Live-in Carers

Mojisola

Does anyone have any experience of using live-in carers for elderly relatives instead of them moving into a care home?

Tuesday_Tenor

No, though have been both a full-time carer for a parent (relatively short term) and the manager of a respite care service (for 6 years). (Respite for breaks of few hours a week, not full-time living in).

The whole process of recruiting the right person, ensuring they understand the care needs, have the skills to meet them and have the right personality to 'get on' with the person they're caring for is quite a daunting task. The need provide breaks for that person if the care is 24/7, and also cover holidays and sickness, will all add to the considerable cost. As an employer you'd have to meet various legal obligations in relation to employment law and health and safety. I don't want to over-stress these, but you'd need a basic understanding.

Despite the potential problems, if the funding is available and you can find the right person, it can be the best way for an elderly relative to carry on living at home.

If you're wanting to explore the issues, before (or instead of) becoming the employer yourself, you could try using a service that provides temporary cover, or a whole string of temporary covers, such as this well-established service: http://www.country-cousins.co.uk/

I have no direct experience of them, but they generally have a good reputation and are an outfit I would consider working for. (The idea of doing live-in care for a few weeks occasionally would appeal to me).

HTH

Tuesday_Tenor

Further to the above, it will depend what sort of level of care is required.

Is it domestic-task-orientated companionship that's needed because the person can't cope with cooking, shopping and housework, but can be left alone while the paid carer has an afternoon or an evening off.

Or is it someone with high dependency care needs, such as, for example :
- assitance with all personal care tasks, including toileting
- takes 30 minutes to be fed at each meal to ensure adequate nutrition,
- is very immobile and at risk of pressure sores,
- has dementia and can't be left alone at all
- regularly requires assistance during the night, as well as the day
- is on a complex cocktail of medication.

The former situation will be much easier to recruit to and make work than the latter, which is a very complex requirement requiring someone trained and experienced.

(I'm away now for a few days. Hope you get some useful responses).

Mojisola

I have been looking at getting a carer from a company that supplies live-in carers so we won't have all the complications of being an employer.

The company supplies someone who lives in for about six weeks at a time and then has a couple of weeks off. They send someone to fill-in for those weeks and try to keep the continuity of the same carers coming back each time. How well that works in practice in another matter!

It seems like a good way of keeping Mum and Dad in their own home for longer.

maggi1

Hi,
I too think if you can find the right people than this is possibly the best idea.

Years ago I worked for an agency and used to do sleep overs for an elderly lady. She used to ring a bell in the night when she needed me.

An agency will have obviously done all the necessary checks and interviews so will make the process easier. I would feel more confident doing this when there are two parents being cared for rather than one.

Good luck, I hope you are able to find the right people.

marvin

Just to be pedantic though a carer is unpaid the rest have other titles (Care Worker Assistant etc) see http://www.bica.org.uk/what.shtml for a better explanation of this small but important piece of pedantry.

Tuesday_Tenor

I've just got back from visiting a friend who has recently employed a live-in care worker for her mother.

This situation is aided by the facts that
(a) the care is relatively straightforward
(b) there is generally no night care, so this is excluded from the contract at the moment
(c) the ideal person was to hand so there was no need to advertise
(d) family members are available to cover for this person's holidays etc.

The following won't be of use to Mojisola using an agency, but hope it might help someone else reading this thread as they're considering employing a care worker:

My friend used an HR company called Peopletime to help with drawing up the contract, understanding the Working Time Directive etc.
I think it cost about £90 for the advice she needed by phone and e-mail, and she considers it money well spent to get a very clear and legally-correct contract in place, using a company she found very helpful and easy to deal with. http://www.peopletime.co.uk/

HTH someone.

Mojisola

marvin wrote: »

Just to be pedantic though a carer is unpaid the rest have other titles (Care Worker Assistant etc) see http://www.bica.org.uk/what.shtml for a better explanation of this small but important piece of pedantry.

The companies I am looking at refer throughout their literature to "carers".

marvin

Mojisola wrote: »

The companies I am looking at refer throughout their literature to "carers".

Does not make them right and should not be tollerated they should be made to use the right title, it is only my view though.

Tuesday_Tenor

>>>>>> 'The companies I am looking at refer throughout their literature to "carers".'

I know; it's going to take decades before common usage changes.

In the world of respite/family care, and in Carers legislation, though, the term 'Carer' refers to the person providing significant unpaid care for a partner, family member or friend.

I'm usually with Marvin on this and try to promote the correct use of the word. But when it's a 'live-in' person, I have to say that '(s)he's my Carer' falls off the tongue more easily than introducing someone as '(s)he's my live-in care worker'!

Jackie47

Hi

Although not elderly, we had live-in care assistants for my daughter a few years back while we were waiting for Social Services to look for a care home for her. She needs 24-hour care and is a wheelchair and was 18-19 at the time. I moved out of my house so that they could move in to care for my daughter (putting my foot down in the hope that SS would deliver what they promised!!!)

It didn't work for us at all. Luckily, I was only a mile away as I spent 2 of the 10 weeks or so that we had the carers, being a unpaid carer as they had no staff to send. Another girl came from Glasgow (to Lincolnshire) and fell out with my daughter in the middle of the village, my daughter stormed off and the carer let her go! She has a brain injury and no sense of danger, spatial awareness, tunnel vision etc etc...I was not a happy bunny!

Jackie