Finding the best home care provider

Finding the best home care provider

September 29, 2015

How to find the best home care provider

How do you choose a good home care provider for your Parents, Relative or Friend in need? There are a number of companies to choose from in West and East Sussex. But there are a few things to check to make the right choice.

Firstly, have the provider’s care staff gone through a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check? Under UK law, all carers must go through a DBS check to ensure there’s nothing in their past that might put your loved one at risk.

Ronnie Chatterton-Sim from Coastal Homecare in Worthing explains: “All home care staff should undergo thorough interviews and training. They also have to provide two work references and one character reference. And the DBS check is mandatory because it’s essential to ensure the carers have no criminal background that might place someone at risk in their own home.”

A good home care provider will also visit the client’s home at the outset to assess precisely what assistance is needed. Then, once you’re signed up, it’s essential there are regular reviews to ensure the care schedule remains the right one for your Parents.

Flexible caring

“We review the care after the first six weeks to see whether the client is happy with what’s being provided, and then on a rolling three-monthly basis,” says Ronnie. “It could be the care initially agreed is too short – or too long – or it requires new features. A good home care provider will be flexible. They can adjust their care provision to meet the needs of different people. So that care is always tailored to the needs of each individual.”

Professional home care is also about providing respite for family carers. If a carer needs a break for only a few hours, the home care provider should able to sit with your relative so that you can go out for the evening or have a rest.

To help you choose a quality agency covering Sussex and the south east, you can visit the UKHCA website http://www.ukhca.co.uk/index.aspx. It’s the professional association of home care providers and a central source of information which will help you make an informed choice about care for your family.

It’s also essential a provider is registered with the UK’s independent regulator, the Care Quality Commission. The CQC oversees all aspects of personal care http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/regulated-activities#personal-care , in the UK.