Hi there and welcome to TP
I care for both my parents with dementia and we have full time care in their house . I live half a mile away.it can be a rocky road - I started with one agency who couldn't cope with mum ,moved onto daily home care for meds ,then due to a combo of mum breaking s hip and dad driving into literally the hospital ( up to his windscreen) with a heart attack moved onto full time home care. Due to the timing of all this ( pre Xmas) the agency I then chose could only do two week stints. This didn't work as it took 10 days out of the 14 for mum to settle. So I moved into the third agency who have been great - I have been with them 18 months now.
My advice would be - ask how long they expect a carer to stay,what are contingency plans if it doesn't work out,then this one is critical WHY is the carer doing this? - if they are doing it to fund a sick husband,daughter thru uni that is great,beware of those doing it to travel the world!,
I pay £595 to the carer and £140 per week to the agency.i also pay £130 per week in relief care for the two hours that the carer needs off per day.
Having said that I still order all food and visit 3-4 times a week and do all critical stuff eg memory clinic visits.
Hope this gives you an idea xxx
