Meeting your loved ones needs, even in trying circumstances
Published: 04/08/2021
In our previous blog we talked briefly about how Right at Home creates a Personal Care Plan for every client prior to providing care in the home. In this blog we look at the relationships involved in delivering the plan and what happens when tensions arise.
When setting up a Personal Care Plan we are careful to choose the most suitable carers for clients. This will be done in accordance with a carer’s skill sets and any particular interests or additional information a client has given us.
For example, some of our CareGivers are particularly good at end-of-life care, while others have a specialization in helping clients suffering with dementia. Although all of our CareGivers are highly trained in all core services and capable in all circumstances, some find that they are especially suited to caring for people with particular needs.
We work hard to understand our CareGivers unique skills, receiving feedback from clients and their families, as well as assessments from the carers themselves about what they feel they are particularly good at. Naturally we want our team to enjoy their work, this always translates to the clients, therefore if a CareGiver has a particular skill for a particular medical condition we will always try and match them with a client, as they will be the best equipped person to respond to their needs and wishes.
In some circumstances though, clients suffering from dementia for example, where they can become confused and emotional, the relationship between carer and client can face understandable challenges. While we always strive to place carers with dementia sufferers that will create a good rapport, we are aware that it can be difficult to establish or maintain a bond.
Remember though, our CareGivers are human too, and we take pride in ensuring that their mental health is looked after as well as that of our clients. Hence should a situation arise where tensions develop between a carer and client, we adopt the strategy that it is better to change the carer.
In these circumstances we introduce an alternative proposed carer to the client. And all being well, the client will appreciate the swift response and be receptive to building a positive relationship with their new CareGiver.
We know how valuable it is, as a caring business to seek regular feedback from everyone involved in looking after the needs of a client, so an important source of information as to whether a client is happy and feels their needs are being met comes from the client’s family.
We seek and receive regular feedback from families, alongside the client and CareGivers themselves, in order to build a rounded picture. This means we are able to continually monitor the relationships involved and ensure that our client’s needs are being adequately met and, that everyone involved is satisfied with the way care is being provided.
Above all Right at Home has an ethos of being open and honest as a home-care provider, so should it transpire that a client feels their needs are not being met we will take action to remedy the situation at the earliest opportunity.
This will happen even if the client has challenging expectations that may be affected by symptoms from their medical condition. As a homecare provider it is our responsibility at Right at Home to accommodate a client’s needs as much as we possibly can.
Ultimately if a client or their family feels the homecare provision is inadequate, they do have some choice. The provision of homecare is a contractual arrangement, so subject to the terms and conditions of the contract a client has the right to discontinue the arrangement.
In practice it is very rare for this ultimate situation to arise. Our experience caring for thousands of people in their homes over the last decade shows us that a change of CareGiver with a careful monitoring of the situation alongside a reassessment of the Personal Care Plan will result in an outcome that the client, the family and the carer are all happy with.
Caring for clients with complex needs is not easy, indeed it can be incredibly challenging. It’s one of the reasons why family’s ask us for help. However, the team at Right at Home have the training and adaptability to make sure that even in trying circumstances client’s needs are met by CareGivers that have the training, skill and ability to assist their quality of life and take the strain from their loved ones.
