Care in your own home

Carefully chosen home care with a good quality provider is an excellent way to retain your freedom and independence, whilst getting the help you need to stay happy and safe. Why choose home care? Reasons for choosing home care can vary. Sometimes after a stay in hospital, someone might find they need some help whilst they recuperate. Others can find that a long-term condition or disability means they can no longer cope, and they need a bit of help. After a stay in hospital someone may carry out an assessment of your situation to see if home care will benefit you. You will be fully involved in looking at what will suit you best. Your family can also be involved if you’d like them to be. Alternatively, you or those close to you might notice It can offer the opportunity to remain living at home, in your own familiar surroundings, and to retain a quality of life you might have feared

lost. changes in your ability to manage the day-to-day things you normally cope with easily, like preparing meals or looking after yourself. If this happens, contacting Adult Social Care for an assessment is a good first step towards finding help.

How home care can help you

The level of home care provided can be tailored to meet your needs – from a visit once a day to a much greater amount of support.

Even those with quite significant and debilitating medical conditions can get skilled personal care that can enable them to remain living at home.

Helping Hands Caring since 1989

E L I E V E I N B E G R O O D C A

Do you need a helping hand?

Are you not yet ready for a care home?

Looking for care? 0808 274 2935

For more information www.helpinghands.co.uk Fully managed high quality affordable live-in care

from £795 per week

Contact us today 0808 163 5101 | agincare.com

Finding care in your area

Looking for care in your area? Want to know the quality rating of providers you’re considering? Care Choices, publisher of this Directory, has a website providing comprehensive details of care providers as well as essential information.

You can search by postcode, county or region for care homes, care homes with nursing and home care providers that meet your needs across the country.

Your search can be refined by the type of care you are looking for and the results can be sent to you by email. They can also be saved and emailed to others.

The website includes detailed information for each care provider, including the address, phone number and the service’s latest CQC inspection report and rating (see page 49), indicating the quality of care provided.

You can also view an electronic version of this Directory on the site and have it read to you by using the ‘Recite Me’ function. Visit

www.carechoices.co.uk

The Care Quality Commission (www.cqc.org.uk ) is responsible for checking that any care provided meets essential standards of quality and safety and awards quality ratings. Further information is on page 49.

The United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA) requires its members to comply with a code of practice. This code includes a commitment to treat customers with dignity and respect and operate at a level above the legal minimum required in legislation.

Social care regulations do not apply to cleaners, handymen or gardeners. However, some home care agencies are increasingly providing staff who can help meet these needs too.

The benefits of using a regulated agency include: assessing your care needs and tailoring a plan to meet those needs;

advertising, interviewing and screening suitability of workers;

arranging necessary insurance cover; providing training and development for care workers;

managing workers’ pay, including compliance with the National Minimum Wage; managing employment relationships, including sickness, absence and disciplinary matters; and managing health and safety issues.

Search for care in your area

www.carechoices.co.uk

With so many providers to choose from, where do you start?

• Find care providers quickly and easily • Search by location and care need • Information on care quality • Links to inspection reports • Additional information, photos and web links • Brochure requests