My parent lives alone and was making good progress with physios visits for rehab and carers visiting who supported this. The care agency manager suddenly ended the care package with two weeks notice citing staff shortages, so we have to find carers quickly and I am wondering if anyone here uses freelancers instead of a care agency. It’s self funded. If you use freelancers what are the things to consider and be aware of. I am worried I wont find cover in time. I put out loads of callback requests yesterday evening… for agencies and some freelancers.
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Hello Flapjack,
Getting good carers is a nightmare.
We went through four care agency and many carers, possibly a hundred or more before we finally found a care agency that was acceptable - still not perfect but just about bearable.
Whilst going through these carers and agencies we were offered the “budget” and to manage the carers ourselves but after thinking about it, we felt it would be a management headache. Firstly, finding good carers (if they exist) then managing their time, payments, sickness, holidays etc. was way too much to think about on top of caring for Mum who needs double up care and specialist skills (which we have not yet found - these skills are, well non-existent for home care, if indeed they exist).
Luckily for us, we are using an agency (council sourced) whose manager sat down with us and listened to what we were looking for and took this on board. Further, she has been very understanding when we have suggested some carers are not up to scratch and has immediately replaced them. We also discussed with her the carer profile in terms of personality, interpersonal skills and general temperament and it has been agreed we require a certain type of carer. The benefit for us is we don’t have to worry about carers not turning up or going off on holiday - the agency knows which carers are capable of providing the level of service we require and so they have created a pool of carers that they use to provide a dedicated team to help care for Mum.
It has been a nightmare and even now we still end up mopping up after them as they are less than ideal but they are probably as good as we’re going to get for the budget we’re working with.
I guess a lot depends on how much help your parent needs and how capable they are of dealing with the issues that may arise with the carer(s). One of our friends had a terrible time with the carers who were hired to look after her parents. They used to pretty much do as they pleased and upset the parents and it was very difficult to get good carers. Sadly, for them they had to give in and they ended up taking the parents to nursing homes.
I wish you all the best.
Thanks so much for recounting your experiences with agencies and carers, ManjiB. It sounds like you have all been through a lot trying everything you can to get decent care and I am glad you found a care manager who listens and is flexible. I wonder if there is training for agency staff in skills for working with people post stroke. There should be. Thanks also for the insight into managing a budget vs agency.
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It’s hard to say whether carers get specialist training. I have seen agencies advertising themselves as specialists in dementia etc. but I have yet to meet a carer who even has the slightest of clue about dealing with someone with Mum’s level of care needs.
Some carers are barely able to convers in English. They have little or no training in moving and handling techniques required to hoist and transfer someone.
Though they are called carers, they are often lack the skills and some only receive online training. They are supposed to update a care log which they don’t or if they do they write what they were supposed to do rather than what they actually did which makes the log meaningless as you can’t identify problems.
Even with this agency, we still do bulk of the work. We do the prep and we do the wipe downs so they actually do very little. Also, they often get the transfer wrong and so Mum is uncomfortable (she can’t speak and they don’t understand her attempts to communicate) and so we end up up redoing the transfer, which when it is a double up care and you’re doing it on your own at times makes it that much more harder and riskier.
And all this happens when they are “supervised” i.e. we are here. Our friends case which I mentioned earlier was worse because the carers did what they liked and the parents were left distressed .
I wish you all the best.
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An update. My parent and I met with different agencies and it is going well with the new one. They have more understanding, knowledge and adaptability.
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@Flapjack It’s a tricky decision. If you decide to go freelance, do some through research. Likewise care homes but, please let care homes be a last resort. My mum is in a care home in Salford (I live in Wythenshawe, Manchester). Visiting is tricky (for me anyway). Please try to have your relatives cared for in the family home. You’ll need to have a care package sorted out by doctors and other services. That way you can be there for them when needed.
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Thank you for your message. The decisions are led by my relative who prefers to remain at home and so definitely no care homes. What happened after my post was we found a really good new care visit agency with good knowledge and attitude to stroke care and it has been transformative. They really know how to care properly and flexibly. The docs and services did not arrange anything. I had to do it all.
Before the new agency, the first agency in the first few months, was unsuitable with poor management.
My relative’s health, wellbeing and rehab has improved massively since the new agency started. The agency also co operates well with the stroke rehab team.
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@Flapjack , good to hear. It’s a shame thought that you had to do all of the ground work. Anyway with your relative at home, at least you can keep an eye on things. I’m trying to do something similar at the moment. The research is a headache.
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I got the good agency by posting on Lottie. I contacted so many agencies. But the post I put on Lottie got me a good agency. I also found out a bit late the GP has a care co ordinator who can give advice. They suggested CareHomeSelection co uk which can also help families find care visit companies not only homes.
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