Comfort-Focused Care at Home

Palliative Care at Home in Sydney

For 18 years, Young at Heart Services has helped people across Sydney live independently at home. Our palliative home care brings that experience to practical, personal support when you are living with a life-limiting illness.

Having help at home can make space for the things that matter to you, whether that is spending time with family, keeping a familiar routine or simply having a quieter day. You remain involved in decisions about your care and how support fits into your life.

We provide private palliative care at home in Sydney, working alongside your doctors, community nurses and other health professionals. Our carers help with the everyday tasks that can become difficult, while your medical team guides your treatment.

Call 0431 345 901
Send an enquiry

18 years caring for Sydney families

Police-checked, insured carers

No lock-in contracts or exit fees

Care can often start in 1 to 2 weeks

Practical support for living at home

Palliative care aims to improve quality of life for people with a life-limiting illness. It can begin earlier in an illness and be provided alongside treatment. Your needs and preferences help shape the care you receive.

For you, the immediate concern may be managing a shower, getting comfortable in a chair or preparing something to eat. For a partner or family member, it may be finding someone to help between medical visits or while they are at work.

We talk through what is becoming difficult and where a carer would be useful. Support can start with the parts of the day you need help with most and be reviewed as your circumstances change.

What your palliative home care can include

Tell us about any equipment, mobility instructions or other care requirements when you enquire. We can discuss the assistance involved and the experience needed for your care.

  • Personal care: help with showering, dressing, grooming, toileting and continence needs.
  • Meals and drinks: preparing food and assisting with meals in line with advice from your treating team.
  • Mobility support: assistance with moving around, transfers and positioning as agreed in your care plan.
  • Medication reminders: prompts that follow your prescribed routine.
  • Everyday tasks: light housekeeping, shopping and keeping the spaces you use comfortable.
  • Companionship: conversation, familiar activities or quiet company, according to your wishes.
  • Family respite: a carer to provide agreed support while a family member rests or takes time away.

Working with your doctors and community nurses

Palliative care at home may involve several people, each with a different role. Your GP, community nurses or specialist palliative care team guide clinical care, including symptom treatment and changes to medicines. Young at Heart provides practical home care alongside that support.

When arranging care, we will discuss who is already involved and how our carers can fit into the plan. With your consent, the people supporting you can share relevant information about your routines and needs.

If you need help with a particular clinical task, raise this at the outset so responsibilities can be clarified with the appropriate health professional.

Daytime visits and overnight palliative care

The times you need help can change. Morning assistance may make getting ready easier, while an evening visit can help with personal care and settling in for the night.

We can also discuss overnight, live-in and 24-hour support where more assistance is needed. Tell us how often help is required during the night, what that help involves and whether someone needs to remain awake. This helps us understand the coverage required.

The proposed schedule, overnight arrangements, carer availability and costs are discussed with you before care begins.

Respite for family carers

Caring for someone close to you can involve work, appointments, household responsibilities and interrupted sleep. Having another person available to help can give you time to rest or attend to other parts of your life.

Respite support can be built around the times you need a break. We discuss what the person you support prefers, their usual routine and the tasks that need attention while you are away. You can also be at home while a carer helps, giving you time together without having to manage every task yourself.

A carer who respects your home and preferences

Feeling comfortable with the person coming into your home matters. We consider experience, personality and your cultural or religious preferences when matching you with a carer.

Our carers undergo reference and police checks and are covered by insurance. We welcome feedback about the match and can discuss a different carer if the arrangement is not right for you. Learn more about our team and approach.

“Maria and the Young at Heart team cared for my mother for over ten years.”

M T, Mosman. Read the published client testimonial.

Arranging palliative care at home

Talk through your situation. Tell us where you live, what is becoming difficult, who is involved in your care and when you would like help to start.

Agree on the support. We discuss the tasks, visit times, carer requirements, fees and how home care will fit around your medical team.

Find a suitable carer and review your needs. We arrange support around the agreed plan and discuss changes with you as your needs develop.

