Advice Centre
Care in Your Own Home
Home care, also known as domiciliary care, enables people to receive care in their own homes. Home care carers can assist you with the activities of daily living, for example getting up, going to bed, dressing, toileting and personal hygiene. They may also assist with household tasks, shopping, cooking and supervision of medication.
Carers undergo training as part of their induction, including working with hoists, manual handling, food hygiene and first aid training (care staff are required to undertake a NVQ at Level 2). Other training can include mental health, Alzheimer's disease and dementias. Depending on your level of need, carers will visit for just half an hour, or return four or more times a day. They can start at 7am and will work up until 11pm as required. Some service providers will offer a night-sitting service. Carers are paid hourly, with extra for working evenings, weekends and ?double time' for bank holidays. Rural areas may present difficulties and most carers expect to have their mileage paid. These extra charges will be reflected in your fees, so check your contract thoroughly.
Before you make any decisions, contact several providers and ask for an information pack which should include a list of charges, a service user's guide and a draft contract between you and the care provider (see guidelines below). You may wish to arrange your own care at home - further information on how to purchase independent home support can be found on the following website: http://bradweb.bradford.gov.uk or by contacting the Contract Compliance Unit on 01274 437999.
Guidelines issued by the Contract Compliance Unit
You may wish to purchase services direct from an Independent Home Support Provider. Before entering into a contract, make sure that the terms and conditions match your needs and expectations. You should consider including the following, which should be detailed in a written contract:
- Length of contract: the date it starts and finishes.
- Consider a trial period to start with.
- Payment: how much it costs and when you make the payments.
- Provision of service: what service you require. Be specific.
- Workers: to be suitably trained and experienced, with the necessary skills required to provide the service.
- Confidentiality: the provider should respect this at all times and adhere to the Data Protection Act 1998.
- Termination of contract: how much notice is required to end the contract? For what other reasons can the contract be ended? (i.e. the service not being satisfactory or not delivered at the right time.)
- Complaints: procedures in place that you understand and that are easy to follow.
- Health and safety: consider what steps you may need to take to provide a safe environment for the person providing the service.
- Insurance: have you suitable insurance should anything happen? Is the provider suitably insured?
Accredited home care providers
All providers wishing to contract with the Council must join the Council's Accreditation Scheme. This is regulated by the Contract Compliance Unit. Each provider has to demonstrate on several levels their competence to provide quality home care provision. For more information please contact 01274 431560. Contracted providers are indicated as ** in the listings.
Live-in care
24-hour live-in care can accommodate people with a very high dependency on a permanent basis. It can also provide respite breaks for regular carers and short-term support following hospital discharge. Usually two appropriate carers will rotate on a weekly basis to carry out the tasks that you are unable to manage.
The care provider will agree a care plan with you and the service is regularly monitored to ensure your needs are being met and quality maintained. Costs will vary between £550-£750 per week depending on your needs assessment. Some providers will add extra charges for their carers' travelling expenses.