Live-in Care: Your Questions Answered
What is Consultus?
Consultus Care & Nursing Agency Ltd is a registered nursing and domiciliary care agency. We specialise in providing 'live-in' carers and nurses for private clients in their own homes.
Consultus was established in 1962 so we have decades of experience in providing quality live-in care solutions for people who want a real alternative to care homes, extended hospital stays and even hospice care.
Hundreds of people trust Consultus to provide them with full-time care, nursing and housekeeping assistance in their own homes throughout the day, seven days a week. Recently our services, along with some of our carers and clients, have been featured in articles about the live-in care phenomenon on BBC TV and radio and national newspapers.
For how long do you provide
care?
Some clients need us for a few weeks of convalescent
nursing or care, perhaps after a stay in hospital.
Many families book a nurse or carer for respite care,
to give family members or a permanent staff member a
holiday.
Most of our clients use our services on an indefinite
basis, enabling them to continue living happily and
safely at home rather than moving into a residential
or nursing home.
Bookings are normally of two weeks duration (nursing
placements for at least two days).
What do your
nurses and carers do?
Staff can provide different levels of care, as required,
or you may ask them to do a variety of tasks, according
to your needs, priorities and preferences.
You may simply want some good company, someone to
make you feel less vulnerable or better motivated;
someone to drive you to see friends and family, or
on a trip to the town or the seaside. If you cannot
see well your companion can read you the paper and
your morning mail, or if you have trouble remembering
he or she can remind you about your medication.
You may need some help with your ‘personal care’,
such as getting out of bed, dressing, washing or other
help in the bathroom. Our carers can assist you with
these tasks, making sure you stay healthy and safe,
while at all times helping you to maintain your privacy,
dignity and as much independence as possible. Many
carers have experience in helping people who have strokes,
dementia and other conditions or disabilities.
If you need more complex assistance our registered
nurses can provide you with a wide range of general
and specialist nursing assistance.
Both carers and nurses will undertake additional tasks
such as light housework, shopping, driving and cooking,
most will help to care for pets and perhaps do some
light gardening.
To read about the day in the life of a Consultus carer
- click
here.
Do I need a Carer or a Nurse?
You may not be medically qualified so it’s important you make the right decision when choosing private healthcare. You may need:
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Care assistants with specific experience |
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A suitably trained nurse |
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One kind of staff at the start of care and a different grade of carer or nurse as your condition changes |
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Care assistants but with occasional nurse involvement or supervision |
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Two staff at any one time, e.g. when care is needed throughout the day and night |
Many of our consultants are Registered Nurses. If after reading this you are still unsure please feel free to phone us and speak to a nurse.
All live-in staff help with personal care, mobility and home management. The UK’s Nursing & Midwifery Council recommends that you book a qualified nurse for:
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More advanced medical conditions |
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Management of equipment, e.g. catheters, hoists |
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Administering (rather than prompting) medication |
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Wound care, e.g. pressure sores |
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Professional liaison with local healthcare professionals |
New clients with borderline conditions may wish to consider hiring a live-in nurse for the first week or two before changing to a carer (if appropriate). During this time the nurse will:
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Professionally assess your needs |
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Identify any risk to client or staff (e.g. from manual handling tasks) |
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Work with your local GP and District Nurse, if appropriate |
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Create (with your full input) a detailed Care Plan – see next question. |
Do I need a formal ‘care plan’?
A care plan is a valuable document that describes what nurses or carers will do each day. It is written by a healthcare professional, usually a nurse. The plan tells nurses or carers exactly how to perform their duties so there can be no misunderstanding of important matters between staff. It also enhances the client’s enjoyment of the service because staff can quickly understand precisely how to do things to the client’s liking. Plans normally include:
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Medication doses, times etc. |
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What to do if drugs run low |
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How to do personal care tasks while maintaining the client’s privacy and dignity |
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Ways to promote the client’s mental and physical health and independence |
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Dietary requirements including favourite meals |
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Who to contact in the event of a household or medical emergency |
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An action plan for improving a medical condition or lessening symptoms and side effects |
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The client’s system for managing shopping money and keeping track of expenses |
Other private agencies may charge £120 - £150 for a Care Plan, however we provide one free when you book a Live-in Registered Nurse for one week or more.
Whether you book a nurse or a carer, you may judge the value and effectiveness of the staff member using the Care Plan as your guide.
I am visited by District Nurses and/or MacMillan Nurses. Do I need a Live-in Nurse too?
Local visiting nurses are dedicated professionals and pride themselves on doing an excellent job to cater for their patients’ needs and to meet the terms of the budgeted care package.
However, you need to consider whether they alone can do enough to meet your own needs and aspirations.
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Visiting nurses must leave at the end of their shift. A live-in nurse provides friendly, comforting, ever-present care for weeks at a time. This is valuable to people who are intensely private, who have trouble remembering or who become distressed at seeing a succession of different faces. |
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If there’s an emergency after the local nurse leaves the live-in nurse is there to provide instant practical help and emotional support. She will knowledgably liaise with the emergency services. |
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You may not get a ‘home help’ from the social services, which means family and friends may spend time doing housework and cooking when they could be spending quality time with their loved one. A live-in nurse typically takes care of most household chores. |
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Consultus nurses work alongside the local health team so that the identified benefits of nursing are complemented and enhanced throughout the day and night. |
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If a palliative client takes a sudden turn for the worse, the live-in nurse is there to ensure family members can rush to the bedside. If sadly the client passes away, the nurse provides the family with good advice and sympathetic support and can even stay on in the home to help put the necessary affairs in order. |
At the end of the day, the choice is yours.
