Carers and accessing NDIS service providers

Families and carers provide help and support that could otherwise be provided by formal services or paid support workers. They are often one of the greatest advocates for people with disabilities, providing practical and emotional support to help them live their best life. Moreover, if the person they care for wants it, carers play a vital role in supporting them to join the NDIS, set their goals and use their NDIS plan effectively. In addition to the government-funded programs available to support carers, an NDIS participant might use funding in their plan to facilitate respite. Respite supports participants and their carers by giving carers short breaks from their caring responsibilities. It also gives participants time away from their families.

For a participant, this might mean:

• joining a new community group
• having a short stay out of the home to try new things, make new friends or develop new skills.
• temporary periods of extra personal support so that the participant can remain at home when families and/or carers are not available
• support to participate in community activities, resulting in a break for carers.

For carers, taking some time off can help them better manage their own health and improve their well-being. Here at Help to You, we can provide services to accommodate such respite.

When you care for someone who has health problems, you will need to work with health services.

• Talking with professionals
• Going to a health appointment
• Care coordination and case management
• Being in hospital
• Going home from the hospital

You may deal with doctors, nurses and pharmacists regularly. You may also deal with other health care professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and psychologists. These people will often work together as a team to provide care.

You have an important role to play as part of the team. For example, you might need to make sure the person you care for gets to appointments or gets the treatment they need. You might also be involved in making decisions about their health care.

Talking with health professionals and NDIS Providers

As a carer, you will need to talk with doctors and other health professionals. You will need to tell them about the person you care for so they can provide the best possible treatment. You will also need to ask questions so you can make decisions and provide the best care.

Before you talk

Before talking with you should:e

• talk with the person you care for about any questions or concerns that they have about their health
• ask the person you care for if they want you to go to the appointment with them
• write down a list of questions that you want to ask. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you think they might be ‘stupid’
• write down a list of things you want to tell the health professional
• bring information and documents to appointments (for example, the results of tests)

When you talk with a health professional, you should:

• be clear on what you and the person you care for want to achieve
• take notes of what they say
• ask them to explain anything that you don’t understand
• ask if there are any handouts, websites or other places where you can get more information
• ask who you should contact for more help, if there is something they can’t help with

About Help to You

Help to You is a privately-owned company and registered NDIS service provider that operates across the Sydney region. We specialise in providing NDIS services that allow Carers to focus on the well being of themselves and those they are caring for.

Help to You places a large emphasis on providing the services that are time-consuming and interrupt peoples days. Anything to do with housekeeping and cleaning, garden and landscape maintenance, meal preparation and respite for carers, Help to You will help with.  Additionally, driving and transportation, as well as plan management, are services that Help to You offers. 

Help to You has adopted a process designed to ease getting the support you need. Firstly, we set up a face to face meeting. Here, we discuss your goals, needs and wants and develop a realistic plan that we can put into action. Whether you are a participant, carer or family member of a participant, Help to You cares about its clients and aims to make your lives more convenient and worthwhile.