What Home Care In Thornlands Involves
Thornlands is situated between suburbia and the bay, and what attracts people to this area is the same thing that makes ageing here take some planning: space, quiet, a reasonable block.
Space is the point, and space is the problem
Thornlands is a large block suburb. Some have proper acreage; plenty of them have an extensive front lawn, gardens, long driveways and a shed at the back calling out for time and attention. It is what brought people here, and it is what many of the residents we support chose three or four decades ago.
The challenge comes gradually. A yard that took a comfortable Saturday morning at fifty-five takes three days at seventy-eight before it's no longer possible. Gutters go unclear. The mower is too heavy to start. Fruit trees are left unharvested. The loss is slow and outdoors, so a family visiting occasionally may only notice it once the place appears neglected.
There are two pieces of information to note. First, all of the work around the garden and yard is a fundable service under Support at Home, in the everyday living category, and attracts a potentially higher contribution, but it is a real service and not an indulgence. Second, on a large block it is often the service that keeps people at home the longest, as an unmanageable yard is one of the more prevalent reasons why people decide to move into a residential aged care facility.
The distances within the premises also count. On acreage, the distance between the house and the letterbox or bins is a true test for an unsteady person, and it is a fall hazard, particularly because no one considers the task dangerous.
Bayside, and further out than it feels
Although Thornlands isn't too far from the Brisbane CBD, it is certainly not close, and that changes the way support has to be arranged.
It takes a long time for a worker travelling out from inner Brisbane to do it, so they're always late, they have to pay for the trip, and eventually they simply stop taking the shift. It is the number one reason Redlands families end up cycling through support workers. So we don't go looking for people who live elsewhere in the city; instead, we look for people who live in the Redlands, Thornlands, Cleveland, Victoria Point, Capalaba, Wellington Point, Alexandra Hills.
Outside the Cleveland train line corridor there is limited public transport in the Redlands. Isolation sets in quickly after someone has ceased driving in Thornlands, and transport support becomes one of the most valuable services within a plan, not a convenience.
Health services and the Redlands network
Most needs of Thornlands residents are met by Redland Hospital at Cleveland, with the PA and QEII reachable for specialist work and Mater Private nearby at Redland.
If someone is being discharged from Redland Hospital, call before they come home rather than after. People find themselves back in hospital within 2 weeks if they return to a large block with steps and space between the rooms and nothing organised. Any support that is organised during the admission period works much better.
Not to mention, an occupational therapy home assessment is free of charge under Support at Home, regardless of income, and on a Thornlands property it usually finds more than the family expected, the bathroom that lacks a rail, the path to the shed that has no lighting, and the step down to the laundry. The recommendations are for equipment and modifications, and do not require the allocation of support hours.
The bay islands
Worth a particular mention because it does come up. Coochiemudlo, Macleay, Russell, Lamb and Karragarra islands are all accessed from Redland Bay or Victoria Point, and there are numerous older residents on the islands on a permanent basis.
Home care there is possible but has to be arranged around ferry timetables, and it almost always means finding a worker who already lives on the island rather than one travelling across. It requires longer lead time and fewer options are available. If you are on one of the islands, or a family member is, please give us a call and we will give you an honest answer as to what is viable and what isn't, and not offer you something we can't sustain week to week.
This is true to a lesser extent for Mount Cotton, Sheldon and the more rural areas around Thornlands, the further away from the Cleveland corridor, the more important it is that a worker genuinely lives close by.
