Home Care in Stanmore

Stanmore has 16 CQC registered home care agencies. 8 are rated Good, 2 Requires improvement, and 6 have not yet been rated. 8 of the 16 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

What home care in Stanmore involves and what to look for

Home care arrives as a series of agreed visits rather than as constant supervision. A common pattern is a morning call to help someone get up, washed and dressed, something at lunchtime, and a final visit at bedtime, with the number and length adjusted as needs change.

The limits of what an agency can do

Registered personal care covers washing, dressing, help with the toilet, moving safely about the house, preparing meals and either prompting or administering medication. Shopping, laundry and light housework are usually included where the care plan says so. Anything requiring a clinical qualification, such as a complex dressing or a feeding tube, belongs to community nursing rather than to a care agency. If the assessment identifies needs of that sort, ask how the agency coordinates with the district nursing team.

What the ratings tell you here

Eight agencies covering Stanmore hold a Good rating, among them Nisacraftcare, Penkz Limited, Broadway House, Silver Oak Care Ltd and Independent Lifestyle. Two are marked Requires Improvement and six carry no rating yet. An absent rating is not a black mark, but it does mean there is no independent account of the service, so ask for references and find out when an inspection is expected. Where a report does exist, look at what was said about staffing, late calls and medication records rather than stopping at the summary word.

The question that predicts everything else

Ask how many different carers would come through the door in a typical month. Continuity is what families notice, and a rota that sends a new face every few days undoes much of the benefit, particularly where memory is failing. Ask what happens when the regular carer is ill or on leave, and whether travel time is built into the schedule, because most complaints about lateness come from the rota rather than from the carers.

Getting an assessment and arranging the funding

The financial side has its own timetable, so it is worth setting in motion before the need becomes pressing.

Asking for a care needs assessment

Every adult who appears to need care and support is entitled to an assessment, free of charge and regardless of savings. London Borough of Harrow carries these out and follows them with a financial assessment where funded support may be available. An unpaid carer can request a carer assessment covering their own health and what they can sustain. The support plan that results states the hours and type of help considered necessary, which gives you a firm basis for comparing what agencies propose.

Help with the cost

Where the financial assessment shows eligibility, the council may meet all or part of the cost, with any balance paid privately. Support is often taken as a direct payment, which lets a household choose and manage its own agency rather than accept one that has been arranged. Care immediately after a hospital stay may be free for a limited period under reablement, so ask which arrangement is on offer.

What home care costs

Charges are made by the hour or by the visit, so the weekly figure depends on how many calls are needed and how long each lasts. Evening, weekend and bank holiday rates are usually higher, a call needing two carers costs about double, and live in support is quoted as a weekly rate instead. Ask for the charges in writing and check the notice period for reducing or stopping visits.

Related searches

• Nursing Homes in Stanmore

Home Care near Stanmore

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