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A BENDIGO doctor says her elderly patients are apprehensive ahead of Bendigo Council's decision next month on whether they will withdraw from providing Home and Community Care services.
Dr Jean Douglas and her husband Dr Moli Tamanika have been GPs in Bendigo for more than 30 years, and many of their patients have been coming to their Strathdale practice for years.
A lot of them are elderly residents living at home in the community, with family out of town and dependent on the assistance of home carers to enable them to live in their own homes, Dr Douglas said.
"Over many years the Bendigo Council have been the provider of this service. Many people have associated Home Care with 'the council'," she said.
"In recent weeks I have heard concerns by both carers and 'the cared' about the proposed changes to the Home Care program here in Bendigo.
"There has been real apprehension about what is happening. They are asking questions like 'what will happen to me if the service is stopped', 'how will I be able to shower', 'how will I be able to get my food'."
She said HACC staff were also concerned, not just about their jobs but about their clients and how they were coping with the news.
"This region has had an excellent aged care services to support the large population of older residents," Dr Douglas said.
"The government policy has been to maintain older residents in the community rather than put people into residential care. Home Care is essential for this to be maintained.
"General practice has always been involved with this type of service in being able to direct people in need to obtain the correct support services in the home."
Dr Douglas said she was concerned that should Bendigo council withdraw from providing HACC, the service would be privatised.
"The concerns are then, will the providers be local, understand the country environment, will local staff lose their jobs and will the cared lose the friendship and support of carers that have looked after them for some time?," she said.
"Hopefully whatever service will be put in place will be satisfactory. My main concern is for the council to be aware of who will be affected and that they are informed and supported through the change."
In February, the City of Greater Bendigo made a provisional decision to withdraw from the delivery of HACC services by September 30, 2015.
It will make a final decision at a council meeting on May 6.
