At the moment it is a mix of old style Australian frozen meals heated in the oven, quite healthy microwave meals bought at a speciality place, the cooking of Phyllis and an occasional meal out along with a takeaway meal maybe once a fortnight.
However, as a person of certain age, I am entitled to Aged Care help. I have requested a cleaner for my bathroom, a hand rail to be installed in my shower and meals three times a week. I don't have an aged care package, specifying a dollar amount of help I will receive to reasonably spend on what I need, but the precursor to that, just some minor home help judged by ability to manage to live in my home.
The meals are interesting. This was once called Meals on Wheels, with the food cooked and delivered by volunteers at no cost, overseen by the local council. This had generally everywhere been overtaken by aged care, with food mass produced and delivered by professionals and you have to pay.
In my case, I've chosen to have three meals a week delivered. The cost for each is around $10, but it is for three courses, soup, a main meal and desert. I think it starts next week and it will be interesting to see what the food is like. I had make choices about the food on the hop over the phone, but I will get a paper sheet to mark my next choices.
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You don't like to cook? Or don't know how?
ReplyDeleteInterested to see how you like the meals.
I can cook basic food Pixie, but I hate cooking. My sink is deep and makes my back hurt and my hand tremors means it is quite dangerous for me to be using a sharp knife.
DeleteWe don't get anything like that unless we're almost incapable. Social care in UK is appalling.The Labour party under Blair were going to link health and social care, but didn't. Can't trust politicians, whatever their stripe.
ReplyDeleteJB, here such care used to come from local councils but most have rid themselves of social security care now subsidised meals is now responsibility of the Federal Government who pay private providers. The argument is that the more people who can remain in their homes until they are older, the cheaper it will be rather than nursing home care.
DeleteBetter all around. Kamala Harris has proposed the same idea
DeleteI'm all for grab bars in bathrooms, and other places, even before you get old. Anyone can fall in the shower. The meals, I guess you'll see.
ReplyDeleteBoud, I agree with you. They really should be standard fittings in all new housing now, and perhaps rental properties. A bar will future proof me and even now, just make me feel more secure. We will see about the meals.
DeleteWhen we renovated one of our bathrooms I had grab rails installed. In the shower and the towel rail is also a grab rail. There are grab rails in both toilets too - which is very handy when it is difficult to stand up again. Good luck on the meals front. I didn't know Meals on Wheels had been taken over.
ReplyDeleteEC, a towel rail as a grab rail would mean it is better secured to the wall than a normal towel rail? You've done well to have them installed.
DeleteBetter secured and stronger. The soap dish in the shower also is a grab rail - and the bathroom is set up so that if I need a wheelchair in the future it can accommodate it.
DeleteMy mother snapped off my brother's soap holder when she used it as a grab rail, so that is a good thing too. I did wonder about wheelchair access in your renovations. My main toilet is large enough for a wheelchair but not to close the door as well.
DeleteHi Andrew, Is the Aged Care Help provided by the government? I'll be interested to hear how you like the food from Meals on Wheels. When the HH had surgery, our insurance provided meals for approx two weeks, which I thought was great.
ReplyDeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
It is provided by the Federal Government, Sandra, although administered by our local government authority as far as the food goes. That sounds very generous of the insurance company, given only one of you had surgery.
DeleteThat is a great service for your pensioners. As Janice says, we get nothing like that as an automatic right. Please report back on how you like (or not) the meals.
ReplyDeleteJayCee, it is not really an automatic rights. You have to be assessed and approved but it was only by phone. They will have access to your medical information in a limited way.
DeleteUsually private caterer provides better quality meals
ReplyDeleteThat's reassuring, Roentare.
DeleteDo they offer vegetarian meals too? Just thinking of my future! It’s interesting that people are paid to deliver the meals (I approve). Mum volunteers once a week in Gippsland to deliver meals. Apparently there’s quite a big team of volunteers who do it. The meals are prepared at a local care facility. Bunyip
ReplyDeleteBunyip, not all councils have outsourced such things but in my opinion, it is only a matter of time. Yes, all diets are acknowledged, religious and others. I just had to state what I didn't like, which was mushrooms, and to the guy on the phone's amusement, tripe.
DeleteI think you are very sensible. Building our house, we have been very mindful of making a house we can age out in. And yes.there will be a couple grab bars in the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteThat's great Debby. It might be too far along but also consider level floor surfaces and a way that ramps could be installed where they might be necessary.
DeleteJust 5 years ago, I would have felt sorry for people who needed a hand rail in their shower or alongside their toilet. Now I depend on those rails!
