A guide to arranging emergency or same-day live-in care
About this guide
This guide to emergency live-in care will answer all of the questions you may have around live-in care and what it involves. Many people believe that if they or a loved one needs around the clock support, their only option is to go into residential care, but that’s not the case.
Helping Hands is one of the UK’s leading home care providers, with 37 years of experience delivering exceptional care in our customers’ homes. This is why we’ve pulled together some of the key facts about emergency live-in care so that you and your loved ones can make an informed decision. If you would like to, you can download our guide to live-in care here.
When emergency live-in care might be needed
Circumstances can change without notice, and needing live-in care in an emergency can seem like a tall order to fulfil. Maybe you’re being discharged from hospital quicker than you expected, or your health has declined and you need someone with you at all times. Because we have 155 branches across England and Wales we’re perfectly placed to provide care at home at the drop of a hat.
If you are living with more complex conditions, then you and your loved ones will be reassured to know that we have our own team of clinical nurses working at Helping Hands. They manage all of our more complex care packages and work tirelessly across England and Wales to ensure that our live-in carers have all the knowledge and skills they need to deliver exceptional care.
How quickly care can be arranged
Helping Hands are experts in providing care in a hurry. If you have an emergency, one of our private carers can be in your home in as little as 24 hours, or even quicker in certain circumstances. If you or your loved ones don’t know where to turn, one call to us will put your mind at rest. Whether you’ve had a sudden illness or your current carer has had to leave unexpectedly, we’re here to help, straight away. Because we manage all of our own care branches – we don’t sell franchises – you can expect the same consistent high standards, whichever of our branch teams you work with.
What happens when you call
You can call your local care branch or pop in during opening hours, or if you need to get hold of us seven days a week, you can call our national customer care team, based at our support office in Alcester, Warwickshire. When you call you’ll speak to a knowledgeable member of our team who will advise you on your live-in care options.
The rapid care assessment
We’ll move quickly to get an assessment carried out in your home so that there will be no delay in your care starting. We’ll just need to check that your home is a safe working environment and has the necessary facilities for live-in care, such as a separate bedroom for your prospective carer.
Getting the right carer in place
We recruit and train all of our carers in-house, so you can be sure they’ll be fully prepared for the complexity of your situation. Our live-in carers are dedicated to making you comfortable at home and ensuring you’ll continue to live as well and as independently as possible, regardless of your circumstances.
Funding care arranged quickly
If you are paying for your own care, then we will help you quickly set up your account with us. If you are receiving NHS continuing healthcare funding then we will seamlessly slot into your existing package and work closely with your wider healthcare team to ensure your routine continues.
How Helping Hands responds within 24 hours
Because we’ve been delivering care for so many decades, we’re considered one of the UK’s most trusted private care providers. We employ our carers directly and only deliver care in our customers’ own homes; we don’t run care homes or expect our carers to be self-employed. When you call us, one of our team of customer care specialists will take your call, explain your options and patiently answer your questions. Or you can visit your local branch team in person if you’d prefer. You can even request a callback for a time that suits you. We’ll select one of our fully screened and vetted live-in carers to come to your home; someone with the patience and expertise to care for you.
Helping Hands have so far been excellent. We needed emergency help and received it in the form of a live-in carer. There was very swift access to telephone information and there was sensitive support from the manager.
Julia, Customer
3 simple steps…
Emergency care at a moment’s notice
Speak to our team
Our friendly, knowledgeable team can answer your questions and talk you through your options. We are available 7 days a week.
Book a free care assessment
Your local Helping Hands care manager will visit you to understand your needs and preferences and discuss how we can help. We can visit you at home, in hospital or even a care home to carry out the care assessment.
Confirm your care package
We create a tailored care plan for you to review. Once you’ve agreed the plan, we can organise care in as little as 24 hours.
Emergency live-in care FAQs
Live-in carers can undertake all of your practical tasks, such as housekeeping, personal care, and medication administration. They can also prepare you nutritious meals, check that you’re drinking enough water and accompany you to activities and appointments outside of your home. More than that though, they will be there for essential companionship, meaning you’ll never feel lonely in your own home.
Having someone in your home around the clock means that you’ll always have company, and you need never worry about practical tasks being completed. While visiting care provides essential help at specific times of the day, with live-in care your carer will always be around. While they’ll need to take an essential break every day, we’ll cover your carer’s break if necessary, or family may prefer to do it instead.
While we don’t cover the whole of the UK, we do have 155 branches across England and Wales that we fully own and manage. That means you’ll get the same exemplary standards of care across our entire branch network, no matter where you live.
Helping Hands is fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission and Care Inspectorate Wales. This means you can be fully confident in our care ratings, standards of support, and the ongoing learning we provide for our carers.
Being a regulated carer is important because it shows our commitment to always delivering the very highest standards of care. All of our branches are subject to regular inspection by the CQC/CIW, and we display these ratings on our website for total transparency. We’re proud of the high ratings we achieve and the commitment our carers, managers, nursing team, and support staff have to the wellbeing of our customers.