What should you be asking your potential care provider?

Picking a care provider can be a very difficult and often it may feel very overwhelming in terms of trying to make the right decision to ensure your loved one gets the quality care that they deserve. So to help you here are some questions that you should be asking care providers to help make the right decision.

Questions to ask:

• How does your organization make the care personal to me/my loved one?

• How does your organization screen/recruit staff?

• How many carers will be involved in delievering mine or my loved ones care package?

• How frequently do you review or change mine/my loved ones care package?

• When recruiting care staff what characteristics do you think are the most valuable for them to have?

• What characteristics would make someone unsuitable to work for your care company?

• How do you train your staff and what ongoing training do you offer?

• Can we and if so how would we get in touch in an emergency?

• Do you have a dedicated point of contact?

• How would you describe the culture of your organisation, what are their values?

• How do we stay involved with our loved ones care and how do we make changes

• How do you ensure your staff respect my loved ones personal preferences?

• How will you choose the right carer for my loved one?

• Do you have any testimonials that you can show me?

These are just some of the questions you could be asking care providers although I am sure you will have your own questions that are more specific and personal to the care package you are looking for. It is important for me to stipulate just because a company has answered your questions well ultimately the proof will be in the pudding and as such if they are not meeting your expectations don’t settle for anything less than the quality you deserve, it is a competitive industry and as such you can change companies if you feel it is the right decision!