Support in the home you already live in
- Visits
- From short calls to several a day
- Reply
- Within one working day
Not a schedule. This is the shape of one visit, so you know what you would be agreeing to — who comes to the door, what happens while they are with you, and what is written down before they leave. If a day needs something different from the plan, that is the job rather than an exception.
Who comes to the door
The single thing families ask about most, so it gets a band of its own rather than a line in a list.
The same small team
Wherever the rota allows it. Continuity is the difference between someone who knows how you take your tea and someone reading a file in the car.What we check before anyone starts
Before anyone starts we will run the checks the regulations require for their role: identity, right to work, full employment history with any gap explained, references taken up directly, and an enhanced DBS check with the adults’ barred list where the role is eligible for one. We have not recruited yet. The standard is set by regulation, not by us — the detail is in our safeguarding policy.Trained, and supervised after that
Training before anyone works unsupervised, and regular supervision so practice is seen rather than assumed. TBD — Bluebell has not yet confirmed the training programme or the refresher interval, and we would rather leave that open than describe it vaguely.How many, and where
TBD — team size and the areas covered have not been supplied. Ask us and you will get a straight answer for your address rather than a map that flatters the coverage.
What home care actually is
Someone comes to your home for an agreed length of time and helps with what you need help with. Nothing about the house changes, nothing about your routine has to change, and you keep deciding how the day runs. It is the least disruptive form of care there is, which is why most people ask for it first — and why it is worth being honest early about where it stops being enough.
What we help with
Four kinds of help. Most people start with one and add another later, and plenty only ever need one.
- Personal care
Washing, dressing, the bathroom
The parts of the morning that have become slow or unsafe. Done the way you would do them, at the time you would do them.
- Medication
Prompting, or giving
From a reminder to full administration, recorded every time. Which of those you need is a decision made with you and your GP, not assumed.
- Around the home
Meals, laundry, the shopping
The jobs that pile up quietly and then start deciding what kind of week you have.
- Company and getting out
Someone there, and a way back out
An appointment, a walk, a chat over tea. The part of care that is hardest to write on an invoice and easiest to notice when it is missing.
What a visit actually looks like
- Arriving
The same few faces
You are told who is coming. If it has to change, you are told that too — being surprised by a stranger at the door is not a small thing.
- During
What was agreed, and what you ask for on the day
The plan is a starting point, not a script. If today needs something different, that is the job.
- Before leaving
A note of what happened
Written up so the next person does not start from nothing and you do not have to repeat yourself.
- Afterwards
Someone reads it
Notes that nobody reads are paperwork. Changes get picked up and the plan is revised with you rather than about you.
What it costs
No figure yet. A price guessed before we have visited is worse than none.
- Charged by the visit. Its length moves the price more than anything else.
- Evenings, weekends and bank holidays cost more. Ask for those rates by name.
- A council assessment may cover some or all of it. Worth starting either way.
- Anyone who quotes a figure before visiting is guessing. Including us.
Regulation and registration
Home care that includes personal care is a regulated activity in England. A provider cannot lawfully deliver it without being registered with the Care Quality Commission, and a registered provider must display its most recent CQC rating on its website.
TBD — Bluebell’s CQC registration and rating have not been supplied to this project, so neither is shown here. That is a gap in what we have been given rather than a statement about the service, and it is the first thing you should ask us for. You can also check any provider yourself on the CQC register before you speak to them, and we would rather you did.
Before you get in touch
The questions people ask us about home care, answered as straight as we can while some of the detail is still open.
- Can we start small?
- Yes, and most people should. One visit a week is a real arrangement, not a trial, and it is far easier to add to than to unpick.
- What if we do not get on with someone?
- Tell us and we change it. You do not need a reason and you will not be asked to justify it — a person you would rather was not in your kitchen is not a small problem.
- How quickly could it start?
- We reply within one working day. Beyond that, nobody can honestly tell you a start date before they have visited — it depends on where you are, what is needed and who else is involved. Ask us and you will get a real answer rather than a reassuring one.
Not sure which service you need?
We will point you at the right service even if it is not one of ours.
Commissioners and professionals
Local authority enquiries
Framework, spot purchase and block contract enquiries go to the commissioning team, not the family inbox.
Partnership enquiries