How do you know when Home Care is needed?
Good home care is about preserving your independence. This may mean that you need help with day to day tasks such as:
- Getting out of bed
- Washing
- Getting to the toilet
- Managing medication
- Preparing meals
- Keeping your home in order
- Socialising
The right support will work in partnership with you to help maintain your independence. Support you need may vary from one call a week to 4 calls a day and night support. Your support needs may vary from time to time, for example it may increase following illness or decrease when you have additional family support.
What are the characteristics of good Home Care?
Your home provider will have the privilege of being a regular visitor to your home. Your relationship with the carers supporting you is key. The best home providers gain a comprehensive picture of you, your preferences, your aspirations and your support needs at an assessment prior to the start of support. This assessment is then documented in a care plan that is shared with you, all team members who will support you, and where appropriate family members. Good care is a highly personalised service that reflects everyone’s specific needs and expectations.
Providers should recognise that your support needs may vary from time to time, for example as a result of illness, a fall or a stay in hospital. They should also work in partnership with you to maintain your independence and support your recovery. They should look to provide the right level of support that keeps you at home and as active as possible.
The best providers have well trained employees and provide them with ongoing professional development. They will also be able to explain how they support specific requirements including dementia, post stroke recovery, neurological conditions, and chronic illnesses.
The regulator for home care is the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which inspects home providers and assess them as Outstanding, Good, Require Improvement or Inadequate. Only 5% of providers are rated Outstanding by CQC.
Can I arrange temporary Home Care?
Yes, this is called respite support. It is not unusual to have temporary home care in some situations, for example when a family carer is on holiday or while you recover from illness or a hospital stay. Most providers are happy to offer respite support but, where possible, it is best to arrange it as far as possible in advance in order that you can confirm the dates are available.
How is Home Care Funded?
Local authorities will fund assessed care needs for those with assets of less than £23,500 in England. Anyone can ask for a care needs assessment from their local authority, but only those with assets below the threshold will be funded. If you are funded, you can either accept a provider from the local authority or ask for direct payments and choose your own provider. In some cases, family members may top up the direct payments to provide a greater level of support or to select the provider you want. More information on direct payments is available at
https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/long-term-care/direct-payments-arranging-and-paying-for-care .
The £23,500 threshold has, remarkably, not changed since 2010 meaning that more people ever year are responsible for funding their own care. Any provider you choose should provide clear information on the cost of support per week, the amount of support they will provide, any additional payments for evenings, weekends or bank holidays and the cost of any additional support per 30 minutes or hour.
This guide is intended to help you make the right choice of care for your specific needs.
Check CQC Registration
All home care providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). You can see the registration details, the inspection grade (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate). Many providers have not yet been inspected as a result of an increase in the number of providers and a CQC backlog, but all providers should be listed on the website.
Most home care providers are rated Good by CQC with only around 5% rated Outstanding. All providers are required to display their CQC registration on their web site.
The CQC website, https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/find-homecare-agencies provides information on all services in your area.
Ask for Recommendations
The experience of people who have experienced a service is invaluable. The experiences of existing clients or families of clients who can provide a great insight into the strengths and weaknesses of a service. Questions could include:
- How well did the provider understand that person’s needs?
- How good was communication?
- How involved did they feel in decision about their care?
- How good was staff continuity?
- How well were your specific needs supported
- Did you have any complaints, and if so how were they dealt with?
If you don’t know anyone who has used a home care service, you can ask the provider if they can let you speak to an existing client.
Look at Reviews from people who used the service
Client reviews of services are available on a number of platforms, including Google and www.homecare.co.uk . These give a good indication of overall client satisfaction, and of specific strengths and weaknesses. A regular flow of good reviews, particularly where the reviewers have identified what they especially valued from the service, is a good indicator
Look at Employee Reviews
Employee satisfaction is an important element of employee retention. A service with a high employee turnover will generally struggle to maintain a high quality of care. Employee reviews are available on sites including www.glassdoor.co.uk and www.indeed,co.uk .
Employee reviews scores will generally be lower than client review scores. This is because ex employees who may have not had the skills required as a carer, or who left as a result of performance issues are more likely to leave reviews than long serving employees. However, the content of reviews can be worth reading.
Speak to Providers
Providers will be happy to speak to you about how they would meet your needs. You should ask about their specific training and expertise in supporting any conditions or diseases that affect you, as well as more general questions such as:
- What induction training and ongoing development do they offer? Induction training for some providers is as little as a day or even less, and ongoing development can be limited to mandatory training, but good providers will offer more.
- How do they ensure my independence rather than doing tasks that I could do myself?
- How many employees do they have and how many have left over the last 12 months. Staff retention is important to continuity of care. All providers will have leavers, sometimes because employees are advancing their career in a promoted post elsewhere or to train or study for a health care qualification. Too high a turnover is generally a bad sign.
- How do they ensure that all calls are delivered on time and for the agreed duration?
- Are most of their carers salaried or do they work on a zero hours contract basis? Staff retention and therefore quality of care, is normally better for salaried employees, (London School of Economics study www.lse.ac.uk. However some employees prefer the flexibility of zero hours contracts, so many providers will have employees on salaried terms and on zero hours.
- How will carers spot any issues that may suggest a deterioration in my condition, and what actions will they take.
- Do they offer overnight support, or could they offer it if required later on a temporary or long term basis?
- What happens if I am admitted to hospital? Would I have the same carers when I return home, and how would they help to maintain my independence?
Choosing Home Care?
Choosing a home care service is an important decision, and you will want to have as full a picture as possible in making that choice. The right provider will support your independence and work in partnership with you to ensure you live the life you want.
Get in touch
Hilton Home Care – Kent
Unit 6
Highpoint Business Village,
Henwood,
Ashford,
Kent
TN24 8DH
–
01233 321110
Hilton Home Care – West Sussex
Unit 8
Sussex Business Village,
Lake Lane,
Barnham,
Bognor Regis
PO22 0AL
–
0333 200 1210