Frequently Asked Questions
- General FAQs
- Clinical Care & Support Services
- Book Our Educators
- Allied Health
General FAQs
The Australian Government recognises and supports the following types of aged-care services: in-home care, residential care (in an approved facility) and short-term care. Vital are specialist in-home care providers supporting our nation’s elderly to live happy, healthy and independent lives at home.
A residential care home and a nursing home both offer 24-hour services to patients. The primary difference is the type of care provided, with a care home offering support for daily tasks such as walking, bathing and eating, while a nursing home covers complex medical needs.
Many people want to continue living at home as they age, allowing them freedom and independence. Home care supports people who need help with all kinds of tasks – physical, mental, personal and social – enabling independent living while ensuring they remain safe and healthy in their home. Contrarily, residential care is provided to people living permanently within a registered care facility.
People aged over 65 are entitled to funded in-home support to stay living independently. Funding is also available for younger people living with a disability, dementia and other special needs. You can still receive support in your home from Vital when not eligible for Government funding through our paid options. For more information about our home care services, contact our team.
Vital prides itself on professionalism, experience and teamwork. We are owned and operated by registered nurses, all licensed to practise nursing in NSW and Tasmania and provided with ongoing training to stay relevant to today’s nursing needs. Some of our team are specialist clinical nurses, allowing us to support patients with a serious illness or injury.
Home health care and support will differ from one patient to the next depending on their individual needs. The government Home Care Package subsidises the cost paid to a home health care service provider, covering most of the fees on a patient’s behalf.
If your caregiver is unable to work, be it due to sickness or when taking annual leave, you will still receive support from Vital. A fully trained and certified substitute caregiver will visit you in their place and provide the same support.
Our nurses and caregivers are trained to administer medication to patients who require full support. For patients with the ability to self-administer medication, we can provide reminders to ensure our patient is aware of when any meds are due.
The Government determines the level of funded care available to older people living at home. Based on your needs, they devise a Home Care Plan to support you. If you are already a Vital customer and your needs have changed, or you want help with something outside of your plan, contact us and one of our team will help you understand your options.
Vital Home Healthcare takes quality extremely seriously. We are Government-approved, a registered NDIS provider and hold multiple accreditations with leading industry bodies including the ACIA, ACHS and Aged Care Workforce Industry Council. In addition to external assessment, our team performs regular quality checks on our nurses and caregivers to ensure they meet our high standards for quality.
Our team of qualified caregivers speak a range of languages, including English, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Nepali.
Our highly experienced and caring Nurses and Care Providers work directly with clients and their carers and family members in a variety of ways to enable them to remain at home for longer and to remain as independent as possible. The duties performed by our Nurses and care Providers include but are not limited to:
- Initial comprehensive nursing assessments and follow up visits.
- Initial comprehensive nursing assessments and follow up visits.
- Dementia care and management
- Intravenous (IV) therapies
- Palliative care
- Health education and health promotion
- Grief and bereavement counselling
- Continence assessment and management
- Rehabilitation and reablement
- Falls risk assessment and management
- Diabetes and chronic disease management
- Post-acute care
- Wound care and management including prevention of wounds education
- Nasogastric tube feeding
- Nasogastric tube feeding
- Nasogastric tube feeding
- Ventilation at home
- Behavioural support
- Oedema management
- Enteral feeding
- Indwelling catheter care and management for males and females
- Suprapubic catheter care and management
Anyone can refer to our services: GPs, discharge planners, specialists, allied health professionals, social workers, family members, carers, and even yourself.
- By phone on 1800 717 384
- By fax on (02) 8721 6720
- By email to [email protected]
- By mobile on 0425 227 862 (also the after hours contact number)
Absolutely! Our experienced Nurse or Care Worker will contact you and schedule your Initial Assessment at a time suitable to you and your family’s needs.
Yes, you can. Please contact us on 1800 717 384 and speak to one of our friendly staff members who will be happy to assist you and discuss all your needs.
Our helpful staff will be glad to help you in determining your health coverage for community nursing. Just call us on 1800 717 384 to discuss all your needs.
Currently we service New South Wales and Tasmania.
Our Care and Support workers available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please call 0425 227 862 after hours for any non emergency enquiries.
Clinical Care & Support Services
An aged-care care worker helps their patients complete critical daily tasks such as bathing, cooking, cleaning and washing clothes. They may provide support with admin tasks and transport, taking the patient to the shops, doctors or for other appointments, and acting as a companion.
Carers support and assist older people living at home with all kinds of tasks to help them stay independent: household duties (bathing, cooking, cleaning, shopping), administrative tasks and transport to and from appointments. Some also provide medical support such as administering medication. Family members make most of the decisions about the type of care they want for their loved one; they remain responsible for providing emotional support.
