How to choose the right Home Care provider

There’s lots to consider when choosing a home care provider. To help you make an informed decision, we’ve put together a list of essential tips to consider that will guide you through the process.

Experienced

There are a lot of providers out there to consider. We recommend going with an experienced organisation that has a proven track record in aged care within Western Australia. You want a provider that “gets” aged care, is providing quality support that complies with regulations and will partner with you in the long term.

Affordable

Like any purchase, it’s wise to do your homework. Ensure a Home Care Package provider’s prices for services and Package Management and Care Management fees are in line with competitors. And for Commonwealth Home Support Programme, your co-contribution per hour is competitive. That’s not to say you should go with the cheapest provider – as with many purchases you get what you pay for.

Personalised Care Plan

A Home Care provider should develop an individual and personalised care plan for you. This is not a one-size-fits-all plan, but a plan especially for you that puts in support that will enable you to reach your specific goals. As for goals, your provider should be asking the right questions to find out what is meaningful to you, truly listening to understand what you want to achieve and supporting you to get there.

Dedicated Care Lead

When you sign up with a Home Care Provider you should be given your “go-to” person. At Juniper, we call them Care Leads. These are your point of contact, and should be checking in with you as you care needs change to ensure your Personal Care Plan, and support, reflects any changes.

Quality care

Quality care is about enhancing your quality of life, maintaining or improving your independence, and ensuring your safety and wellbeing whilst respecting your choice and control. Quality of care looks at the whole person, addressing your physical, emotional, social, and cultural aspects of care.

Consistency

It’s only natural that we want to see the same people providing support in our own home and community. Afterall, forging a trusting relationship is such a large part of Home Care. While staff need to take holidays or move on, your provider should be doing their best to consistently provide a core group of staff for your support.

In-house clinical team

There are many benefits of a provider having their own team of nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and podiatrists. An in-house team can mean better communication and collaboration, better efficiency as they can refer internally, and you would benefit from continuity of care. It can also be financially cheaper for you to go in-house than source an external allied health service.

A big footprint

It’s always handy to have a provider that covers a large area, allowing you to keep the same provider if you move, or continue receiving support if you are visiting family or friends for extended periods.