5 Tips to help you choose the right Live-In Care

We know that this will be one of the hardest decisions you ever make, and that is why we created this helpful guide. We’ve pulled together our Top 5 Tips to help you make the best choice.

If you are looking for yourself, or perhaps to arrange care for someone you love then you’re already going through a wide range of emotions and will be focusing on one thing.

Getting it right.

By this point, you’ll have decided that the benefits of remaining in your own home, with familiar surroundings and creature comforts, is the option you need, but next comes the hard part. How do I choose the right provider with the right carers?

To make sure you get the best experience possible, it’s really important to remember that Live-In care is more than just the services that are provided (and they are very important) but it’s equally important that the carer who moves into the home is someone you like, is experienced and has had brilliant training. Most importantly you need someone who will respect your home, friends & family, daily routines, privacy and make you feel safe, secure, and cared for.

Tip Number 1. Think it through – what care do we need?

All of our Live-In carers are trained through our internal Carefour Academy and complete additional modules when they perform Live-In Care. However, the more you are able to tell a provider about what you need, want, and expect, the closer they can match you to a carer.
This is particularly important for clients with more complex needs, perhaps they have Dementia or a debilitating illness. They might require neurological care or support so the more information you can compile the better match a provider can make to give you everything you need.

It’s also really useful to tell us more about you, or your loved one, not just your care needs. What do you love? What pets do you have? What’s your favorite way to relax? All this helps a provider to search through their teams and find a perfect match.

If you are unsure of how much help you will need and with what, you can always reach out and ask for a chat with a provider. Most will do this. At Carefour we love to have these conversations as they are so much easier and allow us to really explain what we can do for you.

Tip Number 2. Carefully choose a budget – and then stick to it.

The cost of Live-In care is as individual as you are so that it matches your needs, but we always like to be clear, Live-In Care, due to its nature of being inside your own home instead of in a care home, will always eat up a larger chunk out of your budget.
We suggest going back to Tip 1 and having an initial chat early on, to help you understand potential costs to allow you to then revisit your finances and create a budget that works for you. Depending on your own personal financial situation, you might even be able to get some financial support from your local council.

Tip Number 3. Is your Carer qualified and fully trained?

At Carefour we insist that our teams all complete their Care Qualification and additionally we put all our teams through an intensive Induction through our own in-house Carefour Academy. We also get our teams to complete several eLearning modules to develop their skills. If they are to support a Live-In Care client, they are required to undertake additional training modules to make sure they are fully up to date

We even refresh our teams monthly with Micro Learns on their social media channels so constant ongoing learning is right at their fingertips

You can ask the provider about the carers, their previous experiences, who else they might have cared for, all in the quest of finding the right person to be inside your home making you feel safe a d secure.

Tip Number 4. Check CQC scores, feedback, social media and awards.

Make sure that a potential provider is registered with the care regulator like the Care Quality Commission (CQC). You can check this on their own website and see the scores your provider has. At Carefour, we’re really proud that we score Outstanding for Care.

Make sure the provider is vetting their employees as they join and completing a DBS certificate for each carer (we do this as standard at Carefour). This way it provides you peace of mind that each person has had their background checked. We know that this is essential when someone is living with you in your own home, so we strive to get it right.

You can ask the provider if they have received references on the carer they are suggesting, along with checking out real feedback on the company website. Another great place to go is the Google Review page for a business so you can read for yourself what real customers are saying.

Have a look at the providers’ social media and see what things they talk about to get a sense of what’s important to them. Common ones to check would be LinkedIn and Facebook.

Finally, it’s a sure sign of excellence if a business is winning awards. They are hard to come by. At Carefour we’re incredibly proud to have a 10/10 score on Homecare.co.uk and have been awarded their Top 20 Awards for four consecutive years celebrating our standards and commitment to care.

Tip number 5. Communicate, communicate & communicate.

The critical ingredient to success with Live-In Care is communication in all directions.
Between carer and client. Between family and carer. Between all parties.
When Live-In Care starts it is a big adjustment and always takes some time to settle as all parties get used to a very big change to all their lives. We make this work at Carefour by constant open communication, reporting, transparency and embracing feedback. We love to hear how we are doing and always strive to constantly improve. You can help this by making sure you’re also open to this, as experience has taught us this leads to long, healthy client relationships.

In summary

The decision you are making is an important one and needs careful thought.
We hope that our 5 Tips have helped you in your decision-making, and we would be happy to answer any further questions you may have.
You can easily get in touch with us by clicking this link: Contact Us
Here are a couple of links to more useful information to help you in your search.

The Care Quality Commission
https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-3657527547

Google Reviews
Log into Google and search for a provider ‘Carefour Services Worcester’

Homecare.co.uk
https://www.homecare.co.uk/homecare/agency.cfm/id/65432224280