Housework help for the elderly will be cut, saving about $4
million a year, the Otago and Southland district health
boards confirmed yesterday.
The boards say they will no longer pay for housework help for
those requiring only that service, except in exceptional
circumstances.
Starting next week, those receiving one and a-half hours'
help or less will be told they no longer qualify.
In the next two to three months, 1500 people in Otago and 500
Southlanders will receive letters telling them the service is
to be discontinued.
Those getting more will be reassessed, probably by telephone,
with a view to terminating their help.
Regional planning and funding general manager David Chrisp
yesterday defended assessing elderly people by phone call.
Research showed it was a reasonable way of assessing people,
he said.
GPs would be involved in the reassessment process, with the
board likely to meet them face-to-face to discuss their
patients.
Seeing GPs was a more efficient use of staff time than going
to individual houses to assess the elderly, he said.
However, face-to-face assessments with some elderly would
still be carried out if considered necessary.
Mr Chrisp did not accept that even one or two hours'
housework might be all that stood between an elderly person
staying at home and entering a rest-home.
Factors that "tipped" a person into a rest-home were always
more complex than a couple of hours' housework, usually
involving personal care.
Housework help had been targeted as a relatively low-risk
service to make much-needed savings.
The boards could no longer afford to provide a house-cleaning
service, he said.
The boards would not take a "one-size fits all" approach, and
were willing to make exceptions in special circumstances.
Staff were told the new criteria last week.
No-one was "thrilled" to cut services, he said.
He indicated further cuts to services for those receiving
both personal care and domestic assistance were on the
agenda.
Because Southland started reducing housework help six months
ago, the amount some elderly received had already been
reduced to one hour.
That would be cut completely.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.