How To Make The Most Of Your Care Assistant's Home Visit

Chris Williams is the founder of Tiggo Care, a care agency based in SW London that supports people who need care in their own homes, including people undergoing neurorehabilitation. In this blog post, Chris explains how survivors and their families can make the most of their home care visits.

Introduction

Care assistants are trained healthcare professionals who provide support to individuals in various settings, including hospitals, residential care facilities, and the homes of people living in the community. While the level of support required varies from person to person, care assistants bear substantial and wide-ranging responsibilities. These encompass tasks ranging from domestic support—such as cleaning, cooking, and shopping—to administrative assistance, medication administration, and attending to basic personal care needs.

At-home care offers significant benefits to individuals in need of support. It enables them to maintain their autonomy and stay connected to their community, family, and friends, while avoiding the potentially disruptive impact of moving to a residential care setting.

Care at home also offers much more flexibility and can vary according to your needs and wishes. Home care visits can be as short as 30 minutes or as extensive as 24/7 live-in care. Finding the right carer can be a stressful process, so whatever the duration of your visits, we want to make this time work for you. Here is how.

Care Planning

Effective support requires careful planning. Therefore, it is crucial for your care team to develop a person-centred care plan before initiating any home care visits.

A care plan serves as a dynamic document that outlines your specific care needs and preferences. However, it is important to note that a care plan is only truly effective if it is developed through collaboration with survivors and their close ones. This ensures the plan encompasses individual preferences by incorporating input from friends, family, and the health and social care professionals who work with you.

Everyone’s care plan is unique, but most will include information on:

• Your medical conditions and symptoms
• Your medication routine
• Details of your daily activities
• Activities that you enjoy
• Your mobility and other physical needs
• Your mental health and emotional needs
• Your social and spiritual needs
• Future planning, such as any advanced decisions

It is essential to have this plan in place because it acts as a guide for your care assistants, ensuring they help you with the right tasks in the right way. It should be as detailed as possible. For example, if you would like your care assistant to make you a cup of tea when they visit, the plan should state if you take milk and sugar. Without a care plan, your care assistant won’t have a clear set of instructions, making it difficult for them to complete tasks efficiently in the time provided.

Pre-Visit Prep

One of the key features of neumind is its capacity to connect you with your various healthcare professionals. It is not uncommon to have multiple carers throughout the week, and while continuity of care is essential, changes in caregivers can sometimes be inevitable. Unfortunately, this can become burdensome for survivors, as they find themselves repeatedly explaining their preferences to different individuals. This can lead to frustration and hinder the establishment of the trusting relationships that are crucial for personalised care.

How the neumind app helps

The neumind app addresses this issue by facilitating communication between you and all your carers. Through the app, you can convey specific needs, such as shopping requests or desired activities like going to the cinema.

• Routine tasks: We recommend creating a checklist of items and purchasing them in advance. If this isn't possible, share your list via the neumind app so your care assistant can handle the shopping at the start of the visit.
• Irregular tasks: You will inevitably need support with one-off tasks, such as taking clothes to the dry cleaner before a special event. Make a list of these irregular tasks before the visit and share them with your assistant as soon as they arrive.
• Reminders: Setting a reminder in the neumind app can help ensure you don't forget to share these important details with your care assistant.

During The Visit

When your care assistant arrives for the first time, they will want to talk with you and get to know you. Establishing a rapport with anyone can be difficult, but at Tiggo Care, we specialise in matching personalities as well as matching care assistants with the right skill sets. We recognise that this relationship is foundational to care; if you don’t feel comfortable with your care assistant, you can request someone new, no questions asked. A good care company understands that not all personalities are complementary.

Setting prioritiesAt the start of the visit, communicate any immediate needs and share any lists you’ve prepared. Your care assistant will use this information, in conjunction with the care plan, to prioritise their time. Be decisive when communicating your immediate needs so the assistant understands exactly what matters to you during that specific visit.

Make sure to also listen to the care assistant’s suggestions. They might have noticed something you’ve missed, such as an overflowing laundry basket. While plans are important, they only structure your time—it is up to you and your carer to make the most of it.

Post Visit

Individuals undergoing rehabilitation for brain injuries and other conditions experience significant changes, making it crucial to maintain accurate records of support. While some care companies rely on physical notes stored in your home, others utilise mobile apps.

The neumind mobile app offers real-time updates on your care and serves as a convenient platform for tracking your satisfaction. This allows us to adapt to your changing preferences and helps us maintain the best standard of care for you. For example, should you develop a strong rapport with one of our care assistants, you can share this information with Tiggo Care and request more visits from your preferred caregivers.

Conclusion

Maintaining independence is vital for successful rehabilitation, making at-home care the optimal model for meeting the ongoing needs of individuals living with brain injuries. At Tiggo Care, we use innovative tools for matching carers with service users and utilise cutting-edge technology to adapt to your changing needs.

The success of care assistants always hinges upon the establishment of mutually supportive and trusting relationships. Our service, coupled with tools like neumind, overcomes many of the challenges that previously made at-home care difficult. These industry-defining advancements have the potential to transform the nature of care as we know it.

The entire Tiggo Care team and I are ready to support you and your loved ones. For more information about our services or to discuss the specificities of home care visits, feel free to visit the Tiggo Care website.

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