Respite program offers carers education, peer support

The national service supporting people with dementia and their care network is rolling out an education and respite program that aims to help people with dementia to stay at home longer.

Dementia Support Australia, which is funded by the Australian Government and led by HammondCare, has added Staying at Home to its suite of support programs, which also includes Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service.

Staying at Home is a three-night carer wellbeing and respite program that aims to break down barriers to accessing respite, said Tom Gauci, team leader for pilot projects at the Dementia Centre.

“We invite anywhere up to six couples into a respite cottage, an accommodation or an Airbnb, and work quite closely with the both the carer and the person living with dementia so that they’re empowered with the tools and strategies they need to stay at home,” Mr Gauci told Community Care Review on the sidelines of this month’s International Dementia Conference.

DSA has been piloting the program since July and is planning to roll it out nationally in metropolitan, regional and remote areas of the country, said Mr Gauci.

“We’ve had our first three programs centered around Wollongong but now we’re exploring programs in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.”

The program is open to unpaid carers living in the community who are supporting a person living with either a confirmed diagnosis of dementia or a suspected diagnosis of dementia. These care relationships can be diverse, said Mr Gauci, including spousal couples, parent and child couples or secondary carers such as adult children supporting their parents where one has dementia. “We’ll look at every carer relationship.”

Program fills identified gap

Staying at Home aims to fill an identified gap, including by the aged care royal commission, which found respite was an area of need. “There’s a lot of fear and distrust and misconceptions about what respite is,” Mr Gauci said.

The program has three main goals including to reduce these fears and misconceptions surrounding respite.

“We want our carers to walk away from the program feeling as though they have the skills, strategies, and the toolbox of resources that they need to maintain their wellness, their self-care, and to support their loved one for as long as possible.

“We want our guests living with dementia to walk away knowing and feeling confident that they can continue the activities that they love, despite having a diagnosis of dementia, whether that’s going to lawn bowls or playing music or cooking.

“And we want our couples to walk away from the program seeing respite as a feasible option that should be accessed early and regularly to give that break in carer arrangements so that that carer relationship can sustain itself. We want to demystify what respite is and reduce the fear and anxiety that comes with approaching respite,” Mr Gauci said.

The program is completely funded with no out-of-pocket expenses for participants. Find out more: Staying at Home

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