Whether you’re looking for care at home in north London or elsewhere, either for yourself or someone close to you, it’s a major decision, and one which can sometimes feel a little overwhelming.
Indeed, it can seem hard to know where even to start. There’ll certainly be a lot of things you’ll want to know before you commit, including staff vetting, pricing transparency and the care firm’s regulatory status. One good starting point is to have a list of questions prepared in advance. Having these ready – and getting the answers you need in plenty of time – will do a great deal to give you peace of mind.
Here are some of the things you might want to consider asking:
- Staff and training
It’s worth ensuring that all care workers, whether they’ll be visiting you or someone else, have undergone enhanced Disclosure and Barring (DBS) checks. (These are the official criminal history records which help UK employers to recruit safely.)
At the same time, ask what training the carers will have received, particularly if you’re looking for more specialist support such as for a particular condition like dementia, or managing medication.
Another staff-related question to ask is whether the same care workers will be attending the home all the time, making it easier to build a relationship and rapport with them. This kind of continuity really matters. And what happens when a carer is away on leave or is sick?
In summary, you should be looking for the allocation of a consistent, small team who get to know you well and with whom you or your loved one quickly feel comfortable.
- Fees and contracts
Clearly, you’ll want to understand the care provider’s hourly rates and whether additional costs apply for overnight, weekend or Bank Holiday work. Ask, too, about any hidden expenses including set-up costs.
Equally, will visits last for a statutory length of time, with minimum time periods in place? No one wants their sessions to feel rushed, after all. It’s also worth finding out whether travel falls within or outside the scheduled appointment times.
Finally, ask for a copy of the company’s standard contract and cancellation terms and, as with anything else, read the small print carefully before you commit. Double check with the provider about anything at all which seems unclear.
- Quality and regulation
Any care company in England should be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) or appropriate local authority. Find out their most recent rating via the CQC website, and assess how they handle complaints. Additionally, understand the processes that are in place for continual monitoring, reviewing and auditing of their operations so that their service complies with established standards. A good provider, of course, will have no problem being transparent about the results of their latest inspection.
Lastly, lone worker and medication safety processes should also be in place.
- Care plan – creation and review
You can expect to have a detailed, in-person assessment before support starts. You should also ask how often the plan will be reviewed, and whether a partner or family members can participate in this process.
Assess whether the provider will adapt to your needs as, if and when these change, whether that’s through overnight stays, dementia support or live-in care. You won’t want to switch providers at a later stage, since this can be highly disruptive.
- How will the provider communicate?
Clearly, excellent communication is vital to the relationship of trust which you need to build with your care provider. So ask whether (and with what frequency) you’ll be receiving regular updates about your loved one’s care. Equally, will communication be via a dedicated care manager, an on-call phone number or by any other method?
Asking all these questions will give you confidence that your chosen company is a trustworthy, professional provider of the high-quality care that’s perfectly tailored to what you need.
Finally, do your own research via online reviews to learn what other families are saying about the organisation you’re considering using.
Care at home in north London and elsewhere from Visiting Angels
Whether you’re searching for at-home care in north London or anywhere else, Visting Angels can help. We fully appreciate the importance of having the right carers in place to suit you from the outset, and will work hard to find the perfect match – we’re all about genuine rapport, real flexibility and warm, genuine working relationships. Plus we have more than two decades’ industry experience to our name.
Enquire now, and learn more about our services, including complex care and care at home in north London as well as other locations across the UK.
