Aged care facilities Aged care facilities are not ideal for people under the age of 65, but have the benefit of being available in all parts of the country, and able to provide hospital-level care. Our survey found that overnight stays in an aged care facility was the least popular option of all those presented. People aged over 65 were more willing to receive respite in an aged care facility, compared with those aged under 65. Individualised Funding Respite Individualised funding enables a disabled person and/or family/whānau to decide how and when they receive home and community supports (HCSS) or respite, who provides the support and how much they’re paid. Of respondents to our survey, 193 people were using IF respite. Many noted that the benefits of this system included increased flexibility and the ability to choose their own carers. However, IF users and disability service providers also report that: disabled people are sometimes unable to use their full allocation of IF respite (usually because they are unable to find relief carers) the IF respite overnight rate of $150 is too low; it is a barrier to purchasing facility-based respite the Ministry requirement for IF users to account for their use of IF respite separately from their use of HCSS is onerous and overly bureaucratic. In terms of IF Respite – feedback is great because people make their own choices and are in charge of quality and effectiveness themselves. Feedback is universally about the low rate being insufficient and the hassle therefore of keeping the two budgets separate. Delivery and supports are not the issue. In-home support The Ministry of Health currently allocates approximately 1,924 people with disabilities funding for in-home or buddy support, at an hourly rate of approximately $25. People using this type of respite have reported problems with finding support workers or buddies, lack of consistency in the buddy who provides the service and lack of reliability and back-up when buddies are not available. We can’t find a that wants to work with my son because of our rural location.
Implementation roadmap The following sets out a proposed roadmap for implementing the respite strategy. A full implementation plan would be developed once the respite strategy is finalised. Outcome Suggested action Within one or two years Within three to five years Choice, control and flexibility Outcome 1: Disabled people and their families/whānau have control of a flexible respite budget. Outcome 2: Disabled people and their families/whānau have choice and flexibility to use respite funding in the way that suits them. Action 1: We convert existing respite funding for each family/whānau to a flexible budget with fewer restrictions for its use. Action 2: We develop guidelines for use of funding. Disabled people and families/whānau can access and pay for supports online. The market responds to the strategy, offering services that people want to buy. Disabled people and their families/whānau can use respite budgets flexibly alongside other support funding they receive (such as funding for personal care, household management and supported/independent living). Valuing respite Outcome 3: Support for disabled people and their families/whānau to have a break from the caring role begins early, and evolves throughout their lives. Action 3: We update NASC allocation guidelines and training to encourage an investment approach to allocating respite. NASC services have access to updated information and training to support them in taking an investment approach to allocating respite. NASC services are able to provide families/whānau with certainty and confidence that they can take a break through all stages of their lives. Outcome 4: Ongoing investment in respite is supported by systematically measuring the effective achievement of outcomes. Action 4: The Ministry and stakeholders design a framework for measuring the level of investment in short breaks, and the outcomes achieved. An outcomes measurement framework is in place, and necessary data is being collected. Evaluation of outcomes shows that families/whānau are better able to access respite. Enhanced options Outcome 5: Disabled people can access a range of respite options. Action 5: We establish and administer a contestable funding pool to support provider investment in respite service development. Providers connect with communities to determine the respite services required in each region. More respite options are available. A wide range of quality respite options are readily available throughout the country.