Initially you may wish to make a dedicated appointment with your GP to discuss your concerns around you or your family member’s health or ability to cope with everyday life. Your GP can refer you to your local Needs Assessment Services Co-Ordinator (NASC).

Your local NASC service will then get in touch with you in regard to a pre-assessment and making a time to see you. For a home assessment, a NASC coordinator will visit to see you or your loved one. He or she will determine what extra support is needed e.g., extra home help, occupational therapy supports or fulltime residential care. The assessment can take up to two hours and family members are welcome to attend.

During or post-assessment, your NASC coordinator will reach out to help you with next steps. If you or your family member needs full time care, you will be provided with a list of Care Homes in your area. NASC will highlight the Care Homes with the services that offer the level of care you require, e.g. rest home, dementia, hospital.

This can be a challenging process, as you will want to get it right. Good places to find information include: NASC brochures, friends and family, Google and Care directories such as Eldernet, Aged Advisor or Village Guide.

We also recommend that you look carefully at the certification period and audit results for each Home you are considering. Audit results are available here: https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/certified-providers/aged-care

After you have finalised your choice of Care Home, you or your family member will need to sign an Admission Agreement before entry. If a person is unable to understand what they are signing, then the Enduring Power of Attorney (EPoA) will be able to sign on their behalf.

If you or your family member cannot fund the care needed, a needs assessor can set up a means test through Work and Income to see if you or your loved one meets the criteria for full or partially subsidised care. The paperwork must be fully completed within three months if the subsidy is to be backdated to the time of entry.

Heritage Lifecare will do all we can to make you or your family member’s move as stress-free as possible. We can advise you on furniture to bring and other items that may be appropriate for making the room homely. We will also make sure that you are welcomed, introduced to the people who will be looking after you, and made to feel at home.