Receiving specialist one-to-one care in the comfort of your own home can make a huge difference to your well-being, especially if age-related frailty or deteriorating health is making daily tasks more difficult. But allowing someone into your home, whether to provide live-in care or visiting care can be daunting, so finding a suitable carer you trust and get along with is essential.
In this article, we explain how to choose a carer for the elderly, from the things you need to look for in a carer to the different ways to find suitable carers.
What to look for when choosing a carer for the elderly?
Depending on your needs, a home carer can help with everything from preparing meals to more intimate tasks like assisting you with washing, dressing or toileting. So, it’s vital to choose a carer with the right experience, skills and qualifications who you can trust and get along with.
Below, we share some of the things you should consider when choosing a carer to provide support to you at home:
Skills and qualifications
The first thing you need to be confident of is that the carer you choose has the necessary skills and qualifications to provide you with the bespoke support you need.
While all carers should have basic caring skills and qualifications, the exact levels you require when choosing a carer will depend on your needs. For example, if you’re looking for companionship care or ‘home help’ around the house, the carer you choose will ideally have previous care experience and have undergone comprehensive basic carer training.
However, if you have complex care needs the carer you choose should have more extensive training which may include training in medical interventions like catheter care to ensure they can meet all of your health needs.
At Trinity Homecare, all our home carers undergo a comprehensive training programme before working with clients to ensure that they deliver consistent and compassionate care. What’s more, by assessing your needs prior to providing care, we are able to ensure we match you with a carer whose skills and experience are perfectly suited to your specific needs.
Experience
Choosing a carer with previous caring experience, whether that’s someone who has previously cared for people in a work setting or has experience caring for their own loved one is also vital. But like when looking at a carer’s skills and qualifications, the level of experience needed will vary depending on your unique needs.
For example, if you have a condition like dementia, choosing a carer with previous experience providing dementia care can be beneficial as they will have unique insights into the challenges you may face as your condition progresses.
Personal qualities
Although having the necessary skills, qualifications and experience is vital for any carer, at Trinity Homecare, we believe that the best carers also possess the right personal qualities.
Caregiving requires compassion and understanding in abundance, and it’s essential your carer can empathise with you, understand your fears, and provide care with dignity and respect. So, when it comes to choosing a carer for the elderly it’s essential you look out for all these qualities as well as suitable skills, qualifications and experience.
Lifestyle similarities
Whether you’re looking for a live-in carer or just someone to pop in to provide support a few times a week, it’s essential you get along with the person caring for you.
Not only will you spend a considerable amount of time with them, but they will be coming into your home and may even be helping you with more intimate care needs like washing and dressing. So, it’s important not to overlook just how important it is to make sure you feel able to get along with your chosen elderly carer.
At Trinity Homecare, we take the time to get to know more about you and your lifestyle during our initial care needs assessment so that we can match you with carers who share similar interests, hobbies or beliefs.
How can I find a suitable home carer for the elderly?
The next step when it comes to choosing a suitable carer to provide care at home is to explore the different ways home care services can be provided. This includes private, introductory and fully managed live-in care.
Understanding what each type involves is important as it can affect how you choose to find a suitable home carer.
Private care
Private care is when you or your family arrange and employ a home carer directly. The advantage of this option is that you are in complete control of choosing a suitable carer and managing how they provide care.
However, this can be quite a daunting and onerous task, especially if you have never had any experience working with carers before. So it’s important you fully understand your responsibilities before pursuing this route when choosing a carer.
With private care, you are responsible for:
- Advertising for a carer
- Selecting and interviewing appropriate candidates
- Checking references and qualifications and carrying out police checks
- Managing the carer once employed, which includes managing their taxes and finding cover when they take annual leave or if they are ill
You should also be aware that private care is not subject to regulation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Introductory care
An introductory care service introduces you and your family to carers who have previously been selected and vetted by a live-in care company. Once chosen, the carer works on a self-employed basis.
One of the benefits of introductory care services is that it can remove some of the burden of having to check candidates’ references, qualifications and background, as this is all taken care of by the agency. However, you are still responsible for managing the carer day-to-day, and they are not subject to CQC regulation.
Fully-managed care
Fully-managed care services provide complete peace of mind as the entire process of finding, vetting, training and managing a carer is taken care of by a care provider, such as Trinity Homecare. We even assess your needs, preferences and lifestyle before matching you with a suitable carer to ensure a more holistic approach to care provision that not only ensures you get the support you need but that it’s delivered by a compassionate carer who shares your passions and interests.
In addition, fully managed care services are fully regulated by the CQC, meaning they undergo regular inspections and are rated on the services they provide.
Why should you choose a CQC approved provider when choosing a carer?
The CQC independently regulates services across the health and social care sector, including your GP practice, dentist, care homes and in-home care service providers like Trinity Homecare.
A CQC inspection assesses how well services uphold certain ‘fundamental standards’ and provides a rating that can be viewed on the CQC website. This provides reassurance that the carer you choose comes from a provider who has been assessed for the safety, effectiveness and quality of care they provide and that they receive appropriate training regularly.
Trusted home care from Trinity
If you’re looking for dedicated home care for the elderly, trust Trinity Homecare. For the past 25 years, we have provided the highest standards of care in the comfort of people’s own homes. We understand that deteriorating health and ageing can be worrying and lead to increased feelings of isolation. However, we passionately believe that by choosing the dedicated support of our carers, we can help you continue to live a full life in the home you love.
Trinity Homecare is a fully managed care agency with an ‘Outstanding’ CQC rating, placing Trinity amongst the top 4% of all nationwide care companies in England. With this in mind, you can rest assured that your loved one will receive the highest standard of care and specialist support.
If you have any questions about arranging home care, simply get in touch with our helpful and knowledgeable care team.
Arranging nationwide dementia care with Trinity is straightforward.
Simply follow these five steps:
- Call our care team
- Undergo a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your care needs and arrange a care assessment
- After the assessment, a plan of care is created
- A well-suited carer is found and placed
- Care can be adapted at any time