Anne and Margo and APM Assessment Services transcript

Margaret: I'm Margaret Ezzy.I'm a senior assessor with APM,and I have been working with the company for two years. I think the benefits that we provide is that we are a qualified group of assessors and we provide quality assessments which ultimately helps the resident obtain appropriate funding for the care that they need in the nursing home.

Anne: My name is Anne Labuschagne. I'm a registered nurse and I’ve worked in aged care for 17 years. I was a clinical coordinator and a clinical manager, and when I left, this job became available to become an AN-ACC Assessor and I've never looked back. It's the most fantastic job. Some residents are very independent. They can do a lot for themselves, which is wonderful. But there are a lot who need a lot more care. So with us as assessors going into their homes, we're able to establish what sort of care they require and that gives the funding the opportunity to provide that care for those residents.

Margaret: With everything that's happened in aged care, a lot of the challenges are around appropriate funding. So it's nice to feel like I play a part in that, to give the residents the best option for appropriate funding, and they deserve to have the best care that they can, and this is one way to help them access that. A lot of the time the residents are very happy that they are included in the assessment because we spend time with them. And I think the team that we work with at the aged care facilities, they feel like they're involved in that process a lot more. Just recently I was talking to a gentleman who had an amazing life and he managed to play a couple of songs that he'd written for me, he showed me a children's book that he'd written, and I think it gave him the chance for me to really see him as a person, not just as another resident in the facility. So that's really heart-warming for me to have that experience and to be fully present with that gentleman during my assessment.

Anne: It's very important work. It's, you know, aged care is not not getting any smaller. And I think there needs to be a lot of understanding as to what residents need and what staffing is required as well, because, you know, a lot of residents can't do things for themselves. They require two staff to assist them - maybe three sometimes - you need the equipment, you need the facilities, all that needs to be available in order to be able to look after a person to the best of your ability to make sure that their life and towards the end of their life is the best possible life that they can live.

Margaret: It's a great space to be in. Health is always changing. So it's nice to be in a a dynamic workforce that has a positive approach to change. And being part of that is very exciting.