Nursing sociology_Analysis and critical evaluation of primary health Essay

Nursing sociology_Analysis and critical evaluation of primary health and community care services from perspective of health professionals about aged care - Essay Example Home and Community Care (HACC) is a cost-sharing program between the Commonwealth and State/Territory governments to enable the aged individuals to remain in their own homes by financially supporting the old individuals’ primary carer. (Department of Health, 2008) As part of strengthening the goals of HACC program, members of HACC Program can receive financial support up to $12,000 each year whereas HACC carers can also receive $12,000 each year for their service (Aged Care Policy Directorate, 2006). Aside from HACC, Community Aged Care Packages (CACP) also Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH) also strengthens support for aged population within their own home. CACP provides the aged people with support service which focuses on the complex caring needs of aged individuals whereas EACH aims to delivery health care services at home (Australian Government, 2008). Australia has inadequate number of registered nurses (Kearney & Thomas, 2008, p. 5) Because of the limited government funding, as much as 2.6 million people in Australia receive healthcare services from informal carers instead of receiving care from primary carers (Austin et al., 2005; Gilmore, 2004) as compared to the actual health care demands of the aged population. Allen Consulting Group (2007) reported that there are only 57 primary carers that handle the health care needs of 100 aged individuals today. Since informal carers do not have sufficient knowledge on ways to protect themselves from strains, this group of people are more prone to suffer from physical injury. To increase the number of primary nurses and protect their health and well-being from excessive workload, the Australian government provides educational financial assistance ($9,316) to nursing students (Kearney & Thomas, 2008: p. 5). Aged Care Policy Directorate. (2006, April). Retrieved September 25, 2008, from Guidelines for Service Provision Levels in the Home