Home Care in Staffordshire

Staffordshire has 169 CQC registered home care agencies. 78 are rated Good, 2 Outstanding, 19 Requires improvement, and 70 have not yet been rated. 86 of the 169 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Planning and Paying for Home Care in Staffordshire

Most people want to know the cost before anything else, and the honest answer is that it turns on two things nobody has yet worked out: how many hours are genuinely needed, and who is going to pay for them. Both have a process behind them, and both can be set going straight away. Neither depends on having chosen an agency first.

Establishing What Support Is Needed

An adult who appears to need help with daily living is entitled to a care needs assessment, free of charge and irrespective of savings. It is arranged through Staffordshire County Council Adult Social Care, the authority responsible for assessing need and organising funded support in this area. An assessor goes through washing, dressing, meals, medication, moving safely about the house, continence and contact with other people, then puts in writing what support would meet those needs. Where a relative has been carrying the load, they can request an assessment covering their own situation as well.

Deciding Who Pays

A second, financial assessment compares income and capital against thresholds set nationally. It may find that the council meets the whole cost, that it contributes, or that the household is expected to fund its own care. Where support is funded, asking for it as a direct payment leaves the choice of agency with the family. Keep the written calculation to hand, because it becomes the reference point should income or savings change later on.

Getting a Realistic Figure

Charges are set by each agency, so they differ across this listing and usually climb for early mornings, evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Visits requiring two carers cost more than those needing one, and a run of short calls can prove dearer than a single longer visit. Ask for the whole schedule in writing before agreeing anything, including notice periods and what is charged when a visit is cancelled at short notice.

Choosing a Home Care Agency in Staffordshire and What to Check

Shrinking the List to Something Manageable

One hundred and sixty eight agencies cannot each be looked at properly, so rule out before you rule in. Establish which providers genuinely cover the part of Staffordshire concerned, then which can staff the times that actually matter, which is usually the start and end of the day. Needs such as two carers at a visit, weekend cover or an overnight will narrow things considerably further. What is left will be a handful, and a handful can be judged.

Getting Beneath the Rating

Outstanding, Good and Requires Improvement all appear here, and a sizeable group of agencies has yet to be rated, which generally reflects recent registration rather than any cause for concern. The rating opens the question rather than closing it. The report will tell you whether visits happened when they were meant to, whether staff stayed long enough to know the people they supported, how medicines were handled and what came of complaints. Where improvement was demanded, look at the date and ask what has been done.

The Answers That Tell You Most

Ask how many different carers a person is likely to see over a fortnight and who covers when the usual one is off. Ask whether a delayed visit brings a telephone call to the family, and who answers out of hours. Ask what training staff hold for the particular condition involved, and whether carers are introduced beforehand rather than simply arriving. Providers who answer specifically, without rushing you, are generally the ones worth trusting.

Related searches

• Care Homes in Staffordshire
• Nursing Homes in Staffordshire

Home Care near Staffordshire

• Stone
• Stoke-on-trent
• Newcastle-under-Lyme
• Newcastle
• Leek