finding a recommended private carer

peterrabbit

Registered User
Jun 18, 2016
135
0
hello
mum is 91 with dementia, i live with her, look after her.
i trying to find an individual carer for her than use a care agency.
to do a day or few days a week, one to two hours.
it’s difficult to know where to look, i asked a charity recently, they recommended
someone who sounded ideal for us- mature, experienced in care, genuine, flexible.
but she’s currently unavailable.
has any readers found a private carer they are pleased with, and how did you find them?
thankyou, philip.
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,443
0
Kent
Is there a reason why you prefer a private carer to a care agency @peterrabbit?

Unless I had a personal recommendation of someone who was used to being with people with dementia I would steer clear.

I used an excellent care agency. The manager spent two hours with me to discuss my husband`s needs and all carers were dementia trained and fully insured.

If a private carer is your choice, I wish you luck. I suppose you could advertise for one in the local press.

It will be interesting to hear if you find anyone.
 

B72

Registered User
Jul 21, 2018
332
0
When my MIL needed someone, I asked our doctor if he knew of anyone. As luck would have it, he knew a retired District Nurse. This was years ago. She was wonderful, we were very lucky. I don’t think we’d be that lucky today.
 

peterrabbit

Registered User
Jun 18, 2016
135
0
hello grannie g, thankyou, yes i’ve been seeking a personal recommendation, and someone with dementia experience, which i found recently though booked up. i may approach a care agency at some point as you did.
B72, that was lucky, a retired district nurse. i may ask my gp, philip.
 

Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
0
England
I would also recommend using an agency, there are some very good national ones. It depends where you live whether you have people locally who are suitable. Where my mum lived was quite rural and nobody wanted the travelling. I therefore had to use live-in carers, but I appreciate that's probably not what you want. However, you could consider it for respite to allow you a week away occasionally.

Traditionally people looking to employ staff directly (rather than through an agency) used the classified section in 'The Lady' magazine, and you could do this via their website. I tried it but had very few responses due to the remote location of my mother's home. Those I did receive were from very unsuitable people who weren't qualified and were just desperate for a roof over their head, so the magazine refunded my advertisement fee. It's worth checking it out. You can look at their classifieds online to see what range of jobs get advertised there.
 

peterrabbit

Registered User
Jun 18, 2016
135
0
thankyou katrine, we have the current ‘the lady magazine’. i have two sitters/ home help recommended through the local church, they are really good with mum and i can go out too, i thought a recommended carer coming a day or two a week, for say two hours a time may suit mum, would a local agency provide that sort of thing? yes a live in carer would be good if i wanted a break, i think they are expensive, my sister might cover for mum.
 
Last edited:

maryjoan

Registered User
Mar 25, 2017
1,634
0
South of the Border
hello grannie g, thankyou, yes i’ve been seeking a personal recommendation, and someone with dementia experience, which i found recently though booked up. i may approach a care agency at some point as you did.
B72, that was lucky, a retired district nurse. i may ask my gp, philip.


Where I am in the West Country, the local County Council website keeps details of Personal Assistants and carers - they are not vetted by county,. but they put their own details up and you can check them out. It works very well.
 

Katrine

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
2,837
0
England
A local agency may be able to offer what you want, but it all depends on where you live and who is available on the job market. If you're in a town or city you can probably get peripatetic agency carers for the hours you need.

For about 3 years we had a local agency carer come for 4 hours, one afternoon a week. This was to give the live-in carer a break. Unfortunately, the supply of carers willing to do our placement dried up. Carers are low paid and aren't paid for the time travelling between clients, so who would want to waste an hour of their day on travelling? If I had been able to find someone privately I could have made more generous arrangements, but going through the local agency we were stuck with their rules.
 

peterrabbit

Registered User
Jun 18, 2016
135
0
A local agency may be able to offer what you want, but it all depends on where you live and who is available on the job market. If you're in a town or city you can probably get peripatetic agency carers for the hours you need.

For about 3 years we had a local agency carer come for 4 hours, one afternoon a week. This was to give the live-in carer a break. Unfortunately, the supply of carers willing to do our placement dried up. Carers are low paid and aren't paid for the time travelling between clients, so who would want to waste an hour of their day on travelling? If I had been able to find someone privately I could have made more generous arrangements, but going through the local agency we were stuck with their rules.

thankyou katrine.
 

eyebrows

Registered User
Feb 20, 2018
13
0
We've been using both a private carer and an agency for my mum. Despite being really great at first, the service we get from the agency has really gone downhill and my mum's care just isn't the samef ro lots of reasons. The private carer was also initially very good - an old family friend who works in the field - but she's now started to call in sick and cancel her sessions quite regularly.

