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It can be a difficult decision for families, when as their trusted healthcare practitioner, your recommendation is for their loved one to move into residential aged care to receive the best support moving forward.

Navigating a patient鈥檚 reluctance for what they believe is a loss of independence can be a challenge when you must balance that with sound and honest advice.

Leading aged care provider TriCare says its respite care service is a great way of introducing the idea of residential aged care to those who want to experience what permanent care might be like before they make any longer-term commitments.

鈥淲e talk about it as an opportunity to 鈥榯ry before you buy鈥�,鈥� said TriCare Williams Landing Facility Manager Nithin Shetty, adding that it can take the pressure out of decision-making for both the person in need of care and their family and friends.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an option we鈥檇 like to see more people taking advantage of because people can experience a taste of permanent residential care without the risk that they鈥檒l regret their decision. They can see how they adjust to the residence, staff and location, and if they have any misconceptions or concerns about what life in an aged care residence is like, they can have those addressed as well.鈥�

Centenarian Mary Micallef鈥檚 family say they went on a lengthy 鈥榡ourney of self-discovery鈥� with a range of aged care providers. Mary had lived in a retirement village following the death of her husband, but eventually her needs became greater, and her family searched for appropriate aged care support.

鈥淥ver time, it was decided that Mum would spend two weeks of respite in various nursing homes that were being considered and for her to decide on her choice of homes,鈥� Mary鈥檚 daughter, Melita Proebstl explained.

Giving her mother an active role in the decision-making process offered a smoother transition to permanent care for Melita and her family, 鈥淲hat a relief it was! Within three days of what was to be another two weeks respite, it was clear to Mum and to all of us we had finally found the perfect place for Mum to spend her twilight years,鈥� Melita said of finding TriCare鈥檚 Williams Landing Aged Care Residence.

Martin Taylor, 83, also relished the chance to try a residence before making one of the biggest decisions of his life.

鈥淒ad absolutely loved his respite stay at TriCare Williams Landing, and has since moved in full-time,鈥� Martin鈥檚 son, Danny explained.

鈥淔rom the moment he moved in, we noticed a positive change in his outlook and health鈥攖he staff have been absolutely fantastic and so considerate of his needs,鈥� Danny added.

Of course, respite care isn鈥檛 always a 鈥榯ry-before-you-buy鈥� option; it can also be a welcome opportunity for carers to take a much-needed break from caring for their loved one鈥攚hether it鈥檚 for planned holidays, a family emergency, health reasons, or just to take a break and recharge.

But the popularity of respite care as a way to smooth the transition to permanent care is growing, with The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reporting that 64% of those entering permanent care have tried a respite service first (from their most recent data from 2019鈥�20). This is a significant increase from just 26% ten years earlier. And of those who tried respite care, over half (52%) went on to enter permanent care on the same day they exited respite care.

鈥淏eing able to experience a taste of permanent care first-hand, without the commitment, has made a world of difference for many people we鈥檝e seen in our facilities,鈥� Mr Shetty said.

Image credit: iStock.com/fizkes