ReplyDeleteThat's good Hels. Sometimes it is just reassuring before you actually need such aids.
DeleteIf $10 in Australia is like $10 in the United States, then that sounds like a very good deal indeed. Of course, you'll have to tell us how the food tastes.
ReplyDeleteKirk, converting, it might cost me US$14. Indeed I will report back.
DeleteI'd be interested to know how good or mediocre the meals are, though I'm not yet ready to have meals delivered. I'm still able to cook, just don't want to lately and have been living on a variety of sandwiches, always with a filling that includes lettuce for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI remember my dad being very disappointed with Meals On Wheels, the food was good, but he expected the deliverer to serve it to him and clear away after, like a wife would do. I told him off when I heard about that.
River, it will be interesting. I know my mother who was a care level had a choice of provider and she did change providers. I am pre care level, so I don't think I can choose.
DeleteAh yes, men of that generation.
I have a grab bar in the shower and I cant shower without it. All new builds and renovations should be designed with accessibility in mind, it's so much easier and cheaper that way than retrofitting.
ReplyDeleteMy parents are showing signs of malnutrition and I wish I could get Mum to accept meals on wheels but she will not so i battle on, doing my best to provide supplements to her cooking.
You are smart to be proactive about aging. Very smart
Kylie, it isn't good to hear you need a grab rail, but it is good that you have it. Your parents were having Dineamic meals delivered, weren't they? Did they tire of them. I can understand that.
DeleteThey still like Dineamic but mum only uses them sometimes, too proud to admit she doesn't cope like she did.
DeleteTaking it as it comes.
ReplyDeleteWill the cleaners do two bathrooms or only one?
Will the cleaners reach up and dust above their head? Cobwebs live up there, not in your place as you have just had it painted 😎
The rails sounds like a good idea, we don't have one, the floor isn't slippery and we lean up against the wall, but comes a time when ones needed.
The meals should be alright, dad had them for awhile, he got tired of them eventually. Enjoy and good on you for doing these things.
Margaret, no. Just mine. My mother's Aged Care would not vacuum my brother's bedroom but everywhere else, including window cleaning and some gardening.
DeleteI am interested to know how you apply for this help. Do you have to be assessed It sounds great, particularly if cleaning the bathroom is difficult
ReplyDeleteYes Anon. You do have to be assessed but it was a phone assessment for me. I pretty well knew it would all work much better if I set up a MyGov account, and connect it to my Centrelink, and Medicare records, and now if I go to MyGov, there is aged care as well. I think I began by just Googling for aged care application, Australia.
DeleteBeing of a certain age myself, I find this all rather fascinating to tell you the truth. We in the states are still basically improvising and on our own
ReplyDeleteOk Cloudia. You are actually talking about policies, which is a good thing.
DeleteI have to laugh about your "certain age" compared to a few of my companions you are a Teenager ! We have exactly the same here to help people staying in their homes. It was also called "meal on wheel" and now you have to pay between 7 to 15 € depending on your income. The rather poor pay 6 and the homeless nothing. My friend has used it for a while and then returned to our Deep Freeze shop. My ex neighbors do the same and had also some transformations done, but that's nothing for me, I prefer my cozy room here, the park outside and having company when I want and medical survey too. It costs me not more being here or staying alone in my house. If you count all the insurances, the repairs, the cleaning products, the window cleaner, the cleaner the gardener etc it can even be more expensive staying in your apartment.
ReplyDeleteGattina, even more the same here. If you can't afford to pay for the meals, you will get them for free. Homeless people can always find meals at charity places. How rich are the people of Cologne/Köln in Germany? There were food queues in tourist areas.
DeleteMeals on Wheels is still very active in the USA, most cook locally and deliver, the mass produced and frozen model is creeping in.
ReplyDeleteTP, it is good that community still does it, even if it won't happen in the future. This is outsourcing what family used to do, look after older people, but society has changed and you and I don't have children or anyone to offer us direct care.
DeleteInteresting about the Meals, I do hope they prove to be tasty - look forward to hearing about that later.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
For sure Alison.
DeleteI do hope the meals are tasty. We have Meals on Wheels here but I have never known anyone who used them, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteI had good care for my parents and my dad being a vet meant that they had grab bars and other safety things provided by the govt.
Pat, it is great that you have them. Grab bars are not available to non vets?
DeleteNot paid for by the govt, Andrew. At least as far as I know.
DeleteWel, good for you for taking advantage of available assistance. Why not? It sounds like those "meals" are meant to feed a person for a while!
ReplyDeleteSteve, yes my mother could string them out for two days, or soup for lunch, dessert for afternoon tea and then dinner.
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