A clinical nurse is a highly educated and specialised registered nurse with a Master’s degree focused on a specific area of medicine. They may carry out similar responsibilities to a registered nurse although their responsibilities extend further to observing significant health changes and deterioration, diagnostics and treatment plans for the seriously ill.
Vital Home Healthcare Services carers are registered nurses and qualified to deal with many of the clinical care needs of older patients. These include monitoring and administering medications, complex wound management, intravenous therapies, catheter care and dialysis. Our team works closely with each patient to create a clinical care service that meets their needs.
When looking for palliative care, there are four options available including:
- Palliative care in hospitals
- Residential palliative nursing in a care home or hospice
- Day care at a hospice
- Palliative home care
Vital registered nurses can provide palliative home care to patients nearing end-of-life or those managing a chronic illness.
Palliative care is all about improving quality of life. It is available to people diagnosed with a life-limiting (terminal) illness or those approaching end of life.
Coordination of care is necessary when more than one health professional is involved in a patient’s care, ensuring the delivery of appropriate healthcare at the right time from the right source.
Coordination of care includes:
- Assessing patient needs and goals
- Creating a proactive care plan
- Monitoring and follow-up, including responding to changes in patients’ needs
- Supporting patients’ self-management goals
Yes. Vital nurses help people in their homes managing a chronic disease, including administering medication where needed. If you have a chronic condition, you can help yourself by making regular visits to your GP or specialist, adopting healthy habits – eating well, exercising and getting plenty of sleep – and taking the prescribed medications.
There are five key behaviours to help prevent chronic disease:
- Don’t smoke
- Limit your alcohol intake
- Take regular exercise
- Maintain a healthy body weight
- Get plenty of sleep
If you have a chronic illness, you can manage it by:
- Making regular visits to your general practitioner or specialist
- Living healthily – eating properly, sleeping well and exercising
- Taking your prescribed medicines
Under the NDIS, high-intensity support means you require a registered nurse to help with four or more disability-related healthcare tasks. For example, if you need epilepsy support, wound and pressure care, nutrition support and diabetes management support, you are classed as needing high-intensity suport.
Respite care is a temporary service provided to patients and their families on a short-term basis. For example, a dementia patient may have respite care in the form of an overnight stay in a residential care facility, allowing the family or home caregiver a break. Palliative care is ongoing support for someone who needs help, whether it is a continuous arrangement (for example, helping a patient manage a chronic illness) or helping a patient as they approach their end-of-life.
The Australian Government subsidises approved residential aged care providers for each person in residential respite care. Providers must use a portion of their residential aged care places to provide respite care, known as respite days – there is no extra allocation given to providers for respite purposes.
The Dust Diseases Authority of NSW states the following as dust diseases: asbestos-related pleural disease, asbestosis, asbestos-induced lung cancer and mesothelioma.
A domestic worker performs numerous responsibilities. These include removing rubbish, emptying litter bins, sweeping, mopping, polishing, dusting, vacuuming and cleaning carpets.
If an older person is struggling with activities of daily living (ADLs) like dressing and using the bathroom, it is likely they need support. When a dementia patient is unable to perform these tasks, they may require 24-hour care.
Yes, we can. While dementia has no cure, treatment and support can help improve the quality of life for dementia patients. Vital nurses can help with medication management, personal care, feeding, domestic tasks and more, ensuring a safe and dignified life for those living at home with dementia.
In-home care includes a wide range of services provided in the home, rather than in a hospital or care community. It can allow a person with Alzheimer’s or other dementia to stay in his or her own home. It also can be of great assistance to caregivers.
Wellness is an approach that builds on a person’s capacity to improve their physical, social and emotional functioning to live independently and improve quality of life. Reablement focuses on ‘doing with’ rather than ‘doing for’, giving individuals autonomy and independence.
Book Our Educators
A diabetes educator specialises in teaching people with diabetes how to self-manage the condition, plus upskilling their families and carers so everyone has the confidence to manage diabetes.
Educating patients about wound care is critical to them overcoming the wound as quickly and successfully as possible, avoiding further conditions. It includes:
- Explaining the procedure, benefits, risks, and pain management
- Teaching the patient to call the doctor if there is ongoing bleeding, signs of infection, or uncontrolled pain
- Explaining debridement and why it is necessary
- Demonstrate debridement methods
Employers are responsible for people’s health and safety while working. It is critical to implement safety measures to prevent or minimise work-related injuries and keep workers safe.
Allied Health
Definitely! When attending your initial assessment, your experienced nurse will assist you in determining what services you require and then do all of the organising for you, saving you from having to worry about anything.
Physio Therapy (PT) and Occupational Therapy (OT) are two types of rehabilitative care. While PT focuses on improving the patient’s ability to move their body, OT focuses on improving the patient’s ability to perform daily activities.
