[Hirajima]

I am just beginning to learn to negotiate the aged care bureaucracy under MyAgedCare. I am my wife’s carer. So far we have had an initial assessment, which was done by a private provider on behalf of MyAgedCare; I am also registered with Carers WA (the state branch of Carers Gateway). Carers WA has been pretty helpful, although they, like the whole bureaucracy, are obviously stretched to the limit.

My wife has received some in-home physiotherapy so far, and we have referral codes for:
Social support group
Cottage (overnight) respite
Allied health & therapy services
Goods, equipment & assistive technology
Home modifications

We are currently investigating walking aids, and finally made contact with an occupational therapist with one of the providers, only to be told that walking aids are the province of physiotherapy.

However, the lady did explain that the range of, for example, rollators outside walkers which could be funded under MyAgedCare was somewhat limited. We were interested in one from the Swedish group TrustCare, but she could not find them listed for funding. We are aware of local suppliers who stock them, though.

So right now, my question is: how do you find out what’s covered and what isn’t? Do members generally find that the range of funded products is in fact limited to the very basic ones? Personally I would have expected to be allocated an amount to spend on a particular aid, and if we want something more expensive we fund the difference ourselves. Seems that’s not how it works, though.

So any experiences or hints for new players around these issues would be hugely appreciated!

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