About forty local carers (sample), each one part of a small team for a handful of clients.
The carers
Local people, most of them living within a mile of the clients they visit. Every carer is background-checked, trained and shadowed before visiting alone (sample).
Grace Mensah
Senior carer (sample)
Morning and bedtime visits; dementia care. Speaks English and Twi.
Orchard Row and Elm Park
Tom Kowalski
Carer (sample)
Visiting care and outings; keeps a garden and likes to talk about it.
Hazel Lane and the station side
Priya Shah
Carer (sample)
Lunch and teatime visits; cooks from scratch and from the client’s own recipes.
Mill Street and the north side
Ana Ribeiro
Live-in carer (sample)
Two-week live-in placements. Drives, and is used to living with pets.
We plan the rota by street, so the same two to four carers visit each client. When someone is on holiday, a carer you have already met covers.
If you do not get on with a carer, tell the office. It happens, and we will change the team without fuss.
How carers are chosen and trained
Before anyone visits alone (sample).
1
Interview and references
A conversation at the office and two references, one from a previous job.
2
Background check
A criminal background check and a check of the state’s care worker registry.
3
Induction
Three days of training: moving and handling, medicines reminders, dementia awareness, food hygiene, first aid.
4
Shadow shifts
At least three shifts alongside an experienced carer, with the client’s agreement.
5
Every year
Refresher training and a spot check on a visit by a senior carer.
Every care week starts empty
A care coordinator visits you at home, free of charge, to talk through the day and plan the visits with you. There is nothing to sign at the assessment.