Home Care in Nottingham

Nottingham has 147 CQC registered home care agencies. 51 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, 8 Requires improvement, and 87 have not yet been rated. 44 of the 147 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

What home care in Nottingham involves and what to look for

The everyday shape of a care package

Home care brings support to somebody in their own house or flat, built around the parts of the day where managing alone has become hard. A typical arrangement starts with one call each morning to help with washing, dressing and medication, and grows from there as needs change. Longer visits, evening calls, overnight cover, live in support and companionship time that gives a family carer a break are all commonly offered. Keeping someone in their own street, near the shops and neighbours they know, is often worth more to their wellbeing than any facility a building could provide.

Reading beyond the rating

Every one of the one hundred and forty six agencies listed here is registered with the Care Quality Commission, and the picture across Nottingham takes in Outstanding, Good and Requires Improvement alongside agencies that are not yet rated. Use the rating to narrow the field, then read the report properly. It will tell you whether visits happened when they were meant to, how medicines were handled and recorded, whether staff were trained for the tasks they were sent to do, and how the manager responded when a family raised a concern. Note the inspection date as well, because services change. An unrated agency has simply not been inspected yet, so ask how long it has operated and what induction new carers receive.

Questions that separate one agency from another

Ask how many different carers are likely to attend in a fortnight and whether the same small team is kept for each person. Find out how the agency tells you when a call is running late, who answers the telephone on a Sunday and how complaints are recorded. Ask to see a sample care plan and check how quickly it can be changed after a hospital discharge. Providers in this listing such as Durbia Healthcare and Nottingham Supported Living will each answer differently, which is exactly why the same questions should go to all of them.

Getting an assessment and paying for care in Nottingham

Asking for a care needs assessment

Anyone who appears to need care and support can request a free care needs assessment, whatever their savings. A practitioner from Nottingham City Council will discuss washing, dressing, eating, taking medication, moving safely indoors and staying connected with other people, then record which needs are eligible for support. Family carers have a separate right to an assessment of their own needs, so ask for both together. The written record is valuable even when a family intends to arrange and pay for care privately.

Funding and cost

If needs are found eligible, a financial assessment of income and capital follows. Care may then be funded in full, funded in part with a contribution from the person receiving it, or paid for privately. Where funding is agreed, a direct payment lets the family commission an agency of their own choosing instead of accepting one arranged for them. Privately funded home care in the city is normally charged by the hour, with higher rates at weekends, on bank holidays and for shorter calls, and live in care is quoted by the week. Ask each agency for a written schedule covering rates, minimum visit lengths and the notice period before you commit.

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