Answer:

The simple answer is you can have a care and support worker for as long as you need one. Our visits are from as little as 30 minutes to 24/7; we work 365 days of the year (and 366 in a leap year!). Whether it is for an occasional event or daily and ongoing care and support, we always try to be flexible and accommodating.

Answer:

Whatever we do ourselves, in our own lives and homes, our care & support workers can do.

Your care & support worker can do the usual household chores such as cooking, cleaning and shopping. They can support you with your personal care including bathing or showering; help you with dressing or undressing; prompting medication and catheter care as well as pad changes.

Your care & support worker can take you out and about to town or to the garden centre, coffee shop or even to the pub for lunch. They can assist in looking after your pets and do light gardening such as watering plants; accompany you on outings or holidays, offer companionship, conversation and keep you company.

We are experienced with palliative care and can support with all end-of-life care & support packages.

Answer:

Care & support workers may not do any heavy cleaning or anything which involves climbing ladders or furniture. They must not be asked to undertake any heavy tasks in the garden or elsewhere. Care & support workers may not be asked to do anything which could endanger their health or safety or is considered immoral.

Answer:

Our care & support workers come from all types of backgrounds. Some have worked in the health and social care industry either as a health care assistant, care & support worker or nurse; some have cared for a loved one themselves.

All our care & support workers complete mandatory training including Moving & assisting, theoretical and practical, Safeguarding, medication, Basic First Aid, Health & Safety including infection control and fire safety. (decide on capitalisation of these terms)

Should a care & support worker have no formal qualification in Health & Social Care, and/or if they have not been working in a care setting, they must then complete a care certificate training programme; this involves theory and practical work.

Harvest Life Care actively encourages development and personal growth, offering to all staff the chance to gain qualifications in Health & Social Care.

Answer:

Hourly care & support staff do not require anything in particular, they bring along their own personal protective equipment, gloves and aprons, for your safety and convenience.

Live in care & support staff require their own bedroom with clean bed linen and a television. They must be given meals, or an allowance of £30 to £40 per week toward the cost of meals. All personal protective equipment, gloves and aprons will be supplied by Harvest Life Care Ltd.

Answer:

In the first instance please call the office and ask to speak to Bea or, if you prefer, please email enquiries@harvestlifecare.com with an outline of your requirements. We can then arrange a free assessment visit to discuss your needs, associated costs and timeframes.

Answer:

The free assessment visit allows you and your loved ones to meet with us, and allows us to have a better understanding of the support you require.

If you would like to proceed we complete the Individual Support Plan, including a full risk assessment, which involves our assessor looking around your home and at any equipment already in use. The Individual Support Plan (ISP) requires basic details, information about you, so we can ensure the ISP is focused on you, and includes your relevant medical history.

Once the ISP is approved a folder containing all the information will be placed in your home, with your consent, as the care & support staff will work to this ISP. They will sign this whenever they visit.

Once the ISP has been agreed and a start date set, you should expect an invoice every two weeks. Many of our clients prefer to pay monthly by standing order.

Answer:

A date and time will be set for your care and support to begin, the Registered Manager, or other appropriate officer, will be assigned to oversee your ISP and will be available to answer any queries.

Answer:

We can take cheques, you can set up a standing order or pay by Bank transfer (BACS). Invoices are sent out every two weeks, or monthly if paying by Standing order or Bank transfer.

Funding may be available: your local authority will be able to advise you if you are eligible for any funding.

We are often asked to work for clients who have requested ‘Direct Payments’, from Social Services, rather than receive care & support by a company they have no control over. Direct Payments are social care payments which are given ‘direct’ to the client, who then chooses their own care & support company/provider to look after them. We can give you advice regarding applying for ‘Direct Payments’

Answer:

Visiting Care & Support: All our care & support staff work and live locally, they all take a literacy and numeracy test at interview and are English speaking. The majority of our staff have been recommended, by word of mouth, to us.

Live-in Care & Support: Our specialist live-in care & support staff are from various countries; they all take a literacy and numeracy test at interview and are English speaking. The majority of our staff have been recommended, by word of mouth, to us.

Answer:

Visiting Care & Support: the number of care & support staff you may have will depend on the amount of care you require. For 1 hour of care & support a day, 5 days a week, you may expect 3 care & support staff on a rotational basis.

Live-in Care & Support: This depends on individual requirements and your particular circumstances. Some of our clients prefer variety and like a rotation of care & support staff. Other clients prefer to have one or two care & support staff for longer periods. We also have to take into account the care & support staff preferences and the nature of the work they are required to do. In some instances we will insist on a frequent rotation in order to prevent the care & support worker from becoming exhausted.

Answer:

Visiting Care & Support: This is not always possible so we provide clients with a profile page of appropriate local care & support staff who are likely to be allocated to you, where possible: this gives a precis of our staff, their qualifications, some of their training and includes a recent photograph. We also take into consideration personalities and anything that is disclosed during the assessment.

Live in Care & Support: This is not always possible as the care & support worker may be on another continuous assignment, or the distance is too far for them to travel, so we provide clients with a profile page of appropriate live in care & support staff, where possible. This gives a precis of our staff, their qualifications, some of their training and includes a recent photograph. We also take into consideration personalities and anything that is disclosed during the assessment.

Answer:

Visiting Care & Support: We operate an out of hours ‘on call service’ 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you need to, call us, on 01733 852478.

Live in Care & Support: Your care & support worker will always get up to assist you, however, they are entitled to 8 hours sleep a night. If you call them more than twice per night between 11.00pm and 6.30 pm in the morning we will have to charge a fee.  If night calls become frequent, prolonged and take place on many nights of the week we may have to insist on extra support for our care & support worker.

Answer:

If you have any questions or are unsure about anything please contact Bea Nwankwo, Registered Manager, on 01733 852478 or email bea@harvestlifecare.com