Older People Home Care

HOMEcare

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Home Care Service will provide you with the support you need to live independently in your own home. We aim to create an environment within your home that is safe, secure, convenient and comfortable enabling you to enjoy a good quality of life.

We will make sure that your; dignity, privacy and confidentiality are respected at all times.

Our Home Care team will work in partnership with health care services, the voluntary and private sector to provide you with the best possible service.

Home Care Staff are trained on an ongoing basis. This ensures that they have the necessary skills and experience to meet your needs. We will make sure that the people who care for you are well motivated.

Your Home Carer(s) will always be polite and courteous. They will seek your agreement before doing any tasks in your home.

The service is reliable, flexible and sensitive to individual needs. It is delivered in a way that respects your lifestyle and personal choices. The service we offer is sensitive to differing ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Most importantly we are committed to providing a high quality, value for money service. We value your views and will use them to continually improve the service we offer. Please help us to help you by completing and returning the survey at the back of the brochure.

From Home Help to Home Care - A Brief History of the Service

Home care was introduced during the Second World War as a domestic service known as 'Mothers Help' to support women with young children whose husbands were in the armed forces.

In the years following the War home care, known as Home Help developed into a specialised domestic service for older people who needed help with household tasks such as cleaning and laundry. The last 20 years has seen home care further develop into a highly sophisticated personal care service. The conventional picture of the home help as someone who provides only a household cleaning service has been overtaken by a home care service, which is responsive to the varied needs of older people in the community, offering personal care, psychological support and rehabilitation. Every week home carers throughout the borough deliver more than 11,000 hours of care to people who are elderly or have disabilities, enabling them to stay in the comfort and security of their own homes.

The Home Care Service is for people who need care and support to be able to live in their own home and within their local community.

You may need help because of:

• a physical disability
• a learning disability
• a sensory disability
• a terminal illness
• a mental health problem
• a drug or alcohol related illness
• recovery from surgery or illness

We can also provide help if your family is in need of support

We are able to offer help in the following ways:

• Help with personal care such as washing, bathing and toileting 
• Help with getting up and going to bed 
• Help with meals 
• Convalescent Care 
• Help with shopping and laundry 
• Escort duties for shopping and banking 
• Respite care 
• Sitting service

You may need assistance for a short period of time until you can manage for yourself, or on a more permanent basis.

If you or someone you care for needs help and you have not yet contacted Barnsley Social Services you can find the telephone number of your nearest office at the back of this brochure.

Someone from the Community Care team will contact you to discuss your needs and if necessary arrange a visit to your home. You can ask a relative or friend to be with you if that is what you want.

This first visit is called an Assessment. The assessment aims to decide how we can assist in meeting your needs and the most appropriate way of delivering services to you. Details of this assessment are described in the leaflet. Getting Help from Social Services which is available from your local Social Services district office.

We encourage your participation throughout the assessment to give us a greater understanding of your needs and preferences to the type of service required. A social worker or care manager will carry out your assessment.

The information you provide is a private matter between you and the people directly involved with arranging your care needs. No one else can be given this information without your written permission.

Due to the demands placed on home care services each person wanting help from is assessed against strict criteria. If you meet the criteria, and if it is decided that your needs can be met within your own home, a Care Plan will be agreed with you.

The Care Plan contains details of the services you are going to receive.

This is a very important document as it sets out in the form of a weekly timetable:

• who will be providing the services 
• the times of the day you should receive these services 
• the length of each stay or visit 
• a reason why each service is being provided 
• who to contact out of office hours or in an emergency.

Please make sure that your Care Plan is kept in a safe place within your home.

Should you not meet the assessment criteria, please refer to other community care services.

Helplines

Home Care Office telephone 01226 775858

Charges/Fees

There is a charge for Home Care, which is calculated upon the number of hours you receive per week. Your income, savings and any benefits you receive are all taken into account. It is charged once per calendar month and is worked out by multiplying the weekly charge by 52 weeks the year and dividing this by twelve to arrive at the monthly charge.

The Care Manager or Social Worker will notify you of the charges associated with the service at the time of the assessment. Details of these can be provided.

If you are entitled to help from Social Services, you will be offered a Community Care Assessment. Part of the assessment by the Care Manager or Social Worker will be financial. This means that you will be asked questions about your income, any benefits you get, and any savings you have.

This information is important, as Social Services will use it to work out how much you will pay towards the cost of your Home Care each week.

Full detail of charges is set out on the BMBC charging policy document which can be viewed by clicking on the following link: Charging Policy.

Method of Payments Available

 Please click the following link Payment Options 

Opening Times/Locations

Civic Hall
Eldon Street
Barnsley
S70 2JL

Monday to Friday
9.00 am to 5.00pm

Distribution Points

Social Services reception points hold a range of leaflets from National and Local organisations about Health and Social Care and Social Security Benefits.

These are available for you to take away.

Legislation

All providers of home care services must be registered with the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC). The NCSC are an independent body that has been formed to regulate home care services across the UK. They will inspect the Home Care Service every year to make sure that it meets certain minimum standards. This is to make sure that people are receiving good quality home care services.

Response Times / Next Steps

When the Home Care Team, is contacted by the Care Manager/Social Worker to provide care the following will occur.

Within 3 working days of receipt of the Care Plan a Customer Relations Manager from the BMBC Home Care Service will make an appointment to visit you before your service commences. At this visit the Manager will undertake a Risk Assessment of your home. This is to make sure that your home is safe for you to live in and for your Home Carer(s) to work in and to comply with Health and Safety regulations. The Risk Assessment will also take into account any moving/handling and prompting medication requirements. The Manager will also work with you to produce a Service Plan which will take into account your values and preferences and how best to achieve the service outcomes detailed on the Care Plan. You can have a relative or friend present at this visit if you prefer.

The Customer Relations Manager will establish a Communication Log, with your permission, which should be kept in a safe place. This will allow the carer(s) to record the important details of each visit. This log provides valuable information for your family, District Nurses.

The Customer Relations Manager will liaise with the Home Care Locality Manager responsible for your area, to commence the service. The service will be delivered by highly trained home carers who are selected to ensure their skills match your needs.

You will be told of the names of the Carer who will be providing your care-if you need several visit

Related Links:

• Older Peoples Services
• Social Services District Offices

Last modified on 16/9/2008