You can get a carer to visit you at home to help with things like:
- washing and dressing
- getting in and out of bed, or on and off the toilet
- making a meal or drink
- taking your medication.
This is sometimes called 'domiciliary care'.
We can help you to keep things running while you're in hospital. We can also make your return home as smooth as possible.
How to get care at home
There are a couple of ways to get care at home:
1. Make arrangements direct with a care service
Your quickest option might be to contact a care service yourself to arrange the service you need.
You can also get help to find a suitable service from our free advice service, HertsHelp.
2. Get help from us
We can have a chat with you about your needs and your day-to-day life. We can then agree what help and support would be best for you.
We call this an assessment.
After an assessment, we can tell you if you can get help at home from us. We'll also tell you whether you need to pay anything towards the costs of the service. But you're not committing yourself to anything by having an assessment.
What to expect from a care worker
If you find a care agency to help you at home, they should:
- give you a copy of your care plan – that says what your carer will do
- keep a daily record of when your carer visited and what they did
- let you know any changes to plan – for example, if your carer will be late or a different carer is coming.
Your carer should:
- show you their identification when they arrive
- know about your needs and what help to give you
- do things how you want them done
- provide receipts for any shopping they do for you.
If you're unhappy with the service, contact the care agency first.
You can also complain to the Care Quality Commission which makes sure that care agencies give a good service.
If we set you up with the care agency then you can report your concern to us.