Home Care Support in Melbourne: The Rising Need for Compassionate Workers

Home Care Support is gradually becoming an indispensable part of Melbourne's healthcare system and that of Australia at large. With a significant increase in the number of persons over 65 years, and with more seniors feeling reluctant about going into retirement homes, the relevance has become insurmountable.

It is pertinent to note that not just support workers are needed, but compassionate ones who would relate to the needs of the care receiver and provide effective personalised care. To achieve this, a lot of factors will be considered, but first, let us look at why the demand for compassionate workers has increased in Melbourne over the years.

Understanding the Growing Need For Compassionate Home Care Support In Melbourne

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that there will be a significant increase in the number of Melbourne residents aged 65 and above over the next 10 years. This goes to show that there is a great need to foster home care support services in the city to accommodate the growing population of seniors.

Reports show that there is an expected increase in the demand for informal care to grow by 23% by 2030, while the number of informal carers grows only 16%. This can be explained in two ways. One is that while more people grow old, fewer people are interested in becoming caregivers. On the other hand, with more people growing old, the population of younger people who would be willing to become caregivers is decreasing.

Not only should home care support be encouraged, but the need for compassionate workers should be a priority as well. With a proper understanding of the needs of these seniors, support workers can do a better job in providing adequate care and support, hence encouraging more people to key into the system.

As such, there is a call for more home care workers. But not just any worker but ones who not only assist with physical tasks but also provide much-needed emotional and psychological support to care receivers. With a focus on compassionate workers, Melbourne's older population will be able to experience a good life without having to depend on their families or going into retirement homes.

What are the Benefits of Home Care Support?

Home Care Support has many benefits to seniors. It is also beneficial to the family of the seniors and the community as a whole. To start with, here are the benefits of home care support to seniors.

The Comfort of Being at Home

For most aged people, there is nothing more comforting than being in a familiar environment. That is why many seniors refuse to leave their homes for retirement homes. They feel safer, more comfortable and more in touch with their inner self at home.

This is why home care support is a go-to option for many families. The support worker, whether a walk-in or an in-home caregiver, ensures that these seniors enjoy the comfort and peace of their home while receiving appropriate care.

Assistance with Daily Life Activities

Home Care Support takes care of  activities that otherwise would be difficult for the care receivers to perform effectively on their own. Some of these activities include

• Cooking
• Cleaning
• Gardening
• Pet care
• Washing
• Personal hygiene like brushing, bathing and grooming.

It also spans beyond household chores to include any other activities that the care receiver is supposed to partake in. This may include attending support group gatherings, going to the hospital or visiting loved ones. This is the holistic nature of home care services.

Preserved Independence and Dignity

A lot of seniors prefer living in their homes to moving into retirement homes. The reason is simple. They enjoy more independence and dignity at home. They want to be in control of their life and live in the same home they have been all their life. Only home care support can make this possible.

Healthier Living

A lot of times, seniors suffer from illnesses that are more psychologically challenging. This is to say that if the mental state of a senior is kept stable and in good condition, they have a high chance of enjoying a healthier living.

Home care support helps seniors achieve a healthier living by providing personalised care that meets the emotional and psychological needs of the care receiver. They have conversations that reveal struggles, show empathy and coordinate activities to boost mental health.

Having the family around

Grandparents would do anything to have their grandkids come around and spend time with them. Living in their homes helps them to enjoy this privilege. Not only grandkids but children and loved ones can come in anytime to spend time with them.

This is a lifelong wish of many seniors, and they would do anything to enjoy that freedom. Home care avails them this opportunity and more. And so there is no doubt about why they would choose home care over retirement homes.

Improved Quality of Living

The goal of home care support is to provide seniors and disabled persons with an improved quality of life. One in which being old or disabled does not limit their lifestyle. Home Care ensures that care receivers are living better than they would expect to take care of themselves.

Similarly, home care support is beneficial to the families of aged persons in many ways. Some of the benefits include:

Reduced burden

As much as families have the responsibility of taking care of their aged ones, it is not so easy. When combined with the carer's career, it could be overwhelming. But with home care support, family members can have time to focus on their lives while still maintaining good relationships with their older ones.

Closer relationship

As opposed to retirement homes, home care support allows families to be close to their aged ones. This helps build a happier relationship as well as reduce the stress of visiting the retirement home often.

Emotional clarity

Families feel better when they have their old ones at home instead of retirement homes. They feel more at peace having them around. That way, they don't feel like they have abandoned them.

