Employing a carer privately
As we age, we start to face the challenges that later life brings. Deteriorating health, mobility issues and the impact of conditions like dementia will reduce independence. You may have been getting support from a family member. However, your needs may be increasing, and more care and support is required, more frequently. Now may be the time to think about employing a private carer to give you the support you need.
What to consider when employing a carer privately
There are many benefits to employing a carer privately. This means that you do not need to leave your home and move into a care home.
- One-to-one care, tailored to you
- Stay in the comfort and familiarity of your own home
- Complex needs can be supported by trained and competent private carer
- Continuity and consistency of care from same care team
- Improved health outcomes – fewer falls, lower rates of infection and hospital admissions
- Safest type of nursing care during the Covid-19 pandemic
- Family can be around you 24 hours a day
- Comparable costs to care in a quality nursing home – very cost effective for couples
- Live life your way with choice and independence
- Estate remains with the family
When considering employing a carer you need to understand the different options available. You can either employ a carer privately, hire a carer through an introduction agency or use a fully managed service provider to supply the carer. With a fully managed service the carer may be employed by the provider, or self-employed. Here we explore all the options available to help you make your decision.
What does a private carer do?
When considering care at home, you will have two choices based on the frequency and level of support you need. If you need around-the-clock care, then a private home carer will best meet your needs. If you just need support at certain times of the day, then having a visiting carer would probably give you the levels of care you need.
Whether you have a live-in carer or a visiting carer, it is important to understand what a carer can do for you. Private carers who provide care in your own home can help with the following day-to-day tasks:
- Personal care – washing, bathing, dressing
- Companionship
- Specialist care of conditions – for example dementia and Parkinson’s
- Expert nurse-led care
- Managing and administering medications
- Safe mobility and movement in and out of the home
- Planning and cooking meals
- Organising social arrangements and activities
- Household domestic tasks – for example laundry and cleaning
- Pet care
Identifying your private care needs
When you are thinking about employing a carer privately, you need to consider what your care and support needs are. This should include both your care and social needs. Consider what is important to you in how you live your life.
Some questions you may ask yourself might be:
- Do I need more support at certain times of the day?
- What days of the week do I need to employ a private carer?
- Would I benefit from a live-in care arrangement from a private carer?
- Do I need any specific support to help with complex needs?
- Do I need a permanent arrangement or a respite service?
- What support do I really need throughout the day?
- How do I find a private carer that can help me improve my independence?
- What activities can a carer support me with?
When you have defined your needs, you may wish to discuss this with your family. They can provide you with support to make the right decision. Answers to the above questions will help you decide the type and level of care you need.
At The Good Care Group, we will conduct an in-depth assessment of your care needs. This will inform our carers to deliver a care plan that meets these needs, whilst improving quality of life. The assessment will guide our matching process. This ensures we find the right carer for you. We make sure the carer has the skills and experience to meet your individual needs. All our carers receive market leading training. This means you get the highest quality care. If you are employing a private carer directly, you will have to do all this yourself.
When is the right time to hire a private carer?
Many people do not want to accept that they need care. They may be reluctant to seek help, even from family members or friends. It is important as a family member that you keep an eye on your loved one so you can spot the signs that they are not coping alone and you can start to explore the option of a self employed carer for a relative.
There are several situations that may mean extra care and support is needed:
- They have had a fall and need support to recover
- Increasing mobility and frailty concerns
- They have had an illness and been in hospital
- A specialist condition, like dementia has been diagnosed
- They have had a stroke
- They are forgetting to take medications
- The housework is not being done
- Poor personal hygiene
- Unable to look after pets, for example walking their dog
What are the private home care options?
When planning long-term private care at home, there are two options you can consider:
Live-in care
It is important to understand what live-in care is and how live-in care works. Live-in care is when a carer comes to live with you in your own home to provide all the support you need 24-hours a day. A team of two carefully matched carers will ensure all your needs are met. This means you do not need to move into a care home to get around-the-clock care.
They will help you with all the tasks of daily living, including personal care, cooking meals for you and helping around the home. As a carer is living with you, they really get to understand you as a person. This means they can support you with socialisation, activities and keeping you connected with your community.
