Gloucester

Since 1989, we have providing person-centred home care to thousands of people across the country, and it all started not too far from Gloucester. Aware that people with additional needs or progressive conditions needed extra support in their own homes, Helping Hands Founder Mary Lee, began the company from her kitchen table over in the neighbouring city of Cheltenham, before purchasing premises in Alcester. The team in Gloucester still uphold the family values set in motion by Mary all those years ago and have supported hundreds of people across the city.

Designed to cater to you and your needs, our care plans are created entirely around you so that all of your requirements are met and your preferences are put first. So, whether you have Parkinson’s and need help to get washed and dressed in the mornings and evenings, or if you have dementia and like to have the same two or three carers that pop in to see you so that you don’t get too confused, we’ll make sure we take everything into account.

Our carers are fully trained to support individuals with a variety of different needs which include personal care, administering or prompting with medication, support with toileting needs and changing pads, light housework and cooking. Most importantly, our carers are naturally friendly and compassionate people, so they will always make sure they have a chat with you about current affairs, your favourite hobbies or even take you out for the afternoon for some fresh air and a coffee.

To help you live the life you want regardless of how your needs affect you, live-in care allows you to receive the highest quality of care within the comfort of your own home. This alternative to residential care allows you to not only have one-to-one support from the same person who will get to know you, it also allows you to stay in the place you know and love – your own home.

Our Live-in Care Team will get to know all of your care needs, preferences, personality traits and hobbies so that they can find a carer that is the perfect match for you. Choosing your care is an entirely collaborative process and completed alongside our experienced team, allowing you to decide who you’ll be welcoming into your home. And because all of our live-in carers are trained at our award-winning Centre of Excellence in Warwickshire, you can rest assured that they will be equipped to support you.

The great thing about choosing live-in care for you or a loved one is that it allows you to keep your independence without compromising on your care needs. You can also stay at home with your partner or pet without having the upheaval of leaving to live in residential care. What’s more, we can support both of you to go out for the afternoon to Gloucester Quays for a spot of shopping or watch the rugby at the Kingsholm Stadium, safe in the knowledge that your care needs will be looked after by your live-in carer.

Discover more on what is live-in care here.

Giving up your choices or independence can be extremely hard for some people, particularly if you’re used to looking after yourself. But with domiciliary care from the Gloucester team, you don’t have to give anything up. They’ll be there to support you in any which way you need – whether that’s someone to pop in once a week to help you change the bed sheets or regular daily calls to assist you with personal care and mobilising safely around your house.

Once you get to know your carers, you may find that there’s extra support you need and feel more comfortable relying upon people you trust. Your care package can be altered at any time to fit in with any new care needs, medication or symptoms that you need extra support with.

A diagnosis of dementia can be quite frightening and upsetting for both the individual and their family. Coping with changes in behaviour, short-term memory loss and confusion can be really difficult, but our Gloucester team are specially trained in dementia care and supporting those with dementia and helping them understand and come to terms with their new way of life.

There may be times where you’re more lucid and recall some recent events and familiar faces, but there may be other times when your unable to do this. Our team will get to know you and provide reassurance to you and your loved ones so that you can feel more comfortable and at ease. They will even help you to make minor tweaks at home to make your life that little bit easier, such as using clocks with larger numbers on to remind you of appointments or what time it is if you wake up at night and are disorientated.

It can be quite difficult to admit that you need care as you get older, especially if you’ve led a relatively independent life. But with elderly care from the Helping Hands’ Gloucester team, it doesn’t mean that we’ll do everything for you now that you’ve reached a certain age; we’ll enable you to still keep your independence and assist you, rather than take over.

From support with getting to and from the shops to help around your home to keep it clean and tidy, you can pick and choose how and when you receive care to fit in with your timetable and social life. We can even accompany you to meet up with friends if you find travelling difficult – whatever it takes to help you live the life you want to lead.

Emergencies can happen at any time with no prior warning whatsoever. If you’ve just had a fall or injury and need someone to care for you whilst you recover or if your regular caregiver needs to take a break or attend a family crisis, respite care could be the perfect solution for you. Designed to seamlessly fit into your routine, a respite carer will provide everything you need whilst you get back on your feet or whilst you wait for your carer to return.

Respite care could also be an option for you if you want to take a well-earned holiday with your family or carer but don’t want to worry about your care needs getting in the way. So, if you want to travel down the M5 to Devon or further afield to sunny Spain, we’ll travel with you and be there when you need extra support.

We are very proud of our carers and the high level of care and reassurance they provide for all of our Gloucester customers. To ensure we select only the very best carers for you, each new recruit goes through a rigorous selection process including a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) screening and provide several character references.

In addition to this, they are all trained in-house and go through modules such as medication, first aid, safeguarding, moving and handling, dementia and personal care. We are completely committed to ensuring all of our carers are equipped to support our customers, regardless of their needs, symptoms or diagnosis.

As a regulated home care provider, we are closely monitored by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) who ensure we are providing a safe, responsive and effective service for our customers and are training our carers to the highest standard. This isn’t always the case for other care agencies, which is why Helping Hands is better than any other care agency in Gloucester.