FAQ's

Answer:

There are care options out there for people living with terminal or debilitating conditions. But care can also be someone just popping round a couple of times a week to help with chores, or to give you a hand with your personal care. Essentially, care is just there to help you live as independently as possible, regardless of your degree of need.

Answer:

If you’re reading this, there’s a chance that you have begun to think you may need a little extra help. Maybe someone, perhaps a doctor or family member, has suggested that it might be time for you to start looking into your options. Whether you’d like someone to pop round a couple of times a week to help with chores, or more regular assistance with life’s everyday challenges, our carers can help you. You can continue living as independently as possible in your own home. You may just need an extra pair of hands.

Answer:

There are many different types of care, but the most important thing is that it is tailored to help you live as independently as possible. We’ve got a types of care section on the website. You could also consult with your local authority, your GP or healthcare professional. Your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau can advise what type of care might be best for you too.

Answer:

Inviting professional care into your life is a big decision. So we’ve put together some steps to explain what happens next. It has some useful links to where you can seek additional support during the decision-making process. You can also consult your local authority, your GP or healthcare professional, or your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

Answer:

When you’re looking to arrange care, understanding how it will be paid for is likely to be one of your key concerns. Local authorities have a duty to assess you if you seem to need care or support. If your needs meet the national eligibility criteria, the law requires that it must ensure that these needs are met. As part of this process, it will assess your finances to see how much it can fund for you. You will be also be how much you may need to contribute yourself. If you do have to make contributions, there are lots of support mechanisms out there for you. Read more about this on our funding and payment options pages.

Answer:

The first step to finding out if you are eligible for state funding is to ask your local social services department to carry out an assessment of your care needs.

If your local authority then agrees you need care, they will assess your finances to see how much care will be funded by the state, and whether you need to contribute too. They will then arrange for your needs to be met with the services available in your area.

If you’re not eligible for funding, there may be other help available to you, such as other state benefits and allowances. Visit www.gov.uk for the latest information on accessing state benefits.

Read more on social services funded care.

Answer:

Personal Budget is an amount of money allocated to you from your Local Authority that you can use to pay for care yourself. This gives you more control over the management of your care.

Here’s some more information on Personal Budgets: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support/direct-payments-personal-budgets/

Answer:

Depending on how many care worker visits per week you have scheduled, it’s likely that you will have several regular care workers that you’re familiar with. However, if your regular care workers are not available for any reason – for example, sickness or holiday – you may be visited by a care worker you have not previously met. You can rest assured that all of our care workers are put through a rigorous process when they join, since we believe excellent care begins with excellent care workers.

Answer:

Care workers give our customers the assistance they need to keep living life as independently as possible in their own home or in day-to-day life.

They can provide help with domestic tasks, including:

• cooking
• cleaning
• laundry
• shopping
• paying bills

Care workers can also help with personal care, including:

• taking medication
• washing
• cleaning teeth or dentures
• getting up and going to bed
• getting dressed
• going to the toilet
• eating and drinking

Care workers can also accompany people on social outings, be a golf buddy, take people to medical appointments or just provide companionship, a friendly face and a sympathetic ear. We care for and support people of all ages, in all types of environments.

Put simply, our care workers do whatever it takes to help our customers to keep living the most colourful life possible, as independently as possible.

Answer:

A care worker can visit for 15 minutes, several hours or anything in between. Visits range from once per week to numerous times per day – essentially, they will visit as much or as little as you need them to. Live-in care workers are available for those who would like the assurance of someone being on-hand around the clock.

Answer:

Excellent care starts with excellent care workers. We believe the most important aspect of being a care worker is to have the right personality, so our first step is to interview potential care workers face-to-face to get to know them properly.

Next, we check their career history, verify any qualifications and training, check their references, assess their physical and mental fitness, and make sure they have the right to work in the UK. After this comes the vetting procedure known as a Disclosure and Barring Service check (formerly known as a CRB check).

The final stage is a rigorous four-day selection training course to ensure potential care workers have the right skills and competencies. Care workers must pass this initial training course and satisfy all of the above requirements before they are able to begin training on the job accompanied by an experienced mentor.

Answer:

First, our care workers undertake selection training. This intensive training course takes place over four days and equips care workers with essential professional skills. The training is provided by qualified Health and Social Care Trainers and is supported by the care worker’s branch manager.

After induction, care workers are able to register for a qualification in social care, such as a Level 2 Diploma (SVQ Level 2 in Scotland) or an Apprenticeship. Our staff are given full support in training for qualifications and developing new skills, meeting with their manager every 12 weeks to discuss their Personal Development Plan.

Answer:

Yes. Our service is available 365 days a year – our care workers will always be there for you, even on Christmas Day. Your wellbeing is their, and our, priority.

Answer:

With over 40 years’ experience, we understand how to deliver exceptional care that makes a real difference to people’s lives. As one of the UK’s largest care providers, we supply over 9 million hours of life-enhancing care every year. We’re the trusted care provider of choice for many UK authorities and we’re an approved healthcare supplier to the NHS.

Learn more about Allied Healthcare.

Answer:

Our network of more than 80 branches across the UK allows us to manage local teams of healthcare professionals, giving you local touch points and the benefit of a truly personal service.

To find your nearest branch, use our branch finder.

Answer:

Our service is regularly appraised by the appropriate regulatory bodies, and we constantly review our control procedures to make sure that every element of our service – and every Allied Healthcare worker – is fully compliant.

You can read more about this under our commitment to quality pages.