Short-term Relief Care

A carer is a person who has looked after someone with a disability at home on a full time basis for six months or more. Do you do this? Do you need time-out?

You may be eligible for Carer Support subsidy. This gives you a break by helping you to pay for someone else to look after the person you usually care for.

The following information focuses on the needs of carers of older people, ie those 65 years and over. 

Systems for younger people work differently. Click here for contacts for assessment services for younger people. 

Content:
	Who can get Carer Support Subsidy?
	How do you get Carer Support Subsidy?
	How it works
	How many Carer Support days do you get?
	How can you use Carer Support?
	Payment
	Who to contact
	Further information
	Glossary

You can get Carer Support Subsidy if you are:

	Looking after someone who is terminally ill, or has an ongoing chronic health condition or an ongoing mental health condition, provided they need 24-hour care/supervision; or
	Looking after someone with a disability who needs 24-hour care at home and you are not being paid to do so.

Generally, you will have been doing this for at least six months.

A person with a disability is "a person who has been identified as having a physical, psychiatric, intellectual, sensory and/or age-related disability which is likely to continue for a minimum of six months and result in a reduction of independent function to the extent that ongoing support is needed." (Ministry of Health Policy Guidelines 1995)

Carer Support Subsidy does not cover:

	Convalescent care
	Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) claimants
	Long-term care
	Purchase of items/services other than relief care – even if related to the person’s disability

Carer Support Subsidy and Respite Care are different:

Respite Care is a formal scheme providing a higher level of relief care than that offered by Carer Support, ie you get more days, and care is usually at hospital level. It is funded at a higher level also.

Clients are very dependent older people living at home with family/whanau, and may receive help from both schemes.

Referral to the Respite service is usually by GP or health professional.

How do you get Carer Support Subsidy?

You access Carer Support Subsidy in different ways – it depends on the needs of the person you care for.

If you are caring for a person who requires 24-hour care because of an ongoing health condition, or a terminal illness, contact your doctor. 

If the person you are caring for has a disability, contact your local Needs Assessment Service, or ask your GP to refer you. 

If the person you are caring for has an ongoing mental health condition, your Community Mental Health Key Worker will assess. 

How it Works:

How many Carer Support days do you get?

	If you are looking after someone who is terminally ill, has an ongoing chronic health condition or has an ongoing mental health condition, the GP or mental health worker can allocate up to 28 days per year.
	If the person you are caring for has a disability, the number of days depends on the assessment - you are not automatically entitled to any specific number of days.

How can you use Carer Support?

You can choose how to spend your subsidy, as long as it goes to someone who will be caring for the person you usually look after.

You can choose when you want to use your allocation of days and how much you want to use at a time. You can use it in hours, half days (up to 8 hours), whole days, or any length of time up to your total allocation.

There are several choices. You might decide to pay for:

	Day Care
	Someone to take over from you at home
	Care in someone else’s home
	Short-term residential care, eg rest home

Cost may be something you need to think about, as you will have to meet any shortfall if the Carer Support Subsidy does not cover the full cost of the care.

Payment

There are two subsidy rates paid by HealthPAC on behalf of local District Health Boards for a 24-hour day, these are  formal and informal.

Formal Rate = $75.56 (GST incl) per 24 hour day

This applies to relief services provided in a formal or commercial setting, eg if the person you care for goes to a rest home, or if a home care agency provides care at home

Informal Rate = $64.50 (GST incl) per 24 hour day 

This applies to relief services provided by friends, neighbours and family members. Family member includes daughter, son, sister, brother or cousin who does not live with the client. 

Usually HealthPAC pay direct to the person or service that provided the care, after the care has been given.

Some agencies that provide Formal care prefer payment in advance. If you choose one of these agencies, you will need to pay them yourself and then claim the money back from HealthPAC. Be sure to obtain a receipt showing payment has been made.

Residential Care in Rest Homes

If you decide on short-term care in a rest home for the person you care for, you will find it is difficult to book in advance. If you wait till closer to the time, there are usually a number of rest homes with vacancies that you can choose from.

For most rest homes there is now a shortfall between Carer Support subsidy and the rest home fee. You will need to fund this shortfall yourself. Usually you provide your own medications, incontinence products and GP.

If you have to consider moving into care permanently, ask for a reassessment from your Needs Assessor. Your Carer Support funding cannot be used to pay for long-term care, even if you have some days left unused.

Who to Contact

If the older person - ie over-65 year old, you are caring for has a disability, you can arrange a needs assessment by phoning Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination (NASC), or your GP can refer you.
 
For carers of younger people with disabilities, ie those under 65 years, contacts for Needs Assessment are as follows: