Supports for Providing Personal and General Domestic Care

A large part of caring for a person with a life-threatening illness at home is providing personal care. 

This means helping your relative or friend get dressed, washed, go to the toilet, get in and out of bed and helping with food and drink. Some people may feel unsettled or unsure about how to provide this care. Your MND Advisor can link you in with appropriate service providers. Family and friends want to help and there are practical things they can do to help share the load. Please remember that you don’t need to do this on your own.

We run an MND Advisors service. Our Advisors provide support to those diagnosed with MND and their families. Some of the ways your MND Advisor can help is by: 

• Helping you to access suitable equipment 
• Providing information on how to apply for funding for home help services. 

You might also find that your carer role is making it difficult for you to manage general domestic chores, e.g., cleaning, gardening, etc. If you are over 65 (or over 50 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) you might be eligible for Government help through My Aged Care. If you are younger than 65 (or under 50 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) you might be eligible for help under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

There are many private providers to choose from. If you are eligible for help through My Aged Care or NDIS they will provide you with information on how to find a provider close to you. 

Links

• My Aged Care (ph: 1800 200 422)
• National Disability Insurance Scheme (ph: 1800 800 110 )
• Accessing equipment – MNDAWA Equipment Pool
• MNDAWA Advisors Service
• Living Better
• WA Palliative Caring Booklet
• Carer Gateway
• End of life care:  A guide for people living with MND

Experiences

Susan is caring for her father, Tom.  She’s concerned about what to do if Tom has a fall and is not confident in how to best help him if he has a fall.  After talking over her concerns with her MND Advisor, her Advisor arranged for training on falls prevention and lifting.  They also discussed getting an Occupational Therapy home assessment and putting together a list of useful contacts in an emergency.

James has been caring for his wife, Sharon full time since her diagnosis.  James wants to do everything himself but has realised that it is too much for him.   John’s MND Advisor helped him organise an ACAT assessment and he now has access to support for regular gardening and cleaning.

Janice feels that her husband’s MND is progressing and that they need more support. An ACAT has been approved and they are receiving some help with cleaning and gardening, but she worries that that might not be enough in the future. Her MND Advisor has talked to her about respite options if she needs a break and will speak to the ACAT team and request a reassessment.