Do you wonder what is the first step to seeking home care? You probably have lots of questions regarding the different types of care, the level of care, the quality of home care and the trustworthiness of the carers.
Sometimes, people procrastinate about arranging home care, not realising that it can provide as little as once-a-week help with acts such as assisting with the weekly grocery shop or providing companionship or helping to maintain a much loved hobby. Home care can be as little or as much as you want it to be and it is always decided in consultation with the client and the family.
At Comfort Keepers, we have a step by step guide to the home care provision we offer:
1. Assessment and Planning of Home Care
One of our Client Care managers will come and visit you and your loved one. Following the assessment in hospital or at home, a care plan will be drawn up following discussion about the future care needs and according to the individual needs of your family.
2. Person-Centred Approach to Home Care
While drawing up the individualised care plan, the client care manager will choose a carer that is most suited to your needs. We put great importance on our person-centred rather than task-centred approach. We will also advise you on any HSE entitlements and how to claim back the 41% tax on home care payment.
3. Carer Introduction
A fully trained carer will be introduced to you and the care plan will be discussed so that everyone (client care manager, carer, patient and family) is familiar with the process and is happy with the plan. The carer chosen is recognised as the one most suited to the client’s personality and needs.
4. Carer Visits
When the carer arrives at the client’s home, they have to log in using our telemonitoring system. If the login does not happen for any reason (which is extremely unlikely but is a safeguard we have in place), we are alerted and will arrange for another carer to visit. We have a 24 hour oncall team. At every visit, the carer documents the visit in a Care Journal and this is used for future assessments and to decide on any alterations to the care plan.
5. Regular Reviews
We review all our patients and their care plans regularly. The Client Care manager will assess for any necessary changes to the care plan in discussion with the carer, patient and/or family.
As you can see, we do our utmost to offer an extremely high level of care to all our patients on a continual basis. If you are wondering if home care may be a requirement in the not too distant future for a family member, do get in contact and we will be happy to answer any queries you may have. As you can see on our Contact page, we have offices all over the country.
