Access Community Health

I have had a op to reconstruction of my ankle and non weight bearing. The carer's at access were great at first , I have 1 carer that came for ny personal cares and she stood outside the bathroom instead of helping me in and out of the shower. My cares are all over the place and sometimes I dont have breakfast til 1pm or they are a no show . I would like to have carers who qould help.

I'm leaving this review on behalf of my mother, Karen. She is looking after her mother (my granny) who has very advanced dementia and has carers coming in to help with changing her showering etc. At present my grandad is in the hospital with cancer. One of the carers found his wallet at home and stole it, there was an $800 charge before my mother realised it had been stolen. I can't express how frustrated and disappointing this is to hear. My mother has called and left a message (on Wednesday) for Kerryn (not sure on the spelling) it is now Friday and she hasn't had any follow up. This is absolutely appalling.

After writing the review below Access called to find out the issues. Listened and were kind. Watch this space. Worst experience ever. They don't listen, are disorganized and their comms system means being on hold for a long time

My experience with Access – I ruptured my Achilles and was assessed as requiring 1 hour of cleaning a week as prescribed to certain areas and tasks; not including deep cleans of ovens etc. What I received was 15-20 mins of sub par cleaning before leaving with, "I've finished all my tasks". I questioned why all the areas of shower surfaces have not been wiped down and was met with, "we only clean the glass, the other surfaces are a deep clean" – this makes absolutely no sense. For reference 1 of 2 glass surfaces had been cleaned which was only partially wiped. The vacuuming was done to an okay standard.  Anything requiring a wipe down is carried out with token spray and cloth to surface, and no elbow grease whatsoever.  Not even the whole surface is wiped. My 18 month old can do a better job than this. I wouldn’t be classed as overly vulnerable compared to other peoples situation but I do question if this is happening to others who really need the help. Is this company giving sub-par cleaning surfaces and taking advantage of other, more vulnerable people?  What are they doing for the remaining 45 mins of the time? What’s clear is that 1 hours of cleaning is required and either the company or the cleaners are profiting from leaving early. Either way it’s a disgrace that Access is designed to support those in need and those in need are clearly being taken advantage of.

Don’t even begin your loved ones home care with Access. Disappointing, unsafe, unreliable, inconsistent and poor communication. If your elderly family member is assessed to need care in own home, please go with a different agency.

We were referred to this organisation via the Bay of Plenty District Health Board. At the time we received the referral, we were very grateful (as was my Mum who was quite unwell) and who up until that time had tried to manage on her own at home. Initally she was receiving assistance in the home several mornings a week and her caregiver was outstanding and they both got on very well. Challenges arose for us on days where her caregiver was not available and also when we needed to 'ramp up' assistance with some cleaning and bed making once a week, thus requiring an additional caregiver. We found it extremely frustrating trying to get through on the 0800 number and to get information on who would be coming and when they would be coming. It seems that they had a very limited pool of staff and very limited flexibility when one staff member was on leave or unavailable due to ill health, etc. We had to ring several times a day just to get a response and to find out what was going on so that we could make other arrangements for my Mother's various needs. Because my Brother and I were in different cities and unable to be present all of the time this was extremely stressful. For an organisation that is working so closely with a District Health Board, we were terribly disappointed at times. This doesn't mean that we weren't grateful for the assistance that we received, we were indeed grateful, but I think that what we witnessed this organisation struggling with is an endemic problem here in New Zealand, with a growing population of elderly and limited resources to support them. Full marks to all of the staff on the phone lines and also to those who came to support Mum, all of whom tried to help, but I think the management of this organisation needs to take a long hard look at the difference between their promotional material and what actually happens in the field.

Absolutely the worst care service ever. We thought Geneva were bad until we went to Access. Can be up to an hour to answer their phone (same for their support workers), and often carers don't turn up, or don't know what to do, or can't even enter the house. We have a small book of logged issues with Access and none of their management even care, especially Chief Op's Officer Androulla Kosotros. We are appealing to Health Minister and Ombudsman to get them defunded. 2021: One of their support workers had a client die in her presence & she just left the house without telling anyone. 2022: Access SW told elderly client that Pfizer vaccine "causes miscarriages"