How many hours of AH support are high care residents meant to receive each year?
High care residents should be receiving allied health services, at no additional cost, where there is an assessed care need for these services (ie if their care plan identifies a need for particular allied health services). Thus high care residents should already be receiving all the necessary care and services to meet their assessed care needs (except dental care and intensive long term rehabilitation services following serious injury, surgery or trauma). In practice this means that generally high care residents should not be routinely referred for allied health services under Medicare, as the aged care home is expected to provide such specified care and services as part of their care responsibilities. The Approved Provider should therefore meet the cost of the services. Therapy that should be provided without cost includes ‘maintenance therapy’ designed to maintain the person’s level of independence in daily living activities and more ‘intensive therapy’ required on a temporary basis
