Live-in care is certainly a very attractive alternative to residential care – your Mum and/or Dad would have a dedicated Carer in their own Home, someone they would get to know well and who you would be able to rely on to look after them without the upheaval of leaving their home.
The 1st decision to make is whether to go for the introductory / dating agency model, or to stick with the managed care model. The introductory service, sounds ok in theory and seems cheaper, you are introduced to Carers by an agency, these Carers are self-employed and the cost to the client usually ends up at around £850 per week – I can see the attraction to the agency, it is very profitable to the company as they don’t have to pay for training, Quality Assurance, Management Supervision, Care Quality Commission regulation etc – all they have to do is have an office administration person to check references and DBS checks.
As a care provider, it’s very tempting…. but my caring soul finds it difficult to buy into, I would certainly not trust my parents to such a service…. my son’s less caring soul might take a different view.
The industry is very concerned, we have worked hard to make sure that Care at home is regulated and high standards of care are met. Part of the cost of managed care, in money and time goes into our regulators – Care Quality Commission. They have brought out some rather stringent standards which we must keep and we must provide evidence that we do so.
Is this what has triggered the introductory service? Obviously, it is not regulated and so does not have to meet the standards I believe are vital to protect our older generation.
Government policy causing chaos yet again…… Don’t get me started.
On the other hand, Arbour Companions and Care are making quite good business picking up the casualties from some of these introductory services, but sadly there are some real nightmares out there. I would be interested in your views on this.
The Telegraph have recently run an article discussing Elderly Care options which led to my thoughts today – follow the link below to read more:
Can ‘at-home’ care be cheaper than a care home?
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