Reduced cost

Although prices may vary from place to place, the cost of home care support is relatively lower than that of retirement homes. By providing home care services to aged loved ones, families can cut down on expenses while enjoying the many benefits of the program.

Why do you need Compassionate Support Workers?

The Oxford dictionary defines compassion as a state of feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others. And that is exactly what home care support is all about. It is about understanding the needs of seniors and disabled persons and stepping in to solve those needs.

The huge difference a compassionate home care worker makes in the life of a senior or disabled person cannot be overemphasised. Take, for example, the case of Mr Nick, a civil servant in Carlton who was confronting his aged father, Mr Elvis, for sending away the support worker he had and hiring a new one.

According to Mr Nick, he didn't see any need for him to disengage the services of the support worker. He stated that both workers were almost the same when it came to carrying out their duties. But one thing he didn't realise was his father's assessment of the two.

In Mr Elvis' words, “Tony was good. He did his job with utmost energy and diligence. But one problem he had was a lack of compassion. He didn't understand why I needed what I needed and when I needed it. He was more concerned about making sure I didn't complain about his job”

“Mark, on the other hand, understands me better and does all he can to ensure I am okay at all times. That is what I want. To be understood and supported, not pampered”

That is to say that compassion is the bedrock of home care support. It bridges the gap between the care receiver and the caregiver, allowing a better understanding and improved care. Without compassion, the caregiver only provides outside care without any for the inner being, which in most cases is the most important.

With the increasing number of old people in Melbourne and a consequent increase in demand for home care workers, it is important to seek more compassionate workers. But how easy is it to find a compassionate worker among the home care workers pool? Not so easy, I would say.

Challenges in Finding Compassionate Home Care Workers in Melbourne

Finding a good and compassionate home care worker may not be as easy as it looks. It would require critical screening and possibly probation to pick the best. Here are a few factors affecting the hiring of compassionate home care workers

• Cultural Diversity:
  Melbourne is a culturally diverse city. This may be a problem for home care support workers who come from a different cultural background than the care receiver. Without a proper understanding of some of the senior's needs, the caregiver cannot provide compassionate care.
  Take, for example, a home care worker who is religious may find it hard to relate effectively with a senior with no religious inclinations. With about 38.9 percent of the total Australian population being non-religious, the chances of such scenarios occurring are high.
• Low Remuneration:
  A good payment is a powerful incentive for a caregiving job. With the physical and emotional stress involved, one would be more willing to perform one's tasks more diligently if they were paid better. A well-paid home care worker has a higher tendency to be compassionate about their job.
• Lack of respect from the care receiver
  Respect is reciprocal. If a home care worker feels disrespected either by the care receiver or the care receiver's family, they will be less likely to provide compassionate care. Seniors who throw racial slurs are less likely to be treated with care and empathy by workers.
• Lack of proper communication
  The home care worker should understand what the senior requires so as to attend to them. But this can be hard if there is a language barrier. That is why hiring from within would be the most suitable option in a multicultural community like Melbourne.
• Shortages of skilled and care workers
  Even though the demand for in-home caregivers is on the rise, a shortage of available well-trained staff continues to persist. The absence of training would consequently reflect in the services they would provide their care receivers. A poorly trained caregiver will lack the emotional intelligence needed to take care of seniors and disabled persons.
• Burnout
  There may be too much to do that the home worker forgets the psychological nature of his/her work and loses part of their compassionate side. Home care workers ought to get adequate rest and medical checks to be healthy and in touch with their feelings to perform better.

The Future of Home Care in Melbourne

What would be the future of home care services in Melbourne? Let us look at the possible developments

• Technological advancements: It is expected that home care services will improve with the introduction of technological tools. This will make the job easier, allowing the workers to focus more on the pressing needs of the care receiver.
• Expanding roles of support workers: Home Care Support is not receiving the attention it deserves at the moment. Perhaps in time to come, it will be incorporated into the healthcare system, and support workers will receive the accolades they truly deserve.
• Increased Home Care cost: Already, there is a rise in the cost of home care support services. It will get even higher in the coming years with fewer people available to work. Unless families step up to care for their loved ones, the increase is inevitable.

Conclusion

With a growing population of seniors, Melbourne would be requiring more dedicated workers who can perform their duties with due diligence. The benefits of having compassionate workers cannot be overemphasized. It is our hope that more attention will be given to home care support to improve the quality of services provided, as well as reward the effort of the workers.