I am a ‘service user’ with MS. I require carers three times a day to get me up etc. The standard of care is abysmal. There is no continuity, always late, not very professional I could go on.
I have needed carers for 9+ years so I have seen a few. I know that it falls on Social services and I have had lots of conversations, but no one listens. I am not a person I am a ‘minute’ meaning how much money can I save by shaving off five minutes here and there.
All I want is decent care by people who know what they are doing and a bit of respect.
The care companies do not ‘care’ as long as they get their money.
I could write a book. Someone has to stand up for the ‘service users’ so any support would be welcomed.
The “Carers” firm may be on contract to Social Services (not you), but you can still report them to the Care Quality Commission. You should have had a copy of a care-plan for you, and they are supposed to abide by this.
It could be worth a few minutes Google time to see if others have had problems. Look for:
[Firm Name] reviews or [Firm Name] complaints or [Firm Name] reports and similar
I was in hospital a year back, and came out with a care company on NHS contract to help me for the first six weeks. The carers themselves were OK, but the way they were managed and paid was poor. The local NHS Neighbourhood team wanted rid of them, and were delighted when I was able to manage for myself (and they terminated the contract for me). Getting shot of the evening visit (I could get myself ready for bed) took over a week. One care-person turned up at 10.30 pm (no sane elderly person opens the door at that time) and the next night, a different person turned up at 6.30 pm. Not good enough!
The firm’s organisation was a total giveaway that they were dodgy - sort of [Firm Name] Cornwall was a different company to [Firm Name] Devon, even if the head office address was the same. Five minutes on the 'net found a CQC report that had them tagged a dangerous.
You may find that your local authority have placed a contract on price (that is what buyers are for) and no-one has enough data to break the contract even if they want to. Blow the whistle!
Hi, I have 3 carers who I pay out of my Direct Payments. Two are on payroll and have no other clients but me. One is self employed. She does have other clients, but her hours with me are set and kept to, as are the hours with the other two.
The standard of care I receive is high and never rushed.