Every day, first thing we spend 30 minutes discussing what is going on in the aged care space. This week, we are hearing concerns about the role of Care Managers under the new Support at Home Program.

Sarah Newman, BaptistCare at home General Manager, told The SOURCE she is worried that the incoming in-home aged care reforms will downgrade the care manager role, leading to poorer outcomes for consumers and ultimately weighing on the “public purse” if consumers aren’t well supported to live at home.

Care management – the regular assessment and monitoring of needs and partnering with consumers to deliver safe and appropriate care – is currently a mandatory requirement of all Home Care Packages (HCPs).

A time-and-motion study of care managers by BaptistCare at home broke down care managers’ work into 27 tasks, from writing client progress notes to managing client feedback, and from making external referrals to crisis management (see lead image). The findings are currently being analysed.

The study also looked at workforce, revealing that 70% of care managers had tertiary qualifications.

Good quality care management means “the difference between just looking after people at home and getting really great outcomes for clients,” Sarah said. They ensure home care services have a “restorative” and “reablement” aspect, she added, keeping consumers living at home and independent for longer and delaying a move to residential aged care.

But other providers say the Department of Health and Aged Care has shown that it understands the importance of this role.

The Department has indicated that “care management absolutely has a place [in in-home aged care] and needs to be funded in a way that recognises the way the work is done,” the incoming Chief Executive Office of Latrobe Community Health Service, Paul Ostrowski, told The SOURCE. Paul has been involved in consultations with the Department on the in-home care reforms.

“The Department is aware of the importance of care management,” Sarah said, “I’m just not sure they fully understand the actual complexity of the task, and skills needed to deliver it well.”

Care partners – the Department’s new title for care managers – will be a key feature of the in-home care reforms. The form they take, funding and price will be among the most contentious issues of the changes.

Have your say. Do Care Managers have a role to play? editor@theweeklysource.com.au