Care at Home Group Report, Cheshire West

In the first 18 months of its’ life Healthwatch Cheshire West noticed that many of the comments, questions and concerns shared by members of the public focussed upon domiciliary care.

In October 2014 commissioners at Cheshire West and Chester Council and Healthwatch Cheshire West discussed and agreed that a piece of work in relation to domiciliary care services could and should be undertaken. In particular, Healthwatch was asked to seek feedback from people across the borough who were paying for care themselves delivered in a home setting or using direct payments to fund theirsupport.

Healthwatch decided to:

contact a number of people who receive care in own home setting

collect their views on how their care is delivered,including what is being done welland not so well

identify any trends in qualityof service delivery;in terms of strengths and weaknesses and gaps in any provision

share views with those who plan and provide care at home to influence positive change.

A questionnaire was developed and distributed. It was available on line but most surveys were completed on paper.

176 responses were received in total.

Results were summarised as follow:

Most individuals (86%)‘Very’ or ‘Quite’ satisfied with care received

Most individuals feel that carers delivering the service treat them with dignity and respect

A number of individuals have commented that they like the freedom direct payments give them to employ their own staff

Individuals have commented on the professional nature of staff and the willingness of them to also help with other tasks

Generally individuals were full of praise for those carers delivering the service

Generally people appreciate it when carers follow a routine, are the same carers and are punctual

But

A number of individuals have experienced significant care difficulties

Just under a quarter of individuals have complained about the service at some point

Criticisms fall mainly on company organisation and communication between company and client. Specific issues commented on including not getting back to clients who have raised specific concerns and not listening to clients’views.

Some issues identified in relation to timekeeping and stress placed on staff who are rushing to fit things in

Roughly one fifth of respondents commented that carers do not always arrive within agreed times

In terms of cost, a number of individuals expressed the view that all should be entitled to a basic care package without having to pay and that the current system penalises those who have saved all their life

Communication in relation to answering phone calls and responding to voicemail in a reasonable time is identified as a problem and often leads to enhanced stress levels

Some individuals comment that care staff talk to each other but not the person they are supporting

Some companies are perceived by customers as having high staff turnover which leads to problems inrelation to continuity of care

Generally people do not appreciate when carers change regularly and they are being cared for by different carers each day or visit.

A number of recommendations were made - no response from providers included in this report.