Carer Visits-acceptable timing

[My Mum's Daughter]

Mum has carers visiting 3 times a day and unfortunately, things are not going to plan. I'm trying my best to be reasonable with the care agency but finding that their visiting times are unpredictable.

With a 9 am visit that involves personal care, breakfast and medication, what time should we expect the carer to call?

 

[jaymor]

It would depend what you want the carers to cover. Ideally breakfast, lunchtime if they don’t leave a meal for your Mum and then an evening one, again for a meal or a little later if you think your Mum would benefit from help getting ready for bed.

I have a friend who has carers, for disability not dementia and it’s almost impossible to get them to come on time or even stay for the allotted period of time.

 

[DreamsAreReal]

Have you organised them yourself or has SS done it? If you're not happy with the times they're turning up either complain to your Social Worker or direct to Agency. Our visits usually turned up within a half hour or so either side of the expected time. A few times they didn't turn up at all and on one occasion came at 10pm for a tea time visit!

I don't know if there's a standard amount of leeway allowed., if that's what you mean. They have to be allowed some flexibility of course, but if they're regularly taking the mickey, make a complaint.

For a 9am visit I'd expect them to be there before 10am, but I knew how short staffed they were and council had already sent round a letter saying "families may have to do more(!)" because they were so short. Depends on what it's like where you are, I suppose.

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

I'm being told that visits can be expected as much as 2 hours either way, so any time between 7 and 11.
Today's breakfast was 10 am with lunch at 11:30.

 

[T1000]

is this a privately funded carer, or allocated to you?
I arrange care for my mum who lives with me just for 2 hours per week for companionship, they arrive 10-10:30 and we allow for a 30min window. But this is paid privately.

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

Mum is in Wales so care funding is completely different. Care has been organised by Social Services with Mum paying the maximum weekly contribution.

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

After an hour on the phone, I've discovered that visits should be within 15 mins either way.

 

[Jessbow]

Its difficult. problem is, trying to fit everyone in, with a limited number of carers.

its all very well if Mrs a has a call at 7am, Mrs B at 8am and Mrsc at 9am, with a 20min drive in between its near impossible, never mind the fact that they would alll have prefered 8.30. and they'd alll like their lunch at 1pm please!

Different carers will work different shifts, some only AM, some only PM, problem is, lunchtime carer will have no idea what time AM call will have been - they only have their own rota

Its a soul destroying job-i have done it.Never again. You are up against the impossible every single day, never mind the days when someone is poorly and you have to wait for family or an ambulance- happens frequently

 

[SherwoodSue]

Hello.

I found the reply from the person who had once done the role to be very helpful in understanding what goes on behind the scenes
We use a care agency for mum as advertised on the TV. They are expensive but I have found them reliable with time keeping.

 

[Jessbow]

Hello.

I found the reply from the person who had once done the role to be very helpful in understanding what goes on behind the scenes
We use a care agency for mum as advertised on the TV. They are expensive but I have found them reliable with time keeping.

It is such a hard job, for so little pay, and a bit of a thankless task. The actual carer gets nothing like the rate you pay the agency- usually just minimum wage.
So just to expand a little further ..

So if i left home at 6.45 for Mrs A at 7am, ....who really didnt want to be up that early...... and was lucky if i got out at 8am.
20 mins in heavy Traffic to arrive at Mrs B, who by now if a bit cross that I was due 20 mins ago, and is none too keen to hurry ''because you were late, Dear'' Out of there at 9.20

Another 20 mins travel

Arrive Mrs C .....Nearly 45 mins late. Do her hour, out of there 10.40


remember I went out at 6.45, and arrive home at 10.50 if i am lucky and get paid for 3 hours, at minimum wage

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

The carers themselves are wonderful, hardworking people who we always treat with the utmost respect. If any visit is late because they've been stuck in traffic, we let them finish as early as possible.

As it happens, today's morning and lunch calls were "done" by the same carer, who couldn't believe that there was just an hour between her visits.

All the problems are caused by the admin staff who seem unable to arrange the visits at the contracted time and a management who's taken on more work than they can cover.

