Most people get one look around an aged care home, or one phone call with a home care provider, and come away with a general impression rather than answers. The tour is designed that way. It is not sinister, it is just what any organisation does when someone visits.
These are the questions that produce specific answers. Ask them, write down what you are told, and ask for the important ones in writing.
Before you go anywhere
Two questions worth settling first, because they change everything that follows.
What does the person actually need help with, on their worst day? Not their best morning. Care is assessed and priced against real need, and families routinely underestimate it because they are describing the good days.
Has an aged care assessment been done? Almost nothing government funded happens without one. If it has not been done, that is the first phone call, not the provider tour.
Questions about cost
Fees in aged care are genuinely complicated, and some of that complication is unavoidable. But a provider should be able to answer these plainly.
What will this cost per fortnight, all in, for someone in my situation? Ask for the total, not the components.
What is the government subsidised portion and what am I paying on top?
Are there fees that are optional? Which ones, and what happens if I decline them?
Can I see your published pricing, in writing, before I sign anything?
What happens to the fees if care needs increase?
If circumstances change and I cannot pay, what happens then?
That last one matters more than people expect. Ask it even if it feels awkward.
Questions about staff
Staffing is the thing that determines daily experience, and it is the hardest thing to judge from a tour.
How many staff are on overnight, and how many of them are registered nurses?
What is the staff turnover rate here?
Will the same people come each visit, or does it rotate? For home care this is one of the most common complaints and it is worth pressing on.
What happens if a scheduled worker is sick? Do you send someone else, or is the visit cancelled?
Who do I call at 2am, and does a person answer?
Questions about care
How do you handle a resident who is unsettled at night?
What happens when someone needs more care than they did when they arrived? Can they stay?
Do you provide palliative care on site, or would a move be needed?
How do you manage medication, and who signs off on changes?
How often is the care plan reviewed, and is family involved?
What does a typical day look like for someone with the same needs?
Questions about the place itself
Worth asking directly, and worth noticing what you see rather than what you are told.
Can residents have visitors at any time?
Can they bring their own furniture? A pet?
What are the meals like, and can I see this week's menu? Better still, can I eat here once?
What happens if someone does not like the food, or eats at odd hours?
How do you support people who speak a language other than English at home?
Questions about complaints
How families are treated when something goes wrong tells you more than any brochure.
What is your complaints process, and can I see it in writing?
How many complaints have you had in the past year, and what changed as a result?
Have you had any compliance action taken against you? By law this is public, so a vague answer is itself informative.
What to do on the day
Visit more than once, and visit at different times. A Tuesday morning and a Sunday afternoon are different places.
Go at mealtime if you can. You learn more watching one lunch service than from an hour of conversation.
Use your nose. Notice whether staff greet residents by name. Notice whether anyone is sitting alone in a corridor, and whether anyone stops to talk to them.
Ask to speak to a family member of a current resident. A provider comfortable with that answer is telling you something. So is one who is not.
Where to get independent help
The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) provides free, independent advocacy on 1800 700 600. They do not sell anything and they are not connected to providers.
My Aged Care, on 1800 200 422, handles assessments and can explain what someone is eligible for.
For concerns about a provider, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission takes complaints on 1800 951 822.