Domiciliary care
Domiciliary care includes hourly care, care at home and visiting care, but all refer to the same service A carer visits you at home at times during the day to provide care and support. Domiciliary care agencies arrange for a carer to visit you once, twice or more times a day. They can come to care for you from one visit to several visits a week. Visits are generally from 15 minutes to an hour depending on your care and support needs.
As with a live-in carer they provide support with day-to-day tasks. However, given that they are only visiting they cannot provide high levels of specialist support in the same way. If you have complex needs, you will need many visits to get the care you need. This may not be cost effective and live-in care may be more suitable.
Choosing a private carer
When you are looking at employing a private carer, there are essentially three options:
Option 1) Employing a private carer directly
The first option is to find and employ your own private carer or ask your family to do this for you. Whilst this option enables you to choose the most suitable carer from a potentially large pool of candidates, it comes with responsibility. You will be an employer and the carer will be your employee. They are entitled to protection under employers liability insurance and public liability insurance, a written employment contract, statutory sick pay and holiday pay. This includes paying the carer (and their tax/national insurance). You will also be responsible for the care arrangement. When a carer goes on holiday or is sick you will need to organise cover. You will also need to conduct your own background checks on the carer through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). All this responsibility can become time consuming for you or your family.
Option 2) Employing a private carer through an introduction service
There are agencies who provide private carers through an introduction service. They introduce you to a suitable private carer for a one-off introduction fee. You are then responsible for the carer as you would be if you had hired them independently. Again, this can be a burden on your time.
Domiciliary care
Domiciliary care includes hourly care, care at home and visiting care, but all refer to the same service A carer visits you at home at times during the day to provide care and support. Domiciliary care agencies arrange for a carer to visit you once, twice or more times a day. They can come to care for you from one visit to several visits a week. Visits are generally from 15 minutes to an hour depending on your care and support needs.
As with a live-in carer they provide support with day-to-day tasks. However, given that they are only visiting they cannot provide high levels of specialist support in the same way. If you have complex needs, you will need many visits to get the care you need. This may not be cost effective and live-in care may be more suitable.
Benefits of a fully managed service provider
Employed professional carers
There are many reassuring benefits to using a fully managed service. As a fully managed service, The Good Care Group directly employs its professional carers. We never use home care agency staff. All carers go through an in-depth recruitment process. They are trained to the highest level before they are placed with a client. You will be supported by a dedicated regional manager and a care manager, with support from a central service centre. Our managers only look after a small portfolio of clients. This means you and our care teams much-needed support.
A regulated and inspected service drives quality
The Good Care Group is a regulated service, which means the quality of its care is inspected. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspect our service in England and the Care Inspectorate in Scotland. Introduction home care agencies are not regulated or inspected. This means if you use a home care agency you cannot be assured of the quality of the service.
Highest rated service by care regulators in England and Scotland
The Good Care Group is the only dedicated live-in care provider in England to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) across all five categories – safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
In Scotland our service has been inspected by the Care Inspectorate (CI), receiving the highest rating of a 6 (Excellent) for Quality of Care and Support and 5 (Very Good) for Staffing and Management and Leadership. We know this provides families with peace of mind that their loved one is receiving the best possible care.
Taking the worry away from family members
Once an introduction agency introduces a carer to you that is typically the end of their involvement in the arrangement. Families are then required to supervise, manage and organise all aspects of the care. For most this is time consuming, frustrating and sometimes unmanageable. Most people who require long-term care will need a team of two carers to provide the support they need. This means you will be responsible for managing a rota, paying the carer and organising sickness and holiday cove. Carers who are introduced through an agency are self-employed and have not necessarily had any training before being placed with a client.
With a fully managed and regulated service all these worries are simply taken away. You will have all the reassurance you need about the quality of care being provided – making life easier for all the family.
Funding a private carer
It is sensible when thinking about employing a carer that you consider what budget you have available. This will impact the type of care you could have and the level of service you can expect.
Many families are faced with having to fund care at home themselves. This is referred to as self-funding care. However, you should explore whether you are entitled to any funding. If you have a health need and require care at home you may be able to access healthcare funding. You may also be entitled to social care funding depending on your financial circumstances, and other local authority support.
