Kathryn Crowther was born with cerebral palsy and requires help with washing, dressing and feeding. Photo / Mead Norton
An 88-year-old Tauranga mother is regularly filling in to care for her "high needs" daughter when support workers do not show up.
Her adult daughter, Kathryn Crowther, says this makes her feel like a "burden" on her family and the health system.
Support worker employer HealthCare New Zealand says the significant shortage of staff will not be resolved until the sector is properly funded.
Health New Zealand has acknowledged the challenges and says a new funding model for the aged-care sector, including the home and community support sector, is a "priority".
Crowther has cerebral palsy and needs help with washing, dressing and feeding.
The 55-year-old has a HealthCare New Zealand support worker from 8.30am to 11am and 4.30pm to 7.30pm daily.
But there have been "quite a lot of times" where a support worker has not shown up, sometimes up to twice per week. There have also been times when her rostered time has been cut short.
Crowther is the second Tauranga woman to speak out about HealthCare New Zealand support workers failing to show up.
Last month, the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend reported 71-year-old paraplegic Kathryn Harland was left alone "in a wet bed with blood in it" because her support worker did not show up.
Crowther lives with her twin sister, Jan Crowther, and her mother, Jean Crowther. But she said her mother was already at an age where a lot of people received their own care, and her sister had a chronic illness, so they could not always do what needed to be done.
Crowther said her mum and sister helped out when a support worker did not show up.
"It puts more hassle on my family," she said.
"They already do heaps for me ... they have their own health problems to deal with.
"It makes me feel like a pain ... because I'm aware that people want their own personal lives."
Crowther's support worker helps her with feeding, showering and housework, and takes her to appointments and personal shopping.
Crowther believes there is "absolutely" a shortage of support workers.
"We can't plan our day because we don't always know if they're coming ... it makes it difficult for everyone."
In her view, one reason for the shortage was because it was not a 9am to 5pm job and people wanted to spend time with their own families. She said some would not work past 4pm.
"In an ideal world, no-one would want to work at weekends or in the evening, but disabilities and health issues and age-related issues don't go away at weekends."
She said paying weekend or evening rates could "possibly" help address the shortage.
However, Crowther said she really appreciated living in a country that provided help from support workers.
"Without them, a lot of clients, including myself, would be either in some other kind of care or stuck."
Jan Crowther said her sister had a lot of time allocated for care because she was "high needs, requiring washing, dressing, feeding".
"She is unable to do basic everyday essential tasks others take for granted."
She said Kathryn Crowther had five different movement disorders, and her co-ordination, balance, walking and use of her hands were "severely affected".
She said when a support worker did not show up, "it definitely does affect me".
Jan said she and her mother shared the load when there was no support worker, however, "we can't always do what needs to be done".
She described her sister as "the most caring person".
"Sometimes there could be more awareness of how it feels for a client to need the care and know that she's causing work."
Jan Crowther said she and her family understood it was not just about them and the shortage was affecting support workers, facilitators, clients and their families.
HealthCare New Zealand managing director Josephine Gagan said it fully supported incentivising carers and support workers to work in the evening and weekends - "the most challenging and frightening time for any vulnerable person who is reliant on home-based care".
"However, until the Government commits to properly funding the sector, the significant shortage of support workers and availability of carers with the skills required to meet the individual needs of the client will not be resolved, and the impact on the thousands of New Zealanders who need help to recover and stay well in their own homes will be catastrophic."
Gagan said HealthCare New Zealand "worked hard" to minimise the impact of the staffing shortage on the delivery of support services, however, "the sector can only do so much".
"The Government must stop ignoring our requests to urgently address the substantial underfunding of the home-based care sector, which is a key contributor to the shortage of this essential workforce.
"The funding model for the home and community sector completely fails to recognise the skilled work involved and the hours required to provide the high-quality care our vulnerable Kiwis who are ill, injured, disabled and elderly need to stay at home."
Gagan said the "significant sector-wide shortage" of support workers was having a "huge impact" on New Zealanders and their families, with many missing out on the care and support they needed to recover and stay well in their own homes.
HealthCare New Zealand knew it was a "very difficult time" for those who relied on its services, she said.
"We are deeply sorry for any distress this acute staffing shortage has caused to any of our clients."
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand acting group manager for community health system improvement and innovation Mark Powell said it acknowledged the challenges in the home and community support sector and increased funding in 2022/23 to the sector by $42.28 million - an increase of more than 7.5 per cent.
A new funding model for the aged care sector, including the home and community support sector, was a "priority" for Te Whatu Ora as outlined in the New Zealand Health Plan, he said.
Powell said New Zealand, like the rest of the world, was facing a shortage of health workers.
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora – Māori Health Authority had established a taskforce to work with employee organisations, union partners, tertiary training institutions and professional regulators to accelerate the need for trained workforce in priority service areas while national strategic workforce initiatives were implemented.
"Home support workers, who are a valued part of the health workforce, are one of the priority areas."
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