Domiciliary care or ‘care in the home’ can be a great option for people who are in need of extra support during the days and nights and either don’t want to be confined to an institution such as a Hospital or care home or are well enough to return home but still need that additional help.

At CLCA Nursing, we aim to provide home-based services to people with complex care needs and significant health conditions, long-term illnesses, injuries or disabilities. It is marketed as a company that can potentially reduce hospital stays, eliminate hospital admissions and support relatives. The Company is based on enabling people to make their own choices and to be able to live their life comfortably at home independently.

However, we fully appreciate that homecare can be a daunting proposition and ensuring that the home is correctly set up is key for a smooth transition from Hospital to home. With this in mind, we have put together a few important points to consider before the package officially starts in the home.

Is your care plan correct and suitable?

At CLCA Nursing, we pride ourselves on offering quality, bespoke care packages for our clients. We do this liaising fully with the client, family and medical teams. This allows us to develop a full care package that can start before Hospital Discharge to ensure the client is brought into a safe and secure environment, suitable for their needs.

The Company selects applicants who will be introduced to the client and the family. The client and the family can then choose who they want to employ.

A Manager and a Lead Nurse will be assigned to look after your care. They will make an appointment to see the client and the family to further expound your personal choices and requirements. They will also explain that they will be carrying risk assessments and draw up the care plan based on the client’s clinical and personal needs.

The Manager and/or Lead Nurse will visit again to discuss the risk assessments and the care plans with you to give you the opportunity to recommend and revise as necessary.

The Manager will update the Hospital regarding what is happening during each stage and to explore further any other measure to support a smooth transition.

There are many providers that will not go into this much depth so whether you are establishing a new package or using a new provider, ensure they have covered every detail.

Do you have the right equipment and consumables?

Adaptions or additions to your home may be necessary in order to create a comfortable environment for the client. Considerations should be made in each room and you may need to be prepared to convert entire rooms. This is especially true for someone who is not bed-bound but has limited mobility as they may need a bedroom and bathroom downstairs as well as addressing outdoor areas.

It is important to appreciate that the home should not become a ‘prison’ and clients should be able to move as freely as possible. After all, domiciliary care is about granting people independence in their home.

The care provider you choose to carry out the care package should be providing care staff that are fully trained on the equipment that will be in place. Companies such as CLCA Nursing will regularly carry out ongoing training and skills updates to ensure client and staff safety on each domiciliary care package.

If you are a funded client, then equipment should be provided by the Commission Group and continuing provision of consumables should be in place to ensure smooth, continuing care.

There are grants and other funding options to help get the equipment etc. in place through privately-funded or local councils. Certain providers, such as CLCA Nursing, can assist clients with this area but we would hope that this is an area that would be covered before the care package begins.

Are your family and friends prepared for the extra people in the home?

Depending on the client’s care needs, there may be a large influx in people in the home at any one time. For example, you may have 2 care staff during the day and a further 2 during the night.

If having a busy home is not something you are used to or you suffer from anxiety and other mental health problems, this may be quite intimidating. Preparing the client, family and regular visitors that the home setting dynamic will be different is necessary to create a comfortable environment.

If your provider doesn’t do this as a standard, ask to meet with prospective staff and also meet the clinical team that will be in charge of your care. At CLCA Nursing, this is something we are proud of undertaking. By creating a good working relationship between provider and client it aims to lessen the upheaval in the home.

Also, it is a good idea to involve the care staff in other aspects of the home routine. Invite them to eat lunch or dinner with you, or just ask them to take some time out and have a cup of tea and a chat. Learning more about your care staff and vice versa brings about a great working relationship and a comfortable home environment.

Do you have space for multiple care staff?

Whether you are taking on care staff during the day, night or for live-in care it is important to recognise that they will need a space that they can take some time for themselves. During their shifts, care staff will carry out numerous duties both for the client’s medical needs but also around the house and this understandably can be tiring work.

By giving care staff a designated space that they can take a few minutes for themselves is a great way of ensuring their physical and mental wellbeing is looked after as well as they are looking after the client’s.

Everyone needs a break; we are all human after all!

Have you considered mental health?

This is a big one and one that is often overlooked and even when addressed can be a complex matter as many mental health issues are invisible to outsiders.

Mental health is an important topic for everyone, be it the client, their family, loved ones or the care staff. Understanding the variety and complexity of mental health problems is as vital as everything previously mentioned and can be looked at in the short and long term.

Our advice would be to regularly carry out mental health check-ups with your clinical team and also ask your provider to check your care staff and ask for details as to what they can put in place.

Externally, there are support groups, charities and a plethora of information online that may help with initial stages of homecare and onwards. Many mental health problems may arise as a result of injuries such as an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), or other health complications.

Our message to everyone is that mental health problems are not something to be ashamed of or should be hidden away. By tackling mental health early on means that the correct support can be put in place to hopefully avoid interventions needed by institutions.

Conclusion

Getting a home ready for a client can be a lot to take on-board but ensuring that you tackle all the large and small details should hopefully create a smooth transition back into the home. We fully appreciate that domiciliary care, when correctly done, can create an environment where clients respond to treatment better and can also reduce and Hospital stays.

Talk to CLCA nursing today and see how we can support clients in their home or check out the range of domiciliary care services we offer by clicking here.

01743 460957 | inquiry@clcacompanyltd.co.uk