A new local care service in London from leading home care provider, The Good Care Group
What do home carers do?
The duties of a carer are varied, but generally, their purpose is to provide physical and emotional support to help you or your loved one continue living well at home.
A home carer’s duties and responsibilities depend on the type of home care provided and the level of support needed. But usual duties include things like household chores, medication management, preparing meals, running errands, washing and providing companionship.
We understand that having a home carer in your home can be daunting, which is why all of our home carers are fully trained and have an enhanced DBS background check to give you complete peace of mind.
What are the different types of home carers?
Home care responsibilities depend on the type of home carer you or your loved one need. They can range from complex carers who provide around-the-clock medical assistance to home carers who visit from time to time to provide companionship and support with daily tasks.
Live-in home carers
Live-in home carers move into the home of the person needing care and live with them to provide 24-hour compassionate support.
Live-in home is best suited to people who require more support or medical management, as around-the-clock care helps them thrive while living at home.
A live-in carer’s duties and responsibilities usually involve personal care, like washing and dressing, supervision of medication, helping with household chores, transporting and providing companionship.
Hourly carers
Hourly carers provide flexible support tailored to you or your loved ones’ needs. They may visit once per day, once per week or multiple times a day.
Hourly carers can be incredibly flexible, so their responsibilities can be varied; they may include help with dressing, household chores, medication management, transport, and providing support and companionship.
Complex carers
Complex carers provide healthcare support to people with chronic or long-term health conditions.
The duties of complex carers often include many of the same duties as hourly or live-in carers. However, complex carers are also required to provide additional specialist medical interventions for severe medical conditions. For example, this could include PEG or catheter management.
Complex carers often have specialist training to ensure they can provide more comprehensive healthcare support.
Home carer duties
Home care roles can be incredibly varied and change from client to client. Generally, home carer duties include:
Preparing meals
Our carers can cook and prepare your favourite meals and ensure that you continue to have a healthy balanced diet.
Mobility support
If you are prone to falls or accidents, our care teams will do their utmost to prevent this from happening by acting proactively and moving any risks or hazards within the home.
Companionship
Ensuring you always have a friendly face to talk to and to provide stimulating conversation and activities – whether that’s someone to visit the shops with or to discuss your interests.
Running errands
Our home carers can be on hand to help with errands, such as picking up groceries or collecting prescriptions, giving you one less thing to worry about.
Medication support
Our carers can support you in administering your medication and keeping track of your schedule. They can even pick this up for you from the pharmacy.
Home carer responsibilities
Home care workers’ responsibilities are ultimately the safety and well-being of the people they care for when they are looking after them.
As well as completing daily tasks to help the people they are caring for to live well at home, carers may be responsible for:
- Maintaining the records of the people they are caring for
- Adjusting care plans as required
- Communicating with family and other healthcare professionals
- Escalating any concerns with the appropriate people
- Staying up to date with any required training or qualifications – for example, regular first aid training
What training and qualifications should my home carer have?
Home care means allowing someone into your home to provide additional support, so finding a home care provider you can trust is of the utmost importance. To find suitable home care providers, you can:
- Contact your local council for a list of local home care providers
- Search the NHS websiteto find local home carers
- Search online for home care providers near where you live
Once you have a list of home care providers in your local area, you can look into these to see which might be right for you. It is a good idea to start by looking at reviews on websites such as Trustpilot, as well as checking home care provider reports on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website.
If you are using a fully managed home care provider, such as Cherished Home Care, they will ensure all their carers have an up-to-date enhanced DBS background check and the latest training. You can also review the provider’s performance and CQC rating.
If you are looking at using independent home carers, you should ask any potential carers to provide references of people they have cared for previously. You must also ask for proof of qualifications and an enhanced DBS background check.
What should I look for in a home carer?
At Cherished Home Care, we believe the most important things to look for in any home carer are empathy and compassion. That’s because we want to know that our home carers truly care and put the needs of those they care for first and foremost.
In addition, we look for people who hold themselves to the high standards we expect of all our home carers and who are willing to take on any necessary training to ensure the best care is always provided.
At Cherished Home Care, all of our home carers undergo a comprehensive induction with us before they start providing home care, regardless of their previous experience. Run by industry experts and condition specialists, our induction programme ensures that all of our home carers have the skills, techniques and knowledge to support clients to the highest of standards.
In addition, we have the expertise, knowledge and experience of ‘Outstanding’ care provider, The Good Care Group, who works closely with our team to provide high-quality care, support and carer training.
In addition, we have the expertise, knowledge and experience of ‘Outstanding’ care provider, The Good Care Group, who works closely with our team to provide high-quality care, support and carer training.
Find a home carer local to you
If you are looking for a home carer local to you or your loved one, get in touch with Cherished Home Care. We offer local, bespoke care in your home and are committed to enabling you or your loved one to live well at home.