When the time comes that you or a loved one is in need of additional care and support, you’ll want to ensure you select the best possible option; one that is right for you, your family and the unique situation you find yourselves in.
It can be a daunting time, coupled with high levels of emotion and often increased levels of stress. At times like this, it is understandable to make decisions quickly and sometimes without a rational thought process.
With this in mind we've pulled together some easy to follow guidance steps below:
What types of care are there?
- Home Care - The person needing care stays in their own home, with their pets and familiar surroundings. Care companies provide care visits that can be anything from 30-minutes to full Live-in Care.
- Residential Care Home - The person needing car leave their home to live in a Care Home with other people. They share communal area and the attention of staff members.
Which care is best?
There are benefits to each option so you’ll need to consider which works best for you and your situation. The following table shows a useful comparison.
| Live-in Care | Care Home |
|---|---|
| Continuing to enjoy the comforts of home, where things are familiar | Getting used to a new environment with communal living areas |
| Keeping your routine and not needing to change your current lifestyle | Changing your lifestyle, including regulated mealtimes and bedtimes |
| Enjoying genuine 1-to-1 support | Experiencing a 'one size fits all' approach |
| Living days independently | Having all outing organised for you well in advance |
| Enjoying the company of your pets | Potentially needing to re-home your pets |
Care in your home
As the table shows, care at home has a multitude of benefits over and above a residential care home and consequently, many are choosing this route. With this type of care growing in demand every year, there are lots of care businesses being established as it’s clearly a service that’s in demand. But how can you be sure you’re choosing the right home-care provider that has all the qualities needed to provide the best care for you and your family?
Choosing the right home-care provider
Choosing the right person or company to provide care and support for you ora loved one is not an easy decision. You need someone who is caring, with the right knowledge and skills, someone you can rely upon and most importantly someone whom you can trust. When considering care at home, it’s important to gather as much information as possible to make an informed decision.
What exactly is care at home?
Home care services give you the essential care and support you need to live in the comfort of your own home.
This is sometimes referred to as ‘social care’ or ‘domiciliary care’ and there are many companies offering these types of services, including Bluebird Care.
Home care means you can stay in your home, with your pets and in familiar surroundings.
Care at home can be anything from a 30-minute care visit to Live-in Care providing support to you or your loved one in their own home. It covers a plethora of support such as:
- Short care visits
- Full 24-hour care
- Live-in Care
- Companionship
- Start and end of day help
- Personal care
- Night care and support
- Outings or visiting family
- Cleaning and tidying
- Medication collection
- Mealtime support
- Complex care needs
- Everything in between
What makes a good home-care provider?
Home-care providers come in many different shapes and sizes, not to mention regulated and un-regulated.
Unregulated care providers are not governed by any rules or guidelines and do not have to meet certain criteria.
These often come in the form of an Independent Personal Assistant or a smaller independent company. In some instances, you may find yourself in the position of ‘employer’ and have the associated insurance risks, the burden of national insurance and so on.
Things to consider here are:
- Do they have adequate training?
- Do they have experience?
- What happens if they are sick or on holiday?
- Do they have any reviews or customer testimonials?
- Do they have insurance?
- Will they charge you additional travel time?
- Do they have relevant Police checks such as DBS?
Regulated companies must provide adequate training to all of their staff as well as have appropriate insurance.
In addition, the larger the company, the larger the care team which means your care package will not suffer from interruptions due to staff holidays and sickness.
Regulated Home Care
Regulators across the United Kingdom and Ireland set out standards of care that regulated companies must adhere to.
A regulated home care provider employs all of its care assistants directly and is regulated by a governing body. These are:
- Care Quality Commission - CQC (England)
- Care Inspectorate (Scotland)
- Care Inspectorate Wales
- The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority–RQIA (Northern Ireland)
Being regulated ensures a set standard is being achieved when delivering care and you can rest easy knowing your chosen provider is safe to deliver care. Some of these regulators also grade care providers according to further criteria. More information can be found on their website.
What to look out for
No care package is the same and it is not a one size fits all approach. Everyone is unique and will require different levels of care and support.
A good care provider will meet with you and understand your exact requirements. They will then create a bespoke care package for you and your unique needs.
It is also important for the family to be kept as involved as possible. Often, the immediate family feel a sense of guilt for not being to provide the care themselves. To relieve this emotion, a good care company will make regular updates to the family and involve them as much as they want to be involved, all with the customers’ permission of course.
Here is a checklist of things to consider when selecting a home care provider:
- Are they regulated?
- What customer reviews do they have on their website?
- What regulator rating do they have?
- How big is the company? Will they cope with staff sickness or holidays?
- Do they offer specialist care if required?
- Are they willing to come for a home visit before you make any decisions?
- How do they keep in touch with family and other relatives?
- What training have they received and how experienced is the care team in general?
- Does the company supplying your care assistant employ them directly?
- Do you feel you can trust them?
At Bluebird Care, we are passionate about keeping our customers safe, secure and happy in their own homes.
With kindness and compassion, our highly trained and trusted team deliver bespoke care packages that are tailored to individual needs. The enthusiasm and happy disposition within our care team keeps customers being themselves, doing the things they love, safe in the comfort of their own home.
We can provide care visits ranging from a 30-minute visit through to full Live-in Care and many specialist services. Take a look through our services section to find out more about how we can help support you.