Why choose The Good Care Group?
We have been providing high quality, live-in care to families in England and Scotland for over 10 years. At the heart of our award-winning service is enabling people to live independently in their own home with an improved quality of life. Our approach to care at home means our clients can achieve improved health and well-being. For families they benefit from peace of mind and reassurance that their loved one is receiving the very best care and support.
A perfectly matched care team
A live-in care service usually involves two carers working a two-week rotation. They will be carefully matched working with you and your family. We make sure they are skilled and equipped to meet all your care and support needs. Our focus on matching means the care team chosen share common interests and backgrounds. We know this means life is enjoyable for everyone. Your care team really get to know you and your needs, which means you get consistency of care.
Expertly trained carers
All our professional carers are required to complete our leading training programme before they care for our clients. Our programme has been created with leading charities and clinical experts. It goes beyond mandatory requirements in the care sector. Carers are then equipped to provide high-quality care and support for those living with specialist conditions. Our carers never stop learning new skills to further enhance the care they provide.
Continuity of care
Unlike an agency we employ our carers. This means they are committed to us, as we are to them. Carers enjoy the security of being employed, which means they stay with us longer. Those who work for agencies move around more. For families this means that you get continuity and consistency of the same care team caring for your loved one. This means high-quality care can be achieved with improved outcomes and no disruption to your loved one’s life.
In-house clinical experts
We have a dedicated team of in-house clinical experts. This includes a specialist consultant nurse, who also provides Admiral Nurse services to those living with dementia. Our management team consists of nursing professionals. They guide our carers to provide safe and effective nurse-led care at home. We also have our own in-house Occupational Therapist (OT) who works closely with healthcare professionals and our care teams. Our OT provides guidance and advice that enables people to live well in their own home with any equipment they may need. These experts lead, monitor and support our care teams to deliver best practice nurse-led care at home.
Innovative care technology
Unlike any other live-in care provider, we have our own online care community. Families, healthcare professionals and carers can access up to date information about the care being provided. It enables more effective monitoring, which means issues can be responded to efficiently. For our families it provides a reassuring window into the care their loved one is receiving. Our carers also use the online community to share ideas and support each other. It provides a vital connection which is important when remote working. Carers will use the online community so their clients can enjoy time online. This includes video calls with family, so they feel connected. Clients can use it to shop online or browse the web.
Improving health outcomes
Every decision we make is driven by delivering improved health outcomes for our clients. Our digital technology allows us to predict risk and shape the care we provide. We measure health outcomes.
We want to know we are improving the quality of our clients’ lives every year.
Our health and well-being aim to reduce:
- Behaviours that challenge
- Antipsychotic drugs in dementia care
- Falls in the home
- Hospital admissions
- Readmission to hospital
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Chest infections
- Carer stress
- They aim to promote:
- Independence
- Well-being
- Excellent nutrition and hydration
- Enjoyment in life
Highest service rating from care regulators in England and Scotland
Unlike introduction agencies we are fully regulated in England and Scotland. This means the care and support we provide is regularly inspected. We are the only dedicated live-in care provider in England to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We have achieved this rating in all five measures – safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. In Scotland, our service has been inspected by the Care Inspectorate (CI). It has achieved the highest rating of a 6 (Excellent) for quality of care and support and 5 (very good) for staffing, management and leadership. We know this provides families with peace of mind that their loved one is receiving the best possible care.
A fully managed service
Families benefit from our fully managed service delivered by care experts. This means you do not need to worry about supervising and managing the carer looking after your loved one. Our professional carers are supervised by an experienced care manager and supported by clinical experts. We provide this support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your dedicated care manager will be on hand to support you, your loved one and our carer teams. We invest in our care management team to ensure they have enough time to give the support everyone needs. With our fully managed service, families do not have the burden of managing the care arrangement themselves. We know this means families can have peace of mind, whilst enjoying quality time with their loved one. They do not have to worry about the tasks of caring.
Local teams with national coverage
We operate throughout England and Scotland with a local approach to management of our teams near you. Each dedicated care manager local to you has only a small number of clients to support. This means they can provide higher levels of monitoring and support than other home care providers. It also means a highly personalised approach to care can be delivered.
