Domiciliary (Home) Care Lay Monitoring Project Report - Phase 2: November 2014 – March 2015

Healthwatch Northamptonshire undertook research on domiciliary home care services in Northamptonshire between November 2014 and March 2015. They spoke to 50 people, including 39 people receiving home care, informal carers and family members, to understand their experiences of support provided in their own homes.

Most respondents were positive about the quality of care they received and spoke highly of individual care workers, describing them as patient, cheerful and respectful. Around 80% were satisfied overall with their home care service and many felt their care helped them remain independent. However, only 24% said they always saw the same care workers, only 16% said carers always arrived on time, and many reported poor communication from agencies when staff changes or delays occurred.

The report identified a number of recurring concerns, including inconsistent staffing, carers appearing rushed, lack of coordination between organisations, poor communication about changes in care arrangements and infrequent reviews of care needs. Healthwatch also heard examples of people being discharged from hospital without adequate care packages in place and concerns that some residents who needed support were not meeting eligibility criteria for domiciliary care.

Healthwatch Northamptonshire recommended improving communication with service users, increasing continuity of care workers, strengthening care planning and review processes, improving information about the Care Act, enhancing training and support for care staff, and reviewing travel time arrangements for carers. The report concluded that while many people received good-quality support, improvements were needed to ensure home care services are reliable, person-centred and consistently meet people's needs.