Insurance
Depending on whether you are planning to have live-in care as part of a fully managed service provided by Helping Hands, or you wish to arrange your care yourself, you and your carer will have different responsibilities to keep you both safe in your home. While your home is always your home it is also your carer’s workplace, and therefore it’s important you are both covered comprehensively to keep you safe. By utilising our fully managed service we will advise you on keeping you both safe in case of accidents, meaning you and your loved ones can be fully reassured if something unforeseen was to happen.
Access To A Bathroom
Sanitary surroundings are essential for your live-in carer to feel like they have a home in your home, including their own bedroom, the use of a bathroom, and a place to cook. While they don’t need to have a bathroom to themselves and can share with their customer, some people do like to provide their carer with separate facilities, and this can be especially important if the customer is living with a particular condition. For instance, if they have advanced dementia, or another condition where it’s beneficial for surroundings to remain consistent, the customer may like their things to remain undisturbed in their own bathroom.
Their Own Space
Caring for another person is the most rewarding job you can do, however there’s no doubt that it can also be physically and emotionally tiring. Therefore, it’s vital that your live-in carer has a space that they can relax in on their downtime, such as a bedroom to themselves where they can remain undisturbed during their breaks if they wish to stay in. The size of your house will determine how much space the carer has to themselves, but they will need a room of their own as a minimum, containing a bed and a place to unpack and store the things they’ve brought with them from home. Your carer will be entitled to 14 hours of breaks per week when they’re living with you, and while they may wish to leave the house at times, they should have somewhere they can comfortably relax too.
Cooking / Kitchen Facilities
Your live-in carer will most likely be doing all of your cooking for you, preparing nutritious meals that will encourage you to eat. Whether you eat together or separately will be entirely your choice, but regardless of the structure of mealtimes the carer will need to be able to cook for themselves in your home too. Your live-in carer will have a food allowance while they are on placement with you, and they’ll need to be able to store their food in your home, although a system that works for both of you will be devised at the time your package is designed. If you have particular requirements – such as not having meat in your home, you’re kosher or halal, we will work with you to ensure everyone’s needs are fully respected.
Security
While it’s part of your live-in carer’s job to safeguard you as much as possible in your home, it’s also important that they feel safe and secure while they’re working with you. Regardless of the circumstances in your home and the condition you’re living with, your carer will need to know that they are safe while at work and as a company, Helping Hands will never knowingly put their carers into a situation that isn’t safe for them. We will always work with you, your loved ones, and the wider healthcare team where appropriate, to ensure that you and your carer both stay safe, comfortable, and happy in your home environment.
Medical Details
It will be necessary for your carer to be aware of your medical details so that they can ensure your care follows your exact requirements. This could be to administer your medication on time, liaise with the wider healthcare team, and make sure physiotherapy or medical appointments are attended, for instance. As part of your bespoke care package, you will have a personalised support plan in your home, which will ensure your carer has an accurate document to refer to at all times. This document remains in your home so that when carers handover to each other, they will know what needs to be undertaken daily.
Housekeeping Details
Whether you’ve always done your own housekeeping or have had someone else do it for you, your carer can undertake cleaning, dusting, and vacuuming, as well as other housekeeping tasks, as part of your care package. They can also help you with other essential parts of housekeeping, such as:
Cleaning services and vacuuming
Whether it’s washing dishes, or cleaning carpeted and wooden flooring, bathrooms, oven cleaning and even dusting.
Laundry and ironing
Why not relieve the pressure of laundry and ironing by employing the help of one of our live-in carers? They will be able to complete housekeeping tasks as well as your personal care needs.
Preparing meals and snacks
All of our live-in carers will be able to prepare delicious and nutritious meals to suit your tastes, as well as making sure your kitchen is spotless afterwards.
Shopping and running errands
Our services extend outside of your home too. Live-in carers can collect food and other shopping, go to the Post Office, or pick up prescriptions. They’ll also accompany you to essential appointments or just for a day out. Live-in care really is the complete package of support.