Question 1

Can Swindon Borough Council pay for home care in Swindon?

Accepted Answer

It can, where both a care needs assessment and a financial assessment support it. The needs assessment sets out what help is required, and the financial assessment looks at savings and income, leaving aside the value of a home the person continues to live in. Where capital falls below the national upper threshold, Swindon Borough Council contributes through a personal budget, which may be taken as a direct payment so the family arranges the agency itself. Even where a family expects to pay for everything, the assessment is worth having because it records the level of need.

Question 2

How do I arrange a care needs assessment in Swindon?

Accepted Answer

Contact the adult social care team at Swindon Borough Council and ask for a care needs assessment. Anyone who appears to need care is entitled to one, and a relative, friend or attorney can request it on their behalf. It is free and entitlement does not depend on savings, so it should not be skipped on the assumption that the family will be paying. Keep the written outcome, because it unlocks any funded support and gives an agency an accurate description of what is needed.

Question 3

How far in advance should we arrange home care in Swindon?

Accepted Answer

As early as circumstances allow. A few weeks gives room for an assessment, quotes from more than one agency and a proper reading of inspection reports. Where care is being set up around a hospital discharge, the whole process can be compressed into a few days, which is precisely when earlier preparation proves its worth. Even a shortlist of three agencies with rates confirmed will keep a hurried decision from being an uninformed one.

Question 4

Which providers offer care at home in Swindon?

Accepted Answer

Fifty five registered home care agencies appear on this page, which is the full field currently registered with the Care Quality Commission for this care type in Swindon. They include Bluebird Care (Swindon), Helping Hands Swindon, Crystal Caring, Caring Heart Carers Limited and Everlife (Swindon), alongside one agency holding an Outstanding rating. Each profile carries the provider name, the care type and the current rating where one has been given. Opening a profile is the quickest way to check what an agency is registered to provide.

Question 5

What should I ask a home care agency in Swindon before signing anything?

Accepted Answer

Begin with continuity: how many carers would normally attend in a fortnight, who covers sickness, and whether visit times fit the person or the rota. Ask who writes the care plan, how often it is reviewed and how the family is told when something changes. Ask for the rate card in writing, including weekends, bank holidays, travel and notice periods. Where the agency has no CQC rating, ask when it registered and how its staff are trained and supervised.

Question 6

What is the difference between home care, a care home and a nursing home?

Accepted Answer

Home care is delivered in visits to a person's own home and paid for by the hour, so the person keeps their own house and routine. A care home provides accommodation with personal care and staff on duty through the day and night, which suits someone who is no longer safe alone between calls. A nursing home does the same and has a registered nurse on the premises for clinical needs such as wound care, catheters or feeding tubes. Every provider listed here is a home care agency, so if visits stop being sufficient it is worth asking for the assessment to be looked at again.

Home Care in Swindon

56 home care in Swindon (showing 51–56)