As a carer, I am concerned that the aged and disability support services available in the outlying districts are lacking compared to those in urban areas.
The person who I care for needs ongoing support and relies heavily on the services provided by the hospital and other organisations, however much of this is at our own expense and often these services are not cheap.
Recently the person who I care for was granted a leave of absence to get some much need relaxation time away from the aged care facility – a really crucial aspect of maintaining their quality of life. However the cost of transporting them is extremely high (as they require wheelchair access) and this is on top of other large expenses, such as medical bills, aged care fees and transport to and from Geraldton Hospital, to which they have frequently needed to visit.
My biggest problem here is that the hospital does not offer free transportation to and from the aged care facility, despite the facility only being within 30 minutes of the hospital.
I find this extremely surprising as the hospital is able to organise transport for day trips to the museum and out shopping for patients through services like HACC (Home and Community Care). While I think that this is valuable to patients and is certainly great for supporting quality of life, I don’t understand how transport to and from medical facilities isn’t more important.
With the amount of money provided for carers and people with disabilities and the funding and support from the State and Federal governments for disability services not picking up the financial slack, it would really help for the hospitals to provide this type of transport to the patients that need it most.
"Lack of transport support to and from Geraldton Hospital"
About: Geraldton Hospital Geraldton Hospital Geraldton 6530
Posted by outlying districts get nothing (as ),
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