5 Questions to Ask Your New Home Care Provider

Are you about to receive home care services for the first time? Or are you changing home care providers? Here are five important questions to ask.

1.    Are Your Home Care Services Flexible?

There may be over 7 billion people in the world, but you’re unique, and your home care should be unique, too. You should be able to pick and choose from a list of services and build a care plan that suits your needs. If your new home care provider isn’t willing to come to the party and be flexible or doesn’t offer the services you want/need, don’t engage! On the flip side, if your new provider is passionate about offering support that aligns with your goals, your wellbeing is likely in good hands.

2.    Can My Home Care Service Scale Up or Down?

Because home care is usually long-term, there’s a good chance your needs will change while you’re receiving your provider’s services. The best home care providers will be able to meet you wherever you are and scale your services to suit your changing needs (if your funding allows, of course!). It’s good practice to ask your new provider if their services are scalable before engaging them to make sure they’re in for the long haul.

3.    Are Your Support Workers Qualified?

Your safety and comfort will be in the hands of your home care provider’s support workers. So, it’s a really good idea to ask your new provider about their hiring process. At a bare minimum, they should ensure all support workers are qualified, police-checked, and experienced. However, the best home care providers commit to hiring only compassionate and friendly people.

4.    How Do You Handle Feedback and Complaints?

Your opinion matters (especially regarding your support!), and your home care provider should have a dedicated way of receiving this opinion. If they don’t, that’s a big red flag. Some providers might take feedback and complaints over the phone, in person, or via a website form. Either way, make sure they have some process in place to prioritise your autonomy and voice.

5.    Will I See the Same Support Worker Each Visit?

Quality home care providers understand that consistency is the key to comfort. Ideally (unless an illness or unexpected event occurs), your provider should aim to schedule the same support worker for each of your visits. So, ask your new provider about their approach to consistency. Do they have a solid roster of support workers who can meet your needs at preferred times? With any luck, their answer will be ‘Absolutely!’.

Are you looking for quality home care services? At Simply Helping, we’ve been delivering flexible home care services to people with disability and older Australians since 1998—that’s over 25 years! Click here to view our range of services, and contact us today.