Keeping families informed and involved

Good care does not happen in isolation. With your agreement, we stay in regular contact with family and let them know about any changes we notice in day to day wellbeing, mobility or routine.

If we think some extra help would make life easier, or that a small change at home would help someone stay safe, we will say so. That might mean suggesting a handrail, a walker, a commode or another simple aid, or talking through whether a home modification is worth considering. Our aim is to keep communication open and to work alongside families, not around them.

Support for complex care needs

You may also need more intensive support at home because of limited mobility or several daily care needs, even if you are not receiving palliative care. We can discuss help with personal care, transfers, meals and overnight routines. The arrangement depends on the care involved, any clinical instructions and carer availability.

Private palliative care costs

The cost of care depends on the support involved and the agreed schedule. We discuss your requirements before providing fees, so you can consider the arrangement before committing.

Young at Heart has no administration fees, exit fees or long-term lock-in contracts. A notice period applies under your service agreement.

Home palliative care across Sydney

We support people across Sydney City, the Inner West, North Shore, Northern Beaches and Eastern Suburbs. Tell us your suburb and preferred care times so we can confirm availability for your situation.

What Our Clients Say

Sincere and capable help Maria and her team at Young at Heart are more special to me, and my mum, than any other agency we have received assistance from. The team’s warm and genuine care, combined with their reliability, means I look forward to their help.
Lara & her mother SharonThornleigh/Turramurra
I really appreciated that you looked after the Parents so well and in such an intelligent manner. They enjoyed your company especially My father ( you may not have felt the same way Ha-ha). I had no hesitation in trusting you and your judgement of choosing Dora to help. It has been such a pleasure to have someone who is such a good communicator and who can make intelligent suggestions instead of just being a “yes” (wo)man and with whom I could discuss the state and welfare of the Parents. I had no other person to consult. So I am the one to say a big thanks. I also hope we can keep in touch, Kind regards
Anne Marie
Last year, sadly, I lost my wife. My health started to slowly deteriorate, and as I am in my early 90’s, I realized that is becoming harder to live on my own. I started looking around aged care facilities, but the more I looked the more I wanted stay in my own home. So I decided that I will look into hiring full time live in carers.  Maria and Young at Heart was recommended to me by friends who already knew her. I contacted Maria, and she was very helpful, very accommodating. She organized a young married couple who now are living with me full time, and assisting me with the things that are not so easy for me to do anymore.  But more importantly she managed to find carers from my own background, which makes life so much easier; we can speak the same language, we like the same food and we have a lot to talk about our culture.  I am very happy with my decision to stay in my own home, and very satisfied with the services and the carers that Young at Heart organized for me.  I would gladly recommend Young at Heart to anyone who needs similar assistance, whether it is live in care, personal assistance , social support, or the occasional companionship.
With wishing to find the same good people
StephenMosman
I first was fortunate enough to meet Maria Pauka through an act of kindness when my elderly mother had a fall and Maria lived in the same apartment block!  This was now almost seven years ago.   Maria’s business was in its infancy and shortly after this incident we took on Maria’s services to become a permanent carer for my Mum so as she could maintain her independence in her own home.  When the time came for Mum to be moved to permanent care, we retained Maria’s services on a different basis as she had become such a wonderful and cheerful companion for my mother who was very fond of her. Sadly, Mum passed away, and, having never forgotten Maria’s personal quality of service and caring, I was delighted to learn that she has expanded her business to include general care for short term needs also!  My husband took ill, and, with a full time job, I was unable to take care of the household needs and Maria provided an excellent quality of helpers to assist with light household duties, including shopping, cooking, washing, general tidying and companionship.  The flexibility and quality of staff Maria has been able to arrange at short notice is nothing less than extraordinary!   We have again very recently employed the services of “Young at Heart” due to a broken ankle, where assistance was needed to undertake basic chores, and, act as my ‘legs’.  Again, Maria was called upon, and, with very short notice, fabulous, willing carers to the rescue where nothing was too much trouble. I would not hesitate to recommend Maria’s services for reliability, quality, flexibility and genuine caring and understanding of client’s needs.
