If you have been severely injured on the road due to a motor accident in New South Wales, you may be eligible to receive Lifetime Care support. This covers severe injuries such as a spinal cord or traumatic brain injury, amputation, serious burn, or permanent blindness.
Home Caring provides Lifetime Care services to help people regain quality of life after a road accident. As an approved attendant service provider, we’ll support you with everything you need at home and in the community, according to a plan that is uniquely tailored to your needs.
We provide care for participants with different types of services, including:
- Individualised attendant care
- Personal care, such as help getting dressed and showering
- Home modification, such as installing ramps and bathroom rails
- Independent aids and mobility equipment
- Domestic services such as help with cleaning and laundry
- Home or garden maintenance to keep your place safe and tidy, such as lawn mowing
- Shopping and help with preparing meals
- Support to attend appointments and community activities
- Help with returning to study or work
- A range of treatment from allied health therapists, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy or physiotherapy
- Spinal and brain injury services
- Management of workplace injuries at home
- Support to implement rehabilitation programs
Our support services are provided by an experienced attendant care team. We are passionate about enabling people reach their goals, and helping you develop a care plan that meets your needs. We’ll help you with the things you want to do, increase your independence, and improve your ability to participate in life and your community.
What is Lifetime Care?
The Lifetime Care and Support Scheme pays for treatment, rehabilitation and care for people who have been severely injured in a motor accident in New South Wales. This is a no-fault government scheme, which means support is provided regardless of who caused the accident, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria.
The type of injury caused by motor accidents that may be eligible for support under the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme includes:
- spinal cord injury
- traumatic brain injury
- amputations
- burns
- permanent blindness
Each application for support is assessed on specific criteria, as outlined by the Lifetime Care and Support Guidelines. Eligibility is partly based on how severe your injury is. A medical specialist needs to complete a medical certificate to confirm the injury’s severity. Your treatment team may also need to conduct some assessments.
What happens if I am eligible?
If you have sustained a severe motor accident injury and are eligible to become a Lifetime Care participant, you will receive support for two years as an ‘interim participant’, which means the Lifetime Care scheme will pay for ‘reasonable and necessary’ treatment, rehabilitation and care.
Before you leave hospital, you will also be provided with an iCare Lifetime care coordinator who will be your – and your family’s – contact at iCare (which looks after the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme), and ensure you receive the right services based on your needs.
You will then be connected with a case manager before returning home from hospital. Your case manager is your day-to-day contact for treatment, rehabilitation and care. They will help you work out your goals and needs, both immediate and in the long term. Your case manager will also help you choose an attendant care provider to deliver the services you need, and develop a plan with you to request approval of these services.
After two years, you can apply to become a lifetime participant for ongoing care. This means iCare will continue paying for treatment, rehabilitation and care services that are considered ‘reasonable and necessary’, related to your motor accident injury, for the rest of your life. Services can include:
- medical treatment
- rehabilitation from an allied health professional
- aids and equipment for independent living
- home and vehicle modifications
- attendant care services
- assistance to return to work or study
If you have left hospital and think you may be eligible for the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme you can call 1300 738 586 to find out more information about eligibility and how we can help you apply.
For more information about Home Caring’s Lifetime Care and Support Scheme services, please get in touch for a free consultation. As attendant care providers with years of rehabilitation and disability support, we’d love to chat and answer any questions you may have.
