My care at home: people's experiences of home care services in Ipswich and East Suffolk
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Healthwatch Suffolk undertook research to explore people’s experiences of receiving and providing home care services in Suffolk. This report explores the experiences of people in Ipswich and East Suffolk. They heard from 399 people.
The largest proportion of people (73%) reported difficulties with their mobility. This was followed by 52% who said they had a physical disability and 37% with a long-term illness
Over half had been with their care provider for over a year
Over a quarter received four or more care visits a day (the highest proportion).
Most respondents said their service had talked to them about the care they needed, and there was a record of it
Positively, most respondents felt each statement based on aspects of care identified by regulators in England as being indicators of good home care provision applied to all of their carers.
Carers were described as ‘polite’, ‘friendly’, ‘understanding’, ‘helpful’, ‘caring’, ‘trustworthy’, and ‘cheerful’. It was frequently mentioned that carers made respondents feel ‘safe’, ‘respected, ‘supported’, ‘comfortable’, and ‘listened to’. Furthermore, respondents reported that the care they received ‘met their needs’. It was considered professional’, ‘excellent’, and often carers would go ‘above and beyond’ what was required. Various respondents also mentioned they considered carers as ‘friends’ and they would look forward to their visits as carers would often engage in conversation.
84% said they knew how to raise a concern or complaint about their care.
Half indicated that not all of their carers arrived at times that worked for them, or that they have requested.
Almost half said they were kept informed about changes to how their care would be delivered ‘all of the time’.
Almost a quarter had experienced a missed visit in the last year.
People wanted better communication, carers to abide by care plans, having regular carers, better staff training, a choice of care times, longer visits or more visits, a friendly and respectful approach, a choice of carers, improvement in quality of tasks and including people in care and decisions.