MEDIA RELEASE: Care finders program launches in Northern Sydney

Date: 02/05/2023 

Your Side and Sydney North Health Network (Northern Sydney PHN) are delighted to announce a new partnership delivering the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care’s new care finder program, commencing April 2023, and serving Northern Sydney PHN region as a part of a national network of care finders. 

Your Side believes that every life can be a good one and is passionate about supporting people to navigate and access the support they need to live independently and contribute to our community.  

Sydney North Health Network is focused on people who are at risk of poor health outcomes, and we work to improve the coordination of their care, in the right place, at the right time. 

Care finders will connect people to quality and appropriate aged care. These will be older people who are experiencing things like homelessness, mental illness, alcohol or drug dependence, care leavers, people leaving incarceration, and minority groups. Assistance can take various forms, ranging from providing guidance on the necessary paperwork to register with My Aged Care, to discussing with individuals the various options offered by local service providers. Additionally, some individuals may require support in navigating the assessment process, which may involve attending an assessment at home with a care finder who can help those who find the process challenging.

Care finders can also help find and connect people to other services like homelessness programs, mental health support, peer groups, alcohol and other drug programs, transport services, or social groups. Whatever the need is and whoever most needs it, care finders will be there.

“Your Side knows that for some people who have experienced trauma or other disadvantages in their life, accessing the mainstream support designed to help everyone can be confusing, intimidating, or trigger past bad experiences with institutions. Care finders will make sure that those most in need of the aged care services available to all, can access that support,” said Danielle Ballantine, Your Side’s CEO.  

The aged care system is complex, and some people find it more difficult than others to navigate and access the services they need. This is especially true for people who have had negative experiences in healthcare or institutional settings. While My Aged Care is the single-entry point for people to find out about and access aged care services. The community has asked for more localised and face-to-face support to help people to navigate and access aged care.  

“Our purpose is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare and other services for the local community, which we achieve through partnerships. You can have the best services in the world, but that means little to people who experience significant barriers in accessing them. Care finders will locate the most vulnerable older people in the Northern Sydney region and connect them to meaningful and life-changing care,” said Lynelle Hales, CEO of Sydney North Health Network.  

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AVAILABLE TO INTERVIEW:  
Danielle Ballantine – CEO, Your Side Australia
Lynelle Hales – CEO, Sydney North Health Network 

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Your Side Australia
Abby Edwards – Media, Marketing & Communications
T: 0417 808 107
E: abbye@yourside.org.au