HEALTH AND AGED CARE CAN BE MUCH LESS STRESSFUL AND A WAY BETTER STANDARD.

An advocate is an impartial person who can help you understand and stand up for your rights in the aged care system. This includes making sure you have a say in decisions that affect you, providing options to have your aged care needs met and helping you resolve complaints and concerns. An advocate can also work to reduce the stress and time associated with the monitoring and care of an aged person: they can act as a case manager. We currently work for clients who are flat out working, are not overly health literate, are emotionally stressed in their role or who live too far from their loved one to be present regularly. 

An advocate stands beside you, working on your behalf and at your direction to represent your wishes. They will always seek your permission before taking action or speaking for you. 

Advocacy services

Advocacy services support the rights of anyone receiving or seeking to receive aged care services, and empower older people to make informed decisions about their care. Personal advocates have become an accepted part of the healthcare team, working with families and healthcare providers to achieve the best outcomes.

Patient Advocates Australia provides cost effective, confidential, and independent advocacy support to older people receiving or looking to access all aged care services, their families, and to their health and aged care providers.

What can an advocate do?

An aged care advocate can assist you with things like:

Setting up and monitoring safe, high quality in-home care to avoid a hasty move to a nursing home
finding and monitoring residential care
interacting with the aged care system
transitioning between aged care services
knowing and understanding your rights
making decisions about the care you receive
options for having your aged care needs better met
resolving concerns or complaints with your aged care provider about the services you receive
speaking with your service provider at your direction
increasing your skills and knowledge to advocate for yourself
sourcing GPs, specialists, second opinions and allied health services
attending medical appointments with a client and providing an expert, plain English report to the client or family


Who will benefit from advocacy services?

The AMA recommends everyone has an advocate. Sometimes a family member is suitable and available and sometimes a better result can be achieved by outsourcing the time and responsibility.  This includes people who:

live in an aged care home
receive aged care services in their own home
receive transition care
are helping someone who is receiving aged care services.
are in hospital receiving acute services

Accessing advocacy services

You may not know if this is something that could work for you. Perhaps you have a simple question about our services or cost. We work on an hourly basis: no cumbersome, locked-in contracts: if it works for you, it works. If it doesn’t, it’s over. 
An initial 15 minute telephone consultation is cost and obligation free.