 

[try again]

In Coventry it seems that social services employ various agencies across the city that work in localised areas. I was told times would settle and they seem to have in the main when the regular carers are on. The two days they have off are slightly different and I spent quite a while complaining as they seemed to have no idea what was required, this with a very detailed care plan in their file at mum's house

There are always things that can delay them, having to pick up the slack for I'll staff and arrange visits differently. Mum has had falls and the carers have stayed there until I get there to wait for ambulances (I assume if I couldn't get there they would stay as necessary).
If the carers are new there will be some juggling at first.

 

[Pork Pie lady]

I'm being told that visits can be expected as much as 2 hours either way, so any time between 7 and 11.
Today's breakfast was 10 am with lunch at 11:30.

I would expect that if the breakfast call is on the late side so would the lunch call be that is far too close together for meals.

 

[Phil2020]

Mum's morning carers - agreed arrival time 9:00am - can arrive anytime between 8:30am and (usually) 9:30am, even very occasionally 9:45am. She's had the same company now for almost five years and I used to press them to be much more " on time" than they are now. Over the years I came to realise that they do need a degree of flexibility on arrival times - other clients sometimes needing greater attention on a visit, traffic, sickness, holidays, child care etc - so I tend to be more pragmatic nowadays. It works both ways. If there's a particular day I do need them at a specific time, I tell them and they will always make the effort to meet the need. Sometimes mum needs longer than the usual allotted time - they will stay to make sure everything is dealt with.

 

[Grannie G]

I was told by one of the carers for my husband, they are not given travelling time. If this is the case, plus unpredictable happenings when they visit others it's a miracle they get there at all.

I'm sure this is down to staffing, either absenteeism or cut downs. Agencies are businesses and you are lucky if you manage to get care on time.

 

[TNJJ]

With dads carers we used to have a rota so we knew who and what time they were due. That soon stopped.So most of it is guess work. I know his am visit is 6.45 but then spends the morning in bed.( We have just changed the care plan.)Up at lunchtime.
Some carers would stay if an ambulance was called. Most of the time they call me and then go on their merry way.( Left dad for 14 days during COVID as they thought he had it. He didn't and I had to stay). Administration seems to be a problem with this agency.Can you ask for a rota to be printed of times?

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

I have asked for a rota but I was told that it was confidential so as it stands, I'm unable to plan any activities for Mum.

Some of you have mentioned emergency situations. I've covered this by telling the agency to call me if they have a problem. Mum and I don't live together but I can easily step in to cover her care.

 

[Savannah]

I was told by one of the carers for my husband, they are not given travelling time. If this is the case, plus unpredictable happenings when they visit others it's a miracle they get there at all.

I'm sure this is down to staffing, either absenteeism or cut downs. Agencies are businesses and you are lucky if you manage to get care on time.

It is absolutely true that many agencies don't allow any travel time. Most domicilliary carers get no pay for travel time and no travel costs so rota's are often done as tightly as possible and it's a case of 'rob Peter to pay Paul' to try to ensure that Carers get as much paid time as possible within their shift. This is a very real consequence of the privatisation of Social Care and zero hours contracts. There is an excellent Ken Loach film 'Sorry we missed you' that gives a good insight into this issue. It is not uncommon for Domiciliary Carers to only be paid for about 65% of their time from start to end of their shifts. Staffing is also a problem. Even before Covid there were massive shortages of staff and Brexit has further impacted on this.

 

[DreamsAreReal]

I have asked for a rota but I was told that it was confidential so as it stands, I'm unable to plan any activities for Mum.

Some of you have mentioned emergency situations. I've covered this by telling the agency to call me if they have a problem. Mum and I don't live together but I can easily step in to cover her care.

Are you able to access mum's carers notes online? I did and it was usually the only way I knew if something was wrong or a visit was missed/late. Despite asking them repeatedly to call me if anything was wrong, they rarely bothered. They didn't even have the decency to phone me to tell me when they found her dead. I read it in her care notes.

 

[MackTwelve]

I'm in the process of trying to arrange carers for my mother, at the moment we only require a morning visit to help with personal hygiene as I can manage the rest of the time. There just seems to be a shortage of staff in our area (Wales), To try and help out I suggested just three days a week but the company offering the service insists that we accept seven days or not at all. Even the SS think it's a ridiculous situation. The girls who come though are amazing, I believe at the moment they are working twelve hour shifts.