Heartbroken wife tells Aged Care Royal Commission of husband’s despair over support delays

Kaye Warrener said her husband’s spirits were buoyed when they were told they would soon finally receive the home care they needed. Now, a year later, they’re still waiting.

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An Adelaide woman who waited 15 months for a home care package to support her husband says it was heartbreaking watching his depression at constant delays.

Unley woman Kaye Warrener told the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety that waiting times for her husband Les had continually blown out after first being approved for a Commonwealth home care package in November 2017.

Les, 78, had a quadruple bypass in 2008, has prostate cancer, cellulitis in his legs and arthritis in his hands. His condition means he needs to sleep in a chair but his arthritis means he’s unable to manipulate the chair — causing him to trip over it in the night.

Ms Warrener was told the wait for a home care package could take 12 to 18 months but said the couple were buoyed just four months later when told the package was just three months away in March 2018.

“It made us very hopeful that the package was coming through and we were looking forward to being able to assess certain services for Les to put in place more services,” she said.

W”e just sat back and waited … expecting that a package would be following very, very shortly.”

Kaye Warrener leaves the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety at the Commonwealth Courts in Adelaide. Picture: AAP Image/James Elsby

But Ms Warrener did not receive further correspondence until this month, when she was told Les had been approved for a level 2 package, given to people with low level care needs.

The couple are in the process of getting the level two support started immediately but want the level three package — supposed to be made available to people with intermediate level care needs — delivered as soon as possible.

Questioned by commissioner Richard Tracey QC, Ms Warrener said she was never given a reason as to why the package had been delayed.

“Its very frustrating and I’ve watched Les get very depressed about things,” she said.

Speaking outside the commission, she said the continual waits were “very frustrating”.

“I saw Les get pretty depressed, he’s worried because his health is deteriorating. I have to try and motivate him over the course of the day,” she said.

“We have no choice other than to wait so I’m just hoping against hope that that package will come through.

“We’re starting with level two which will give us some help along the way but we really need package three.”

Ms Warrener said her husband had lost most of the strength in his legs. Physiotherapy had helped with Les’ condition but the pensioners stopped that while waiting for the home care package because of financial constraints.

“If we’re given the package we would be able to access some services like hydrotherapy and physiotherapy and give him a chance to get some of that strength back,” she said.

The commission also heard from Canberra woman Margot Harker, who receives two home care visits each day following a stroke.

Ms Harker told the commission she’d “rather die than go into residential care”.

Only about half of Ms Harker’s package is allowed to be spent on services because the rest went towards administrative fees charged by her package provider, the commission heard.