Home Care in Woodford Green

Woodford Green has 11 CQC registered home care agencies. 4 are rated Good, and 7 have not yet been rated. 4 of the 11 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Arranging home care in Woodford Green and working out who pays

The care needs assessment

An assessment is the practical first step, ahead of ringing round agencies. Anyone who appears to need care and support can request one free of charge whatever their income or savings, and it produces the written record of eligible needs that providers will work from. A practitioner from the London Borough of Redbridge will discuss washing, dressing, eating, taking medication, moving safely around the home and keeping in touch with other people, then set out which needs are eligible for support. Anyone giving regular unpaid help has a separate right to a carer's assessment, so ask for both in the same conversation rather than waiting to be offered one.

Funding and the cost of care at home

Where 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. Families who qualify can request a direct payment and commission an agency of their own choosing rather than accept one arranged for them, which matters when a particular provider has impressed you. Privately funded home care across London is normally charged by the hour, with higher rates at weekends, on bank holidays and for shorter calls, while live in support is quoted weekly. Ask each agency for its rates, minimum visit length and notice period in writing before anything is agreed.

Choosing between home care agencies in Woodford Green

What the ratings show

All ten agencies listed here are registered with the Care Quality Commission. Four have been rated Good and six are not yet rated, having registered too recently to be inspected. A missing rating is absent information rather than a warning sign, but it does place more of the enquiry on you: ask how long the agency has been operating, who registered it, what training carers complete before their first visit and whether the manager has run a service before. For rated agencies, read what inspectors found about the punctuality of calls, how medicines were administered and recorded, staff training and how concerns were handled.

Matching the agency to the person

Agencies differ in what they will take on. Some concentrate on short personal care visits, others provide longer companionship calls, dementia support, overnight cover, live in arrangements or help settling somebody home after a hospital stay. Providers in this listing such as De Vere Care Partnership, Platinum Care Appointments and In Home Care covering Woodford and Loughton work in different ways. Confirm that carers travel to the specific address, ask who writes the care plan and check how quickly it can be revised when needs increase.

Questions that predict reliability

Ask how many different carers will attend over a fortnight and whether a small consistent team is kept for each person. Find out how you would be told when a visit is running late, who answers the telephone at weekends and how complaints are recorded and resolved. Ask how often care plans are formally reviewed and what happens when a regular carer leaves, since continuity is what families notice most once care begins.

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