A new model of aged and disability care described as empowering people to remain in their own homes has been launched to help address the broken aged care system and to ease pressure on services.
Couple Kylie and Darren Williams have started the territory's first Nurse Next Door Home Care Services, which focuses on "reconnecting people with the things that give meanings to their lives".
Ms Williams said to achieve that, caregivers and clients are matched based on shared interests and hobbies.
"We first try to understand our clients and then match that with our caregivers and nurses," she said.
"What makes us different is the happier ageing model with unique features including a 24/7 call centre, personal care and nursing services.
"We have a full-time care designer who has nearly 30 years experience as a registered nurse in Canberra."
Another feature of Nurse Next Door, which has trademarked its happier ageing model, is one-off or short-term care and post-operative care.
Ms Williams, who had a corporate career, said the ACT service is self-funded and that clients may be privately paid for or recipients of home care packages or NDIS.
The service comes following the 2021-22 federal budget allocating $6.5 billion for another 80,000 home care packages.
This adds to the 160,000 packages from the $12b committed since the 2018-19 budget.
"The government will progress work on the design of a new home care program as a priority," budget papers stated.
"This new program will better target services to older Australians' assessed care needs and ensure that care provided is of a high quality and sustainable."
A December 2020 report by the federal health department stated that people with access to home care packages increased from 155,625 to 162,973, or 4.7 per cent, between June 30 and September 30 last year.
In the 12 months to September 2020, that increase was 20.8 per cent.
Ms Williams' partner, Darren Williams said they wanted "everyone to have the choice to stay in their own home, as our grandparents did".
"We want to provide the kind of quality services to our community that we would want our parents, family and friends to receive," he said.
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Mr Williams, who held social services roles in the past, said a positive mindset was the cornerstone of a longer and happier life, as well as greater physical health and cognitive function.
A 2016 ACT Government report about the health and wellbeing of older people forecast the number of people aged 65 years and older would be 21 per cent by 2053.
In 2013, this figure was 11.3 per cent, or 43,327 people.
Similarly, a 2020-21 ACT needs assessment by the Primary Health Network stated that about 96 per cent of older people in the ACT lived at home with 1464 people using home care.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the number of people with disabilities increased from 4.4 million to 4.5 million in 2015-18.