What happens when I make a booking?
If you would like to book a nurse or carer please give us a call during normal office hours on (01732) 355231 (direct line for nurses: (01732) 771924 or 770403) and we will gladly make all the arrangements, or answer all your questions before you fully decide. The procedure for booking and paying for nurses is different to that of carers. We will explain everything when you call.
Of course we will need to find out more about you and
the place where care is to be provided. Once we have
a full picture of your circumstances we will suggest
one or more carers whom we feel will fit in well with
you and the kind of role you want filled. We will confirm
the booking in writing and the nurse or carer will telephone
you to introduce themselves and confirm travel arrangements.
We will get in touch with you during or just after every
new carer's assignment to ascertain your satisfaction
with her and our service.
How much does care cost?
The cost of hiring a Consultus live-in companion or carer depends on a number of factors but is comparable with the fees of many residential care homes.
The charge for a qualified live-in nurse, for a single client, is price competitive with higher-end nursing homes and in the south of England it is increasingly comparable to the average cost of a nursing home bed.
Moreover, where a couple wishes to remain at home together and one needs a nursing home and the other a care home, it’s possible they could both be cared for by a Consultus live-in nurse and yet pay no more than the combined residential fees.
You will probably qualify for some help with long-term costs, and you can obtain financing at the beginning of care to guarantee ongoing funding.
If your need for home nursing is urgent or short-term the easiest and fastest method to secure any additionally needed funds is probably through a simple loan from a bank, building society or Internet finance company. An online lender may be able to set you up with a low interest loan for a month’s nursing or care within minutes, enabling you or your loved one to go home from hospital, care home or hospice within the next couple of days.
You will be pleased to learn that despite our commitment to providing a quality service (see “Excellent Rating”), our almost unique operating methods make us possibly the least expensive live-in care agency in the UK.
We can give you an accurate quote over the telephone when you first contact us; alternatively, for a guide to the costs of live-in nurses click here or for live-in carers/companions click here.
Download our Guide to "Meeting the Costs of Live-in Care and Nursing".
Will I get on well with my nurse or carer?
Many of our long established clients reveal to us that their biggest initial fear was “Will I get on with the nurse or carer that’s coming to stay in my home?” Gratifyingly, they follow up this comment with “I honestly had nothing to worry about!”
Our managers and consultants spend a great deal of their time matching clients with carers to make sure they are compatible in every possible way.
We make many thousands of such matches every year and our four decades of success are a testament to our abilities in this area. In fact, it’s common to hear of clients and carers forging friendships that endure long after the professional association has ceased.
Yes, some people at first find odd the prospect of having an unfamiliar person living in their home, but our clients tell us that this feeling very quickly fades away. In any case, they generally find it infinitely preferable to moving to a care home full of strangers and with a multitude of different care staff.
As with any homecare agency, it is normally impossible for you to meet your nurse or carer before she arrives for work but our consultants carry out such meticulous pre-employment checks that our clients find that further interviewing by them is unnecessary.
Of course you will have the opportunity of speaking with him or her by telephone and seeing (upon request) nurses’ qualification certificates.
If in the very unlikely event you are unhappy with our choice of nurse or carer we promise to find you a replacement at no additional cost to you, or you have the option of cancelling the booking immediately (a cancellation fee may apply).
Would I be a better off in a Care Home?
There are some good care homes but statistically you may be better off with a Consultus live-in nurse or carer.
According to the care sector regulator, the CSCI, in March 2006* private care homes met an average of 78 per cent of the 'Care Standards' which it set them.
Significantly, their shortcomings were often in critical areas such as Safe Work Practices (just 52% of privately-run homes reached the minimum standard), Quality Assurance (64%) and Administration of Medications (61%).
While domiciliary care and nursing agencies must meet a slightly different set of standards and are rated in a different way, you may like to note that in our 2007 inspections, Consultus achieved the CSCI's maximum overall standard - "Excellent".
Before you decide on a care home or agency always take the time to read the organisation's latest inspection reports which are available from your local CSCI office. We will be pleased to send you a copy of our own report; please call the Registered Manager Kevin May on (01732) 355231 or write c/o k.may@consultuscare.com.
* Source: "The State of Social Care in England 2005-6", CSCI, December 2006.
Does Consultus meet all statutory
obligations?
Yes, we are registered as a nursing agency and domiciliary
care agency with the Commission
for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and as an Employment
Business and Employment Agency with the Employment
Agencies Standards Inspectorate of the DTI
and follow their codes of conduct.
The service we provide meets with government regulations
including
• The Care Standards Act 2000
• Employment Agencies Act 1973 and Conduct Regulations
2003
• Data Protection Act 1998
• Health and Safety Act 1974
Our service is focussed upon
• Quality of Service Provision
• Respect for the Rights of the Service User as
an Individual
• Promotion of Service User Independence
• Value for Money
What if I have a complaint?
Consultus fully prepares for and double-checks the arrangements of every booking, and every nurse and carer is fully vetted and briefed so, happily, complaints are almost unheard of.
However if you do find cause for complaint please contact us as soon as possible. You can be confident that the matter will be quickly and thoroughly dealt with.
A Complaints Procedure is provided with our brochure and is available upon request. It gives details of other organisations you can call if you are unhappy with the outcomes.
Have we answered all your questions?
If this website has not answered all your questions
please telephone us on (01732) 355231 or write
to the manager and we should reply within two working
days.
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