Home Care

Delivering high quality care at home and in the community to support people to live well.

Domiciliary (visiting) care offers the support you want, when you need it, so you can continue living from the comfort of your own home. With help from as little as half an hour a week and up to several visits a day, home care can make all the difference.

Our Home Care teams provide domiciliary support for people aged 18 and over in their home, delivering personalised care and home help so that people can stay safe and well at home or in their chosen environment. This often includes personal care – assistance with washing, dressing and toileting/continence as well as preparation of meals and companionship. The service supports NHS district nursing colleagues in wound management, palliative and end of life care and symptom control and catheter care. The team also supports with the administration of medication.

How can home care help me?

A carer can visit you at home to help you with all kinds of things including:

– getting out of bed in the morning
– washing and dressing
– brushing your hair
– using the toilet
– preparing meals and drinks
– remembering to take your medicines
– doing your shopping
– collecting prescriptions or your pension
– getting out, for example to a lunch club
– getting settled in the evening and ready for bed

Care planning

What tasks you require support with, and when, will be agreed with you and detailed in a personalised care plan. We also review any ad-hoc tasks that need doing from time to time. Your care plan also includes your individual preferences and needs and is solely for you. This plan is updated and reviewed routinely with you and your family/friends.

We are in the process of implementing a new electronic care management system, allowing us to provide direct access to your records to you and your family/friends. This way, you can view your care plan and care visits in real-time.

Visit durations

The duration of your care visits can often vary. Where you have requested an assessment of need from your local authority, their assessor may suggest times and durations although you have the right to request that these be reduced or increased based on your needs. Typically, visits last between 30 minutes and an hour.

This service operates seven days per week.

End of life care

We provide highly trained and skilled staff to provide you with care and support in partnership with your GP and palliative nurse to help you, your family and carers during the last phase of your life to live as well as possible. Our aim is to make sure that you have access to the care that you want and need in all care settings.

Talking about dying will not bring it any closer but may help you to make the most of the time you have left. It is important to be confident and talk to your family and/or friends about dying.

What is end of life care?

Community caregivers will come to your home and provide care for you there. This may be to:

– provide personal care and domestic support
– maintain your comfort
– support you to manage any pain
– provide practical and emotional support for you and your family in partnership with your GP and palliative nurses.

What to expect from end of life care

People who are approaching the end of their life are entitled to high-quality care, wherever they’re being cared for.

Good end of life care is tailored to the person who needs it. You and the people close to you should be at the centre of decisions about your care.

It helps if your wishes are written down as a personalised care plan and, if you agree, that this can be shared with the people involved in your care now and in the future. It’s important your care plan is reviewed regularly so that it stays up to date as your situation and wishes change.

The staff caring for you should show respect for you and behave kindly. Your comfort and dignity are important. That means, for example, that in the last days of life you can decide whether you feel like eating and drinking even if your need for food and fluid is already being met another way.

How to access this service

You will normally be referred to our service by your local authority. Where you intend to pay for care yourself, you can contact our team on 020 8464 8811 or via e-mail at care.vna12@nhs.net to discuss your needs.