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Your role as a carer
As a carer of someone in an aged care home, you will probably have a lot to do with health care professionals as part of your caring role. This may sometimes be very difficult, especially if you haven’t had much previous experience working with them.
One way of thinking about working with these health professionals is to consider yourself as an important part of a team. The team can include district or community nurses, pharmacists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, dieticians, psychologists and social workers, as well as family doctors and medical specialists.
You may be interested in reading the following advice from fellow carers on this aspect of the task.
Know who the health professional is. Get written information about names, organisation and titles and the role they have in the treatment of the person you care for.
Take someone with you to appointments to be an extra listener.
Make up a list of questions so you won’t forget anything.
- Keep a diary of your family member’s problems or symptoms.
- Ask for information to be written down, particularly about diagnosis or medications.
- Take notes.
- Ask if your doctor can give you any printed material or tell you where to obtain further information or support.
- Make an appointment without the person you’re caring for. Even though the doctor may not be able to discuss patient details, you’ll be able to talk about your concerns.
- Ask the receptionist to book a longer appointment if you feel there is never enough time. However, it’s worth remembering that some doctors charge extra for a longer consultation.
- Speak up for yourself and the person you care for.
How to acknowledge your new role
It’s not unusual to experience a sense of relief as well as guilt when the person you care for goes into an aged care home. You may also be worried about whether or not you’ve made the right decision or concerned about financial and legal matters. Some advice from other carers in similar situations includes the following:- Trust that you’ve made the right decision in choosing an aged care home.
- Try and talk to someone who’s a good listener about your circumstances.
- Allow others to help you work through your feelings.
- Consider carer counselling services to help you through. (Call the Network of Carer Associations on 1800 242 636 to arrange).
Common questions on this topic:
- Can I give medications to the person I care for?
- My aunt is living at home, but only managing because I help her a lot. I have my elderly mother and my own family to care for as well and am finding it increasingly difficult to cope. Is there someone I can talk to about what I can do?
See all common questions