April 2004

Help line provides aged care information

Mornington Peninsula residents can now call one number for information about aged care, rehabilitation and palliative care.

Based at Peninsula Health’s Mount Eliza Centre, Access bridges Peninsula Health and local community resources.

As well as providing information about the services provided by Peninsula Health, Access communicates with providers such as GPs, district nurses, local government and residential carers, including nursing homes and hostels.

Access receives up to 100 phone calls a day from service providers, GPs, family members, carers and individuals.

The Access team is on duty between 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. on 9788 1377. After-hours the care line contact number is 1800 059 059.

‘People can get frustrated when the need for aged care arises,’ said Access Manager Judi McKee.

‘They may have spoken to a dozen different people and not received any comprehensive advice about aged care services and the options available to them.

‘The Access service eliminates the frustration because all the information they need is available at one point of call.

‘If necessary, we can quickly get in touch with a free interpreter service for people whose first language is not English.’

Access has an integrated team of experts on the aged care, rehabilitation and palliative care that is provided on the Peninsula.

The team consists of nurses, social workers and occupational therapists.

Calls to Access are assessed to establish the client’s basic needs, prioritise them and respond in a friendly and efficient manner, referring the caller to the appropriate services within Peninsula Health and the community.

Sharon Dyer, a member of the Access team, says callers are always grateful for the help they receive.

‘It’s important to collect necessary information on the initial contact, reducing the need to repeat for each service they come into contact with,’ Mrs Dyer said.