I appreciate that this is a complicated caring situation, but it seems to me that it’s also a matter of managing expectations. Care agencies fulfil a role and certain needs, but they will never take the place of family or a dedicated private carer who will get to know the person or persons for whom they’re caring. With the best will in the world, agencies have a massively high turnover of staff so it’s hard to get consistency. In the current climate, many are struggling to operate at all with sickness and resignations.
In over three years of using an agency for my aunt, I learned many things, the main one being ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’, in other words, does this actually matter? Secondly, some carers are much better than others so you need to accept that. Thirdly, care notes are of limited use. Many haven’t got much of a clue how to use them and they usually don’t have time to read what’s gone before. Logging in and out issues are very common and actually don’t give the true picture. Phrases like ‘nothing more needed’ and ‘all well on leaving’ can be translated as the person needing care has refused what has been offered and simply wants the carer to leave. There is nothing the carer can do here, but accept that situation.
Most important thing? Never imagine that 30 minutes will be sufficient to accomplish ANYTHING, let alone EVERYTHING. As care needs exacerbate, a minimum of an hour is probably the least you need to allow for. And as others have said, maybe you have two separate needs here, cleaning and caring, that may not be reasonably covered by one provider.
I understand your frustration
@HelpInOut . It’s annoying that you are paying for a service you feel you aren’t getting. But if you do decide to contact another agency, please discuss the care plan very carefully and in great detail and be aware that the reality is that most agencies, however good they are, cannot actually live up to everything they promise. And they cannot always deal with clients who are very resistant to being helped. Sometimes, ‘good enough’ is as good as it gets.
Hope you get something sorted out in the near future.
Thanks for the reply.
Yes, I do have high expectations regarding personal care for my Dad . Or do I? Is expecting that they will at least give him a swift once over of his" bits and pieces " and take him into the bathroom to at least wash his hands at the PM visit an example of a "high expectation", especially when he's diabetic and has an ongoing candida infection in his groins and under his apron?
Maybe this is one of the issues around what the powers that be deem as " social need" , when in actual fact its "nursing need" ? Carers aren't regulated in any shape or form .They have no accountability. There are no minimum training requirements . Yet they go into the homes of some of the most vulnerable in our society and administer care
I really don't understand what you mean by saying that nothing can be achieved in 30 minutes or suggest that I'm expecting " everything " to be done?
***Maybe you can clarify what you mean by "everything " regarding the 30 mins of domestic care? ***
Neither do I accept that it's OK for an agency not to have accurate record keeping.
Apart from anything else , they leave themselves wide open to legal action and I suspect thats why they took the first opportunity to throw in the towel (or , as the Social worker accused my husband and I of on Friday) " wash their hands of " Mum and Dad
They have a duty of care and, as businesses, are expected to be transparent in their billing of clients .
This "overbilling" for Mums domestic help has gone on since August
What are the "managers", directors and the "Quality and compliance " officer actually doing?
Do you not agree that if someone refuses for any domestic tasks to be done for 3 months then the carers should be reporting this back to managers?
We run a small gardening and handyperson service particularly aimed at vulnerable people. 70% of our clients are over 70 years old .
If we'd agreed to mow and edge a lawn every 2 weeks but we were only edging every 2 weeks and mowing once a month and continued to bill for the amount agreed for 2 weekly mowing and edging
then I would expect someone to be querying why their lawn was far too long and asking for evidence that we were mowing every 2 weeks.
Its fraud to take money for something you or your staff haven't done, and when its relating to vulnerable people , it's even more serious .
Perhaps the bigger issue is that the local authority never audit records of the agencies they contract in and are happy to pay for services that aren't being delivered, often with a knock on affect on the NHS and social care costs ?
I'm getting quite frustrated that some members seem not to understand and appreciate WHY we went with having the carers to carry out 3O mins of domestic care a day, following on from Dad's AM visits.
If we employed a cleaner , then that could be 4 different people coming into the house 4 times a day on some days. At least this way it was only (potentially) 3 different people 3 times a day. Mum is far less likely to accept that .
You also mention ( as others have) about having a "private carer", and this is something I've strongly considered, but presumably you'd have to have 2 to cover for days off and holidays, plus I haven't been able to find anywhere that carers advertise privately.
I was a nurse for 27 yrs and don't accept poor care , whether it be " social " or nursing. We seem far too ready in this country to accept dumbed down services and customer care and furthermore to pay for it without question.
