People's experiences of paid care at home services in Gloucestershire
Download (PDF 1.1 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Gloucestershire set out to use a combination of online surveys (34 people), focus groups (2 groups 15-20, and 6-8 people), 1-2-1 interviews (2 people) and mystery shopping using volunteers (7). Total of 64-71 people.
Aims:
- understand how people start to find care services (paid Care Workers), what the quality of care is like, and whether the service provider communicates well with people who are receiving care or organising care for their loved ones.
- hear the views of those providing care services and their paid Care Workers, to understand more about the realities of providing regular care to people in their own homes
Key findings:
- Most people have no idea where to start when looking to find paid care at home services in Gloucestershire.
- There is no ‘one place’ for people to look for information.
- The printed information people did find was often out-of-date and not easily accessible for those who do not access online information.
- Those who are paying for care themselves receive little or no support when finding and using services.
- Being able to speak to someone to ask for help and advice would make a huge difference.
- Sometimes the costs for services were not explained well