All that being said, there are a lot of good agencies out there, and also good private carers. You might find that you go through a few before finding a good fit. Unfortunately we've come to realise that as the dementia changes, my mum's needs are changing with it, and so the level of care needs to constantly change.

Try social services too. Our local council can't offer us much, but we're going to need to take them on for an hour a day to keep costs down.
 

Cazzita

Registered User
May 12, 2018
617
0
I chose a care agency that was based in our local village and had excellent reviews. No issues at all :) Good luck in your search but definitely don't rule out an agency.
 

peterrabbit

Registered User
Jun 18, 2016
135
0
maryjoan thankyou.
We've been using both a private carer and an agency for my mum. Despite being really great at first, the service we get from the agency has really gone downhill and my mum's care just isn't the samef ro lots of reasons. The private carer was also initially very good - an old family friend who works in the field - but she's now started to call in sick and cancel her sessions quite regularly.

All that being said, there are a lot of good agencies out there, and also good private carers. You might find that you go through a few before finding a good fit. Unfortunately we've come to realise that as the dementia changes, my mum's needs are changing with it, and so the level of care needs to constantly change.

Try social services too. Our local council can't offer us much, but we're going to need to take them on for an hour a day to keep costs down.


thankyou. we’ve had a visit from social services, they have agencies they use, i’ve been trying to find a private carer as the home help/sitter who comes for two hours, twice a week has been really good for mum, and me. i’m asking around for private carers but only found one recommended as she has no availability at the moment.
 

peterrabbit

Registered User
Jun 18, 2016
135
0
I chose a care agency that was based in our local village and had excellent reviews. No issues at all :) Good luck in your search but definitely don't rule out an agency.

thankyou. i’m looking for a private carer at the moment but won’t rule out an agency. i care for mum through the week and it would be good to have someone reliable and caring for a few days, couple of hours a time. it’s good you found an agency with excellent reviews.
 

la lucia

Registered User
Jul 3, 2011
592
0
We have a private carer. I put notices on every village noticeboard in our area and told everyone I knew. Adverts in parish magazines are good too. It took a few weeks & a couple of wasted calls but I got there.

The person I eventually hired wasn't recommended by anyone but it was easy for me to see what she's like after a few visits. And I asked for references.

She's now been with us for nearly a year and I'm happy with her.
 

farmgirl

Registered User
Jun 2, 2014
67
0
shrewsbury
hello
mum is 91 with dementia, i live with her, look after her.
i trying to find an individual carer for her than use a care agency.
to do a day or few days a week, one to two hours.
it’s difficult to know where to look, i asked a charity recently, they recommended
someone who sounded ideal for us- mature, experienced in care, genuine, flexible.
but she’s currently unavailable.
has any readers found a private carer they are pleased with, and how did you find them?
thankyou, philip.
I live in the middle of nowhere and I put something in the local noticeboard found a great girl stayed with us for 16 till dad passed away 10 days ago but still pops in for a cuppa and will help us with some decorating
 

Cazzita

Registered User
May 12, 2018
617
0
thankyou. i’m looking for a private carer at the moment but won’t rule out an agency. i care for mum through the week and it would be good to have someone reliable and caring for a few days, couple of hours a time. it’s good you found an agency with excellent reviews.

Yes, it certainly is and it makes such a difference knowing that these women are so loving and caring with mum. Very expensive though!
 

Cazzita

Registered User
May 12, 2018
617
0
I live in the middle of nowhere and I put something in the local noticeboard found a great girl stayed with us for 16 till dad passed away 10 days ago but still pops in for a cuppa and will help us with some decorating

What a gem she is! :)

Sorry about your loss xx
 

peterrabbit

Registered User
Jun 18, 2016
135
0
We have a private carer. I put notices on every village noticeboard in our area and told everyone I knew. Adverts in parish magazines are good too. It took a few weeks & a couple of wasted calls but I got there.

The person I eventually hired wasn't recommended by anyone but it was easy for me to see what she's like after a few visits. And I asked for references.

She's now been with us for nearly a year and I'm happy with her.


hello la lucia, i thought of asking local churches, in fact i found our home help/ sitter from my church, p.
 

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