your Home Care Package (HCP) or confused about what to choose?  

Many Home Care Package recipients aren’t accessing services that could significantly enhance their quality of life simply due to a lack of awareness. 

While you might know that your HCP covers personal care, nursing, and housework, are you aware that you may also be able to access social groups, emergency personal alarms, virtual nursing, meal preparation, meal delivery services, and personalised dietary advice? Or that you may be eligible for one-on-one support from a clinical professional (like an exercise physiologist) to help with concerns like poor balance, pain management, and mobility? 

How Home Care Package funding works – in layman’s terms! 

Before we talk about the services/products you could be accessing, let’s take it back a notch and explain how Home Care Package funding actually works.  

Funded by the Australian Government, Home Care Packages pay for services to help seniors live independently in their own homes for as long as possible e.g. domestic services, personal care services, and nursing to name a few.  

There are four levels of Home Care Packages, each providing a different amount of funding based on the complexity of your care needs.  

Importantly, while the government covers the bulk of the costs, you may need to pay a contribution. This can be in the form of an optional basic daily fee, which is a small percentage of the age pension, and/or the income-tested care fee. For those with higher incomes, the income-tested fee is mandatory. 

This ensures you receive the support you need while maintaining control over your care and financial contributions.  

Click here for more information about Home Care Package funding. 

Let’s unpack the five ways you could be spending your HCP funds! 

Now that we’ve broken down the funding process, let’s get to the exciting stuff! Here are the five amazing products/services offered by Feros Care that you may not know are available through your HCP funding. 

1/  Personal and emergency alarms  

Are you concerned about falling or experiencing a health-related incident when no-one is around to help? Do your goals include having the confidence to live independently and safely? Reassurance is the best medicine and that’s why Feros Care offers a range of personal alarm options. Providing connection to our 24/7 monitoring team, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that help is always available at the touch of a button.   

Some of these personal and emergency alarm solutions include our wearable GPS watches, GPS pendants, our Care@Home In-home Alarm Kit, and our Care@Home Advanced Fall Detector Pendants.

These user-friendly products are part of our Goods, Equipment, and Assistive and Technology range, helping clients maintain independence at home, increase safety and peace of mind, and make everyday tasks easier and safer.

Click Here to learn more about personal and emergency alarms, and other user friendly products designed to make your life easier and more comfortable.

2/  Social Groups

Want to enjoy a great day out, meet new friends, and explore your local community? Find your fun and turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one, with a Feros Care Social Group!

We make it easy for people of all ages to experience a day of fun, discovery, and connection, accompanied by a qualified Community Support Worker. Whether you’d like to expand your social circle, learn a new skill, or just break up the day-to-day, there’s a variety of options for different tastes and accessibility needs.

Think cultural events, local attractions, meals at beautiful locations, shopping trips, community events, and fun activities to name a few. There is so much to discover and we’re here to help you explore it all.

Click here to check out what’s happening near you.

3/  Virtual Nursing

Our Virtual Nursing service allows you to contact qualified registered nurses without leaving your home, making health and wellbeing management easier and more convenient than ever.

Virtual nursing allows you to seek medical advice from registered nurses who work in aged care and are familiar with the conditions commonly affecting your age group. They can give you a better understanding of your health and how you can best look after yourself, and reduce the frequency of GP visits, saving you time, hassle, and money.

They also offer support with your health and measuring devices and if you use an app to keep track of your health data, this can be shared with us, your GP, and any relevant specialists.

Click here to find out more about how Virtual Nursing helps seniors stay on top of their health.

4/  Exercise Physiology (and other Allied Health Services)

You might have noticed that as the years pass, you’re finding it a little harder to get around and that your balance and coordination are not quite what they used to be. Or perhaps you’re falling over more often, experiencing pain, or have a chronic condition that impacts your physical health, cognitive function, and/or mental wellbeing?

That’s where exercise physiology may help. With a personalised plan tailored to your abilities, fitness, and what you enjoy doing, it incorporates balance exercises, strength training, functional exercises, and compassionate support.

It can be a great way to help maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints, improve cardiovascular health, enhance balance and flexibility, and support brain function.

Click here to read about Feros Care client Anne who was feeling unsteady on her feet and decided to try exercise physiology with our much-loved clinician, Danielle.

5/  Meal preparation, nutrition advice, and meal delivery services

We offer a variety of services to support healthy eating and help simplify your life.

Meal preparation

Our Community Support Workers can work with you to develop menus based on your dietary requirements and personal preferences, plan shopping lists, and either cook or help cook the meals.

Feros Care Wellbeing Manager, Nicola, explains that it’s very enabling for clients, who can be involved as little or as much as they like (or are physically able).

“There was one client who wanted to learn how to cook some Asian dishes himself. After a few sessions with a Community Support Worker, he can do it independently now.”

Nicola continues, “Clients also enjoy having assistance to cook their own recipes. I say ‘you’re the chef and we provide the sous chef,” she laughs.

Fellow Feros Care Wellbeing Manager, Michelle, points out that it’s not just about making clients’ lives easier, but also provides an opportunity to connect with others.

“The social element is very important to a lot of people. They really enjoy the interaction which is so important for overall wellbeing.”

Meal delivery services

Home Care Package clients can use their funds for heavily subsidised meal delivery services, with the likes of Lite n’ Easy covering 70% of order costs!

Personalised nutrition advice from a dietitian

If you’d like to learn more about good nutrition, meal planning, and the foods you should be eating for a particular health issue/s, Home Care Package clients can seek advice from a professional dietician.

Whether you have a condition like diabetes, need to lose or gain weight, or would simply like to eat a more balanced diet, our expert dieticians offer personalised guidance to suit your specific health needs.

For more information on the services highlighted or how to make the most of your Home Care Package funding, click here or phone us on 1300 418 418.