Home Care in Redditch

Redditch has 14 CQC registered home care agencies. 8 are rated Good, 1 Outstanding, and 5 have not yet been rated. 9 of the 14 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

What home care in Redditch involves and what to look for

Home care is delivered as a set of agreed visits rather than as continuous cover. A typical arrangement begins with a morning call to help someone wash and dress, and grows from there as needs change, with a lunchtime or bedtime visit added when it is needed.

The boundaries of what carers provide

Personal care means help with washing, dressing, using the toilet, moving safely about the house, preparing meals and either prompting or giving medication. Shopping, laundry and light housework are normally covered where the care plan provides for them. Clinical tasks such as complex wound dressings or managing a feeding tube belong to community nursing rather than a care agency, so ask how any provider works alongside the district nursing team if that is relevant.

A field where half the providers are unrated

Old Friends Care Limited is rated Outstanding, and seven agencies hold a Good rating, among them Stoke Heath Homecare Ltd, Belmont Homecare Services, Eclipse HomeCare (Terryspring Court) and Rainbow Care Solutions (Redditch). Six carry no rating at present. That does not make them poor providers, but it does mean no independent account of the service exists, so ask when an inspection is expected and whether the provider holds rated registrations elsewhere. Where a report has been published, read what it says about staffing and timekeeping rather than stopping at the headline.

Judging an agency properly

Ask how many different carers would come in a typical month, since continuity shapes the experience more than anything on a website. Ask what happens when the regular carer is away, whether travel time is built into the rota, and how quickly a plan can be changed if the first fortnight shows it is wrong. Ask to meet whoever will carry out the initial visit.

Getting an assessment and arranging the funding

The financial steps run on their own timetable, which rewards starting early more than anything else in the process.

The care needs assessment

Every adult who appears to need care and support is entitled to an assessment, free of charge and regardless of savings. Worcestershire County Council carries these out and follows them with a financial assessment where funded support may be available. An unpaid carer can request a carer assessment in their own name. The support plan that results sets out the hours and type of help considered necessary, giving you something solid to compare quotes against.

Where help with the cost comes from

If the financial assessment shows eligibility, the council may meet all or part of the cost, with any remainder paid privately. Support can often be taken as a direct payment, which lets a family choose and manage the agency themselves. Care straight after a hospital stay is sometimes free for a limited period under reablement, a separate arrangement with its own time limit, so ask which applies.

What it is likely to cost

Agencies charge by the hour or by the visit, so the weekly total depends on the number of calls and their length. Evening, weekend and bank holiday rates are usually higher, a call needing two carers costs about double, and live in support is priced as a weekly figure. Ask for the charges in writing and check how much notice is required to reduce or stop visits.

Related searches

• Care Homes in Redditch
• Nursing Homes in Redditch

Home Care near Redditch

• Bromsgrove
• Alcester
• Droitwich
• Solihull