Up to 30% of home care clients put their Home Care packages on hold at the height of the pandemic – but some have still not resumed their services or again suspended them because of the fear around COVID-19.
MyHomeCare CEO Stuart Miller (pictured above) told The Daily Telegraph last week that fear of catching the virus had seen their numbers drop 26% at the height of the pandemic before plateauing at 11%.
“We are currently down about four per cent on our regular numbers as clients push back from receiving their at-home care,” he said.
“They are scared of being lonely and are scared of being in contact with people who are sick.”
Mr Miller said his staff had also reported higher than usual signs of depression from their clients.
“We’ve been buying tablets for longer-term clients … we set up video calls with family for them. The important stuff is not just that one hour when a home carer is there with them, it’s the times we’re not and they’re left alone at home.”
Many providers have told us they have adapted their services to provide less face-to-face interaction, for example, dropping off groceries and cooking a meal online rather than in person.
Others have also reported that clients are now in worse health than before, with some showing up in hospital emergency departments after not receiving services for weeks.
