The following information is for people who receive care which is funded by the NDIS or Home Care Package (HCP). At Risk Managed we refer to care receivers as participants or clients.
Not you?
Information for Care ProvidersPart of the funding you receive is to provide a support worker who will help you with personal care tasks. We refer these care tasks as your Personal Care Routine and may include:
- getting out of bed
- going to the toilet
- having a shower
- getting dressed
In the two decades we’ve worked with clients we’ve seen three common problems with the care provided.
Care can be inefficient, unsafe and lack in quality
We consider care to be inefficient when there are
- Too many unnecessary transfers which makes care uncomfortable
- Two support workers to deliver care, when you think it could be safely done with one. This means all your funding is spent on care unnecessarily, with little left to focus on your goals.
We consider care to be unsafe when there are:
- you are at risk of pressure injuries or falls due to the support worker’s lack of training
- your support workers are at risk of injury – and without knowing it you may have failed in your duties under the relevant Work Health and Safety Act to keep your worker safe
We consider care to be lacking in quality when there are:
- you are uncomfortable
- you lack dignity
- you feel your needs are not taken into consideration
As a result, people with disabilities could find they are not getting the best out of their care resources.
At Risk Managed we want these problems to be a thing of the past. Every client deserves a Personal Care Routine that is safe, efficient in the way it uses their resources and a quality experience for them. This is why we developed the SmartCare™ Occupational Therapy Assessment where we focus specifically on the way your personal care is completed. Through the assessment and following advice, we’ll work to maximise your funding whilst minimising the risk to enable you focus your resources on the goals that matter to you.
With our SmartCare™ Occupational Therapy Assessment we’ll:
Understand the goals that are most important to you
Come to your home to see your personal care routine, even if starts at 6am.
Work with you to:
⦁ maximise your funding
⦁ keep you and your support workers safe
⦁ make sure you receive a quality routine
Work with you to trial changes in your routine, including equipment
Help you apply to the NDIS, or through your HCP, for any extra equipment needed.
Provide a SmartCare™ Passport. This will show support workers how to deliver your Personal Care Routine and improves efficiency, safety and quality.
This gives you choice and control over your personal care routine
SmartCare™ Assessments are known as:
- Functional Capacity Assessments under the NDIS
- Occupational Therapy Assessments under an HCP.
What are the outcomes?
You’ll have more comfort and confidence with the care provided.
Together we will:
Maximise funding by improving efficiency
No unnecessary transfers will happen during your Personal Care Routine
The correct number of support workers are assigned to safely carry out your routine.
Improve Safety
You’ll be able to show any in-home care provider that your routine is safe for both you and your support worker. This will also help to improve consistency with your Personal Care Routine.
Improve Quality
Your Personal Care Routine will consider your goals, needs and preferences.
Want to book a SmartCare™ assessment with our occupational therapists?
How has SmartCare™ helped others?
In 2020 we helped many clients set up SmartCare™ Personal Care Routines in their homes.
Here are some case studies to show how SmartCare™ has improved the lives of our clients…
One device; three solutions
We worked with a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. His parents were lifting him into bed and were at risk of hurting themselves. We helped the family secure an overhead hoist system in the home to assist with moving out of bed. This same system was used to help him achieve his goal of supported walking and strengthening on this treadmill as well as safely doing stretches in bed. One device, three solutions
More choice and control
We worked with a 25-year-old lady with cerebral palsy. She had two workers to assist with personal care limiting the amount of times she could go out as it was too expensive. We were able to reduce the amount of transfers per personal care routine by 2 and positioning movements by 6. This resulted in the client only needing one worker to offer services safely.
Keeping care to one worker
We worked with a client with Multiple Sclerosis where the care worker found rolling difficult and she felt she would need two workers to now offer care. This was going to make her care costs double overnight. We were able to introduce a rolling device to the routine making rolling manageable for one worker.
Making care more comfortable
We worked with a client with intellectual disability who was unable to assist with personal care. He was finding personal care routines, that needed to be done, really uncomfortable. We worked with his staff to reduce the amount of rolling his in routine by over 60% meaning he was more comfortable in routines he needed to do.
More choice and control
We worked with a client receiving personal care services from two different agencies in the home and constantly had agency staff assisting. She continuously had to explain her routine to staff.
We provided her with a SmartCare passport explaining her care simply to everyone in the way she wanted it completed. She was able to use this document to make sure everyone was on the same page.
Enabling abilities
We worked with a client with a spinal injury who wanted to continue to work on his farm by could not safely get onto his tractor. We helped him secure an overhead hoist system in his shed to allow him to self-transfer from his wheelchair onto the tractor