JulieNorthbridge
Young at Heart provides an excellent, reliable service
We engaged the services of Young at Heart over a year ago to provide companionship and security for my husband, while giving me peace of mind while I am out. We have been completely satisfied and delighted at the care and company he receives. They very quickly established a warm and pleasant friendship and he looks forward to seeing her each week.
She is a charming, friendly person, cheerful, punctual, reliable and immaculate in her presentation. Her visits give me a break and offer him a change of pace. Working with Young at Heart ensures that should our regular helper be away we will not be left in the lurch, but will always have an experienced person in her place. I heartily recommend this service as highly professional and easy to deal with.
MGGreenwich, NSW
‘Young at Heart’ is an absolute godsend to our family. Maria is a compassionate, patient and professional Carer/companion for our 94year old Dad, who supports his wellbeing holistically – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Living quite a distance from Sydney and with Dad not speaking much English, Maria’s support gives us peace of mind. Maria is an excellent communicator and always keeps us up to date on Dad’s health status and changing needs. Thanks to Maria, Dad continues to ‘have a life’, while still in the nursing home. Maria takes him out, runs errands, does shopping and helps with whatever comes up! Her help is so flexible and adaptable, depending on Dad’s current needs and energy levels. It’s the little things and attention to detail that make a big difference – like picking up his favourite juice on her way in to visit, or Dad’s dry-cleaned jacket, so he can maintain his dignity and pride. Maria has become one of the family and has made Dad’s end of life stage a time full of joy and love, despite his chronic and terminal ailments. I don’t know how we would manage without her!
Working for Young at Heart has been a great decision for me.
  Not only does Maria care for her Clients but she also cares about her Staff.
It is so rewarding to work as a valued and respected member of Staff, where your skills are really appreciated.
Marg
Maria, It is such a pleasure working with you and the Young at Heart team. Thank you so much for being such a great boss; teaching me, helping me and supporting me. You are an extraordinary boss and an excellent person. It has been such a pleasure to take care of Jean, Mosman, she was a great person whom I really appreciated. And her family also was so supportive all the way. I am so grateful for being able to work with Young at Heart.
MelMosman
Maria and the Young at Heart team cared for my mother for over ten years. In that time, the needs of my mother an independent and active person gradually changed to a high care situation. Through Maria’s careful and thoughtful care program, my mother enjoyed a level of care second to none. In her final time, Maria’s team excelled in my mother’s palliative care. The visiting specialist Hammondcare team were most impressed and could not fault with the care provided. I have no hesitation in recommending Maria and her team for the highest possible care.
M TMosman

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about palliative care at home

Palliative care can support someone over a longer period of illness, including while they receive treatment. End-of-life care focuses on the time when a person is approaching death. The support needed can overlap, and the treating team can explain what is appropriate for your situation.

Yes. Contact us while discharge is being planned so we can discuss the proposed timing and help needed at home. Your hospital team determines when you are ready to leave and arranges the clinical discharge plan.

Yes. We can work alongside other providers to add support where you need it. Let us know what is already in place so we can discuss how the arrangements will fit together.

We can often assist on short notice, subject to carer availability and the care required. Tell us if your request is urgent so we can explain the options and likely timing.

That depends on your wishes, clinical needs and the support available. Discuss this with your treating team. Care can be provided in different settings, and the plan may change as your needs change. NSW Health explains palliative care and the support available.

Explore our other in-home care services

Dementia Care  ·  Help at Home  ·  Personal Care  ·  Post Hospital & Short-Term Care  ·  End of Life Care

Get in Touch Today

Talk with us about the care you need

You may already know the hours of support you need, or you may be working out what would help. Tell us about your situation and we can talk through the practical options for care at home.

Call 0431 345 901
Send an enquiry
Scroll to Top