Talk to us about employing a private live-in carer
Find out more about how we can help you to live well in the comfort of your home - call us today.
0203 728 7577
A perfectly matched care team
A live-in care service usually involves two carers working a two-week rotation. They will be carefully matched working with you and your family. We make sure they are skilled and equipped to meet all your care and support needs. Our focus on matching means the care team chosen share common interests and backgrounds. We know this means life is enjoyable for everyone. Your care team really get to know you and your needs, which means you get consistency of care.
Expertly trained carers
All our professional carers are required to complete our leading training programme before they care for our clients. Our programme has been created with leading charities and clinical experts. It goes beyond mandatory requirements in the care sector. Carers are then equipped to provide high-quality care and support for those living with specialist conditions. Our carers never stop learning new skills to further enhance the care they provide.
Continuity of care
Unlike an agency we employ our carers. This means they are committed to us, as we are to them. Carers enjoy the security of being employed, which means they stay with us longer. Those who work for agencies move around more. For families this means that you get continuity and consistency of the same care team caring for your loved one. This means high-quality care can be achieved with improved outcomes and no disruption to your loved one’s life.
In-house clinical experts
We have a dedicated team of in-house clinical experts. This includes a specialist consultant nurse, who also provides Admiral Nurse services to those living with dementia. Our management team consists of nursing professionals. They guide our carers to provide safe and effective nurse-led care at home. We also have our own in-house Occupational Therapist (OT) who works closely with healthcare professionals and our care teams. Our OT provides guidance and advice that enables people to live well in their own home with any equipment they may need. These experts lead, monitor and support our care teams to delivery best practice nurse-led care at home.
Innovative care technology
Unlike any other live-in care provider, we have our own online care community. Families, healthcare professionals and carers can access up to date information about the care being provided. It enables more effective monitoring, which means issues can be responded to efficiently. For our families it provides a reassuring window into the care their loved one is receiving. Our carers also use the online community to share ideas and support each other. It provides a vital connection which is important when remote working. Carers will use the online community so their clients can enjoy time online. This includes video calls with family, so they feel connected. Clients can use it to shop online or browse the web.
Improving health outcomes
Every decision we make is driven by delivering improved health outcomes for our clients. Our digital technology allows us to predict risk and shape the care we provide. We measure health outcomes.
We want to know we are improving the quality of our clients’ lives every year.
Our health and well-being aim to reduce:
- Challenging behaviours
- Antipsychotic drugs in dementia care
- Falls in the home
- Hospital admissions
- Re-admission to hospital
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Chest infections
- Carer stress
- They aim to promote:
- Independence
- Well-being
- Excellent nutrition and hydration
- Enjoyment in life
Highest service rating from care regulators in England and Scotland
Unlike introduction agencies we are fully regulated in England and Scotland. This means the care and support we provide is regularly inspected. We are the only dedicated live-in care provider in England to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We have achieved this rating in all five measures – safe, effective, caring responsive and well-led. In Scotland, our service has been inspected by the Care Inspectorate (CI). It has achieved the highest rating of a 6 (Excellent) for quality of care and support and 5 (very good) for staffing, management and leadership. We know this provides families with peace of mind that their loved one is receiving the best possible care.
A fully managed service
Families benefit from our fully managed service delivered by care experts. This means you do not need to worry about supervising and managing the carer looking after your loved one. Our professional carers are supervised by an experienced care manager and supported by clinical experts. We provide this support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your dedicated care manager will be on hand to support you, your loved one and our carer teams. We invest in our care management team to ensure they have enough time to give the support everyone needs. With our fully managed service, families do not have the burden of managing the care arrangement themselves. We know this means families can have peace of mind, whilst enjoying quality time with their loved one. They do not have to worry about the tasks of caring.
Local teams with national coverage
We operate throughout England and Scotland with a local approach to management of our teams near you. Each dedicated care manager local to you has only a small number of clients to support. This means they can provide higher levels of monitoring and support than other home care providers. It also means a highly personalised approach to care can be delivered.
Call now to speak to our recruitment team
If you’re passionate about providing the very best care, we think there’s nowhere better than The Good Care Group.