What is a home carer?
A home carer provides flexible care at home to an individual or couple to support their needs.
A home carer is someone who is responsible for providing support to someone in their own home, rather than in a residential nursing home or hospice. Home carers have a duty of care to all of the people they look after, whether it’s just one person who has live-in care or if they visit a number of different individuals in the community.
As well as helping with the practicalities, private carers are also there as a friendly face that you can rely upon and get to know.
What are the duties of a home carer?
The main duty of a home carer is to provide physical and emotional support to you at home.
The duties of a home carer can be anything from daily visits to check that an elderly customer is sage and well and prepare their lunch, all the way up to round-the-clock live-in care. Their duties consist of both practical and emotional support, with the ultimate aim of enabling their customer to thrive at home and live well with any health conditions they may have. Some of the main duties of a home carer are:
Checking up on the elderly
If you have an elderly loved one, it can be a great reassurance to know that they’ve got someone checking in on them regularly
Condition-led support
Bespoke care can be a must-have for those living with a complex condition such as types of dementia or advanced cancer
Helping you get out and about
A home carer can accompany you out into your community, take you on day trips or even go away on holiday with you
Personal care
Personal care services such as helping you bathe and dress as well as dedicated continence support and light medical relief
Completing household duties
From doing the laundry and the ironing to taking the rubbish out and giving your home a deep clean
Running errands
Errand support might include supporting with tasks such as picking up your shopping, helping with mail and collecting medication
Preparing meals
A home carer can prepare tasty, nutritious meals, snacks and drinks at points in the day that fit in with your routine
Mobility support
Most home carers, including all Helping Hands carers, are trained to provide mobility support – helping you move safely at home
General companionship
As well as helping with the practicalities, carers are also there as a friendly face that you can rely upon and get to know
I have used a number of care agencies in the past, but have never come across such an outstanding company as Helping Hands. The carers went above and beyond, and my Aunt could not have been happier in their company.
Alison, Customer
What conditions can home carers help with?
All of our carers can support people living with a wide range of complex or simple conditions.
All of our carers can support people living with a wide range of complex or simple conditions.
All of our carers receive thorough theoretical and practical training to equip them with the knowledge and understanding of a number of different health conditions that they may be required to provide palliative or end-of-life care for. Many of our customers live with a form of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s, and we also support a lot of cancer patients. Whatever stage of your condition, our carers are equipped to support in the best way that they can.
Our home carers are expertly trained to support people with a number of complex conditions, including:
The different types of home carer
Our home care is provided by either a visiting carer or a live-in carer, who can also support you overnight. You can find out more below about what to expect from each type of carer.
Visiting care
Live-in care
What qualities do you look for in a home carer?
We look for two key qualities when searching for carers to join us: empathy and compassion.
Regardless of previous care experience, we want to know that our carers truly do care about each and every one of their customers. all That’s why all of our carers go through a comprehensive assessment process before they begin caring for our customers.
It’s impossible to teach compassion and empathy, but we can teach those who have never cared for anyone else before to become an exceptional Helping Hands carer. We find that our customers particularly appreciate that our carers are:
Committed to high standards
At Helping Hands, we have a rigorous recruitment process which means we only hire carers who are dedicated to their roles and their customers.
Directly employed by us
We directly employ all of our carers, so we take full responsibility for managing their workload, maintaining their wellbeing and paying them
Expertly trained and fully vetted
Every carer is fully DBS-checked and receives our industry-renowned training which equips them to provide a wide range of specialist care services
How to arrange a home carer
Arranging dedicated home care has never been simpler. Call our team today to get the ball rolling on your care journey with Helping Hands.
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.
Home carer FAQs
Your requirements for a home carer are bespoke to you. We offer care from as little as 30-minute visits to 24-hour care. We can integrate into your daily plans and support you as much or as little as you need.
A home carer can support you with a number of household tasks and care needs, including housekeeping, nursing care, personal care, companionship and much more. All of our carers are expertly trained to provide dedicated care to people with a wide range of conditions, including types of dementia and cancer.
In short, passion and dedication are key qualities for all of our home carers. They will be respectful of your needs and wishes at all times, aiding your independence and becoming more like a friend. At Helping Hands, we only hire the most kind and empathetic applicants to our care teams, because we believe that these are essential characteristics for a truly exceptional carer.
To arrange visits from a home carer, please contact us to discuss your needs. We will get to know you and your requirements on a personal level so that we can develop your package of care and help you to retain your independence at home. You can call our friendly team seven days a week, and they’ll always be happy to assist with any queries you may have about our care services. Alternatively, if it’s more convenient, you can use the contact us form on our website and arrange a convenient time for us to call you back.