Home Care in Edgware

Edgware has 17 CQC registered home care agencies. 10 are rated Good, 2 Requires improvement, and 5 have not yet been rated. 4 of the 17 were last inspected more than three years ago.

Source: Care Quality Commission register, kept up to date as ratings change.

What care at home in Edgware involves and what to look for

Home care is delivered in visits. Someone arrives at agreed times to help with getting up, washing, dressing, medication, meals or company, and then goes again. It might be half an hour each morning or four calls between waking and bedtime, and it grows as needs change. Judging an agency is therefore mostly a question of reliability and of who actually arrives.

Making sense of the grades here

Nine of these agencies hold a Good rating, meaning inspectors judged them safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led at the last inspection. Two hold Requires Improvement, which is a prompt to read the report rather than to strike the agency off, since the substance of a shortfall varies enormously. Six have no published rating. That is common among newer agencies and is not a criticism in itself, but it leaves you without an independent account, so ask for references and start with a short trial.

Continuity of carers

The most revealing question is how many different carers would visit in a fortnight. Ask how the rota is built, whether families are told in advance when the regular carer is away, and who telephones when somebody is running late. A small, settled team that knows the household is what makes care at home feel like support rather than a procession of strangers.

Times, tasks and the written plan

Ask what the minimum visit length is, because a rushed call helps nobody. Ask who writes the care plan, who agrees it and how often it is reviewed with the family. Ask what training carers receive for medication, for moving and handling, and for any particular condition in the household. Ask how visits are recorded and whether relatives can see those records.

Getting an assessment and arranging the funding

The assessment is free

Any adult who appears to need care and support can ask for an assessment, whatever their income or capital. A practitioner considers daily tasks, mobility, medication, nutrition, risk and isolation, then sets out in writing how much help is needed and when. That document turns a general worry into a practical schedule of visits. Ask London Borough of Barnet adult social care to arrange it, and request a carer's assessment of your own if you have been providing the support so far.

How much a household contributes

A financial assessment compares capital and income with national thresholds. When care is delivered in someone's own home, the value of that home is not counted as capital, so support reaches further than families often assume. Those who qualify may take a direct payment and buy care from an agency of their own choosing. Ask for the calculation in writing so it can be checked.

What an hourly rate covers

Rates differ between agencies and by the time of day, with evenings, weekends and bank holidays often priced separately. Ask whether travel time is billed, what happens when a visit is cancelled at short notice, and how the rate changes if two carers are needed. A low figure attached to very brief calls is rarely the bargain it looks.

Related searches

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Home Care near Edgware

• Stanmore
• Harrow
• Borehamwood
• Wembley
• Barnet
• Pinner
• Greenford
• Northwood
• Ruislip
• Watford