What is home care (also referred to as domiciliary care)?
An overview of our Home Care services.
An overview of our Home Care services
Home care, also referred to as domiciliary care or care at home, describes care services which enable people to continue living in their own homes. Homecare staff travel to the homes of elderly people and those with complex care needs, to deliver care to them at the times they need it and in the way they like it – all in the familiar surroundings of their own home.
Homecare is a flexible service. It can be temporary (referred to as respite care) or ongoing. Homecare can be arranged from as little as one hour a week to several hours each day. For those with who prefer, live in care and 24 hour care at home can also be provided.
While at your home a care professional will provide you with help with daily living. This could include home help, support with washing dressing and other personal care tasks. It could also include companionship and trips out in the local community as well as planning and cooking your favourite food.
Home care enables each client to receive a bespoke service, that can evolve with your changing needs. Therefore, care at home is increasingly becoming the care solution of choice; the preferred alternative to moving into a care home.
Who is home care suitable for?
There are many reasons why you might like to receive care at home. A few examples of people for whom home care is suitable are those who:
- are lonely and would welcome some company;
- are finding the ageing process physically or mentally challenging and would like a listening ear;
- find it less easy to keep their homes as tidy as they once did;
- find it difficult to access the local community for shopping and recreational pursuits. This maybe because they have recently stopped driving, are less steady on their feet or have just lost confidence;
- have lost interest in planning, preparing and eating nutritious meals;
- struggle to take care of a pet, including walking their dog;
- don’t always remember to take their medication or whose fingers are too stiff to remove medication from packaging;
- have lost the motivation or ability to carry out daily activities, such as washing or dressing, without support or encouragement;
- have lost the will to engage in recreational activities or interests without support and encouragement;
- don’t want to move into a care home;
- have family members who would welcome the peace of mind of a trusted care professional checking on them regularly;
- need encouragement to carry out physiotherapy exercises to aid their mobility;
- are living with advanced dementia and experience symptoms and behaviours which present challenges;
- want to stay at home but are nervous alone at night;
- want to continue to enjoy the lifestyle they are accustomed to;
- want to maintain control over their day to day lives;
- have acute personal care needs; or
- need specialist care.
Care at home is also invaluable for couples, where one is the main carer for the other. Often the spouse with caring responsibilities can become tired and stressed as a result of all they need to do and find they have little time to themselves to do the things they enjoy and recharge. In this case, a couple of visits a week to offer respite care is extremely valuable and reduces the likelihood of ‘carer burnout’.
How can home care help you?
A care professional can help you with all kinds of things including:
- reducing loneliness and enhancing general wellbeing;
- taking you to medical and hair appointments;
- general domestic chores such as putting the bins out, changing the bedding, doing the washing up and washing and ironing your clothes;
- helping you to get out of bed in the morning;
- washing and dressing;
- washing, brushing and styling your hair;
- planning and preparing delicious, nutritious meals and drinks;
- reminding you to take your medication;
- collecting prescriptions;
- walking your dog and other pet care;
- accompanying you on trips in the local community;
- helping you with your shopping; and
- supporting you to get ready for bed.
Who should you choose to deliver home care?
Home Instead Bromley, Chislehurst & Orpington! A family run business, we have provided high quality home care in West Wickham, Bromley, Beckenham, Chislehurst, Orpington and surrounding areas for over 10 years and we are the only CQC outstanding rated home care provider in the borough of Bromley.
If we cover your area, we would love to support you. We provide homecare in Bromley, Chislehurst, Beckenham, West Wickham, Orpington, Hayes, Farnborough, Keston and surrounding areas.
The smooth running of your care will be overseen by our highly qualified and experienced award winning office team and the day to day care will be provided by one, or a small team of, Home Instead care professionals.
Home Instead is not a care agency, but a fully regulated and managed home care service so you can be assured that we have recruited, trained and employed the very best people and will continue to invest in their professional development to ensure they work to the highest standards to deliver the best care possible to you.
Over the years our care professionals have been recognised for the exceptional care they deliver. One of our care professionals, Kellie Mitchell, recently won the homecare care assistant of the year for bromley borough, was highly commended carer in the regional Great British Care Awards and was shortlisted for carer for national awards.
When should you start receiving home care?
Although it sounds counter intuitive, it is a good idea to introduce home care before it is absolutely essential. This way, you can start with a couple of hours a week, to try it out and see if we are the right company for you, and if, and when, your needs change and you would like more support, we will be there for you. High quality care is hard to come by and it is far better to arrange it at your leisure than in an emergency.
For some of our clients, accepting care at home can understandably feel daunting and many prefer to ease themselves in gently. There can also be a perceived stigma attached to needing care and so often starting with companionship or home help for a couple of hours a week is a reassuring first step. It is extremely rare for any of our clients, even the most reluctant, not to love their care at home package within a couple of weeks of starting with us.
How do I arrange home care?
- Get in touch with our friendly team
Please give us a call on 020 8658 2535 or, if you are in the West Wickham area, please do pop in and see us at 76 Croydon Road, Coney Hall Village, West Wickham, BR4 9HY and we’ll be happy to answer all of your homecare questions.
- Arrange a care assessment
We can arrange a free, no obligation, care consultation during which we’ll discuss your care needs and preferences and you can get to know us a little better.
- Your care at home package can start
A carefully matched care professional will be introduced to you, your care plan and your home care can begin. The smooth running of your care at home package will be overseen by your dedicated Client Service Manager who will be with you every step of the way to ensure the home care you receive is exactly as you’d like it to be.
We are proud to provide care at home to clients living in Bromley, Orpington, West Wickham, Beckenham, Farnborough, Chislehurst, Hayes, Keston, Farnborough Park and surrounding areas.