THE first step to gain assistance at home is through your local Needs Assessment and Service Coordination agency (NASC). These are specialised Government funded agencies that assess the needs of older people in regards assistance at home, they also then provide information and access to all the support services available to assist you with your needs and maintaining your independence.

You can arrange a needs assessment either by self referral or through your Doctor, a Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Community Social Workers or a an organisation such as Age Concern.
A needs assessment is undertaken by specially trained staff who will visit and "assess" you and your needs. It is often good to have your family or whanau present. This comprehensive assessment helps identify your needs and assists in planning future help.

A needs assessment is required in order to get Home Support paid for by the Ministry of Health through local District Health Boards , as well as access to Rest Homes and a number of other services..

Accepting having someone to help in your home is often a foreign notion and difficult decision. The idea of giving up some independence and acknowledging the need of assistance can be difficult. There invariably needs to be a balance between retaining Independence, and accepting help so that ultimately Independence can be retained and not jeopardised.

For your local NASC see Links below or Agencies Providing Care Sections
Horowhenua - Support Links

Tauranga - Support Net

Taranaki - Contact Taranaki Interim NASC

Needs Assessment is a comprehensive process by specially trained people to identify a person's need for support services for any person with a disability which may continue for 6 months or longer. Anyone may request a needs assessment for themselves or if family members wish to request one it must be with the permission of the person. Your Doctor or Health Nurse may also request one for you.
 
An Assessment is needed in order to access any of the "disability support services" funded through local District Health Boards by the Ministry of  Health.
The following community services which are funded through Local District Health Boards by the Ministry of Health require assessment by this service:

    * Home Support
    * Personal Care
    * Carer Support
    * Night Sitter Services
    * Day Care
    * Respite Care

Anyone needing to go into Community Residential Living or Long Stay Care will also need to be seen by the assessment service. This is especially important when applying for a residential subsidy.

The assessment may be made in a person's own home, while they are in hospital, or at an out patient clinic or day hospital.

The needs assessor will give you information on what help is available and in some cases whether you qualify for any modifications to your house, bathroom etc such as grab rails.    See "Adapting your Home" section.

Often the assessment can be completed in one interview. Family members/whanau or other support people can be present during the assessment. If a person's needs are complex, and if they need to go into Community Residential Living  the person may need to see more than one health professional.

A Support Needs Assessment Form will be completed at the end of this process. Individuals will be asked to sign the form and they will receive a copy. A new process of Assessment, called INTERAi,  is now also being introduced throughout the country.

If people do not agree with the assessment they should contact the service Coordinator.

Service Coordination

Following the Needs Assessment, a service Coordinator will assist you in finding suitable ways to meet your needs that have been identified. This is called Service Coordination and it is in this process  that care and support services are identified and put in place to help you stay at home safely and independantly as possible. This process also includes information sharing with you on the various other services that are available and how people qualify for funded services.

Usually a person's needs will be reviewed after a year, but a request for reassessment or review can be made by community agencies, the person themselves or their family. All referrals require the consent of the person concerned.