Home Care in Hounslow

Hounslow has 74 CQC registered home care agencies. 40 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, 3 Requires improvement, and 30 have not yet been rated. 21 of the 74 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Choosing between home care agencies in Hounslow

What the ratings tell you

All seventy two agencies listed here are registered with the Care Quality Commission. One has been rated Outstanding and forty Good, three hold Requires Improvement, and twenty eight are not yet rated because they registered too recently to be inspected. That last group is sizeable, so treat an absent rating as missing information rather than a warning, and ask how long the agency has traded, who registered it and what training new carers complete before their first visit. Where a report does exist, read what inspectors said about the punctuality of calls, how medicines were administered and recorded, staff training and how the manager responded to concerns.

Matching an agency to the person

Agencies vary in what they will take on. Some concentrate on short personal care visits, others provide longer companionship calls, dementia support, overnight cover, live in arrangements or help settling somebody home after a hospital stay. Providers in this listing such as Ami Home Care, Citywide Care Agency and the London Borough of Hounslow Home Care operate in different ways and cover different parts of the borough. Confirm that carers travel to the specific address, and ask who writes the care plan, how often it is reviewed and what happens when needs increase.

The questions that predict reliability

Ask how many different carers are likely to attend in a fortnight and whether a small consistent team is kept for each person. Find out how you would be told when a visit is running late, who answers the telephone at weekends and how complaints are recorded and resolved. Ask to see a blank care plan and check how quickly it can be rewritten after a hospital discharge. Continuity of staffing is what families mention most once care is under way, and it is far easier to establish beforehand than to fix later.

Arranging an assessment and funding care in Hounslow

The care needs assessment

Anyone who appears to need care and support can request a free care needs assessment, whatever their income or savings. A practitioner from the London Borough of Hounslow will discuss washing, dressing, eating, taking medication, moving safely indoors and staying connected with other people, then record which needs are eligible for support. Anyone providing regular unpaid help has a separate right to a carer's assessment, so ask for both together. Even families who fully expect to pay privately benefit from the written record it produces.

What care costs and who contributes

Where needs are eligible, a financial assessment considers income and capital. Care may then be funded in full, funded in part with a contribution from the person receiving it, or paid for privately. Those who qualify can request a direct payment and commission their own agency rather than accept one arranged for them. Privately funded home care across London is usually charged by the hour, with higher rates at weekends, on bank holidays and for short calls, while live in support is quoted weekly. Ask each agency for its rates, minimum visit length and notice period in writing before committing.

Related searches

• Care Homes in Hounslow
• Nursing Homes in Hounslow

Home Care near Hounslow

• Isleworth
• Feltham
• Twickenham
• Southall
• Brentford
• Hayes
• Teddington
• Sunbury-on-thames
• West Drayton
• Northolt