Our Homecare Services

Support with personal care means assisting with personal hygiene. This could be a strip wash, bath or shower. Washing may be in a chair or on bed if the client is unable to move about easily or is immobile. The greatest care is taken to ensure privacy and dignity. When getting dressed or undressed; it is the persons choice what they wear and how they wish to be supported. Carers will strip and make the bed and tidy up when client’s needs are met. Personal care is not just washing and dressing. It involves attending to pressure areas and oral care. Making sure clients have access to dental equipment and can clean their teeth or dentures and general oral hygiene is good. It is important to ensure clients are clean and their continence is attended to as this may cause tissue breakdown. Carers will check skin integrity and assist with care of skin and pressure areas.

Carers will assist clients in and out of bed once assessed. This may involve the use of a moving and handling or transfer aid. This may be a hoist, slide sheet  or rotunda. Mobility aids are usually supplied by the occupational therapy (OT) department or clients can purchase independently but it is advisable to seek assistance from the OT if purchasing from an outside source.

Carers will prepare light meals/sandwiches and assist with feeding to ensure clients receive a good diet. They will observe fluid/diet intake and report any problems to the office and we may alert the GP with consent if we are concerned. We will keep records of diet if concerned and weigh clients. We use a nutritional assessment tool called MUST which is a universal assessment of nutrition and it tells us if clients are at risk of malnutrition. If clients are losing weight we will work with the health services to support clients and weigh as much as weekly if required. Meals can be prepared and left in the fridge or any meals suitable for microwaving can be stored. All carers are fully trained in safe food handling and this is updated as often as necessary. In addition carers receive regular training on infection control and therefore will ensure all food handling is safely done and the kitchen/food areas kept clean and tidy.

Using the toilet is a private and personal matter and often distressing for clients who need help as it affects social well-being. Clients’ who were otherwise independent and now need help such as after a stroke or other physically disabling event. Pompey Homecare is very aware of the psychological effects incontinence can have. Sometimes clients refuse help or tell carers they don’t need help only to be lying in a wet or soiled bed or chair too embarrassed to ask for help. Our carers ensure dignity and privacy is maintained and independence is promoted. We can help with assisting on/off the toilet/commode, assessing continence, assisting with continence aids (pads etc), and helping to preserve skin integrity by using prescribed barrier creams. Disposing of soiled equipment safely, ensuring good odour control, changing linen and laundry assistance (see below). Carers are trained to promote continence.

Catheter/stoma care is an important means of continence promotion and trained carers take care to ensure catheters/stomas are working properly and kept clean. Any problems are reported to the office and we can work with the district nurses and continence nurses so that the service to you is of a high quality. Clients require continence services and products and carers will check supplies and report to the appropriate persons if running low or if reassessment is needed in case a product is not working effectively.

Carers will assess skin condition every time they attend to personal care or continence care. They are trained to observe for bruising, redness, inflammation broken areas, or any problems related to the skin. If the skin is red and not attended to it may break down very quickly leading to much bigger medical problems. Eyes and ears are checked and hair condition as often these are neglected and can lead to infections. It is especially important to protect skin if the person has “tissue paper” skin or is diabetic. Carers ensure clothing is not too tight or loose and creases can lead to painful skin if sitting on creased clothing or bedding etc. Incontinence can also cause skin problems Carers wash and dry skin thoroughly and apply barrier or other forms of protective prescribed barriers and protective creams.

Organising medication can sometimes be difficult for older people or those who are becoming more forgetful.  Trained carers will administer medication from special packs known as blister packs or a dosset box which is put together by the pharmacist. The purpose is to safely store prescribed medicine and tablets.

A dosset box enables the client to take tablets at regular intervals. The carer can then make sure the client takes the right tablets at the right times. We will make sure this is replenished as required and can collect prescriptions from the pharmacy if required so that you are never without your medication. In addition we keep records of the medication clients require to make sure they are not forgetting to take it. Clients who can dispense and take their own medication can be assisted to ensure they take it correctly. The aim is to keep clients as independent as possible.

Carers will tidy up for you after they have attended to your personal care needs. However we can provide a house cleaning and domestic service to ensure your home is thoroughly cleaned. This includes vacuuming, polishing washing floors stripping and making beds if necessary and cleaning the kitchen/utility room. Kitchen cleans will usually be separate as the fridge will be defrosted and cooker etc thoroughly cleaned.

Laundry

Your laundry will be taken from your basket and put into the washing machine and dryer if required. Ironing will be done and laundry put away so that you don’t have to worry.

Many clients attend day centres, appointments with the hospital or GP etc. This may require carer support. Shopping can also be a heavy task. To ensure clients are supported with their independence carers can accompany them on shopping trips for essential goods to stock the home or if the client simply wants a day out carers can arrange clients to escort to/from social events.

This is usually at a mileage rate in addition to the hourly shopping rate.

Some clients find it difficult to cope at home for long periods. We provide carers to do waking or sleeping night care. This gives clients the reassurance of support knowing someone is there if the need arises. Usually if the client has night needs the carer is required to be awake. For sleeping nights the client is responsible for the provision of the sleeping arrangements.

Bathing should be enjoyable and relaxing. The risks however can be hazardous for older people and those with disability. Often there is a need for safety aids such as bath mat, grab rails or bath hoist which the occupational therapy department from the local hospital can assist with. Carer’s can assist with supporting clients into/out of the bath and if necessary, more than one carer may be required to ensure safety.

If you care for someone and you need a break for a few hours or overnight or even a few days away, a carer can come in and stay so you have a stress free break. Sometimes your loved one could go into a residential care setting while you have a break but if you prefer not to do this then we can come to you. This is especially the case if a loved one has dementia and moving them is not the best option. Having the carer in for a few hours whilst your there will enable the relationship to commence. There is an hourly rate but the first hour is free so that the carer can spend time with you and your loved one getting acquainted (once the contract has been agreed).

Pompey Homecare specialise in caring for people who have a dementia. Carers are especially trained to understand the client experience and to develop relationships based on a person centred model of care. We describe dementia according to the Alzheimer’s description which is “the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by specific diseases and conditions. These include Alzheimer’s and could be the result of a stroke”. The condition is progressive. There are many causes such as Alzheimers, stroke, vascular disease, Picks disease. In addition a form of memory loss could result after a cardiac arrest if the brain was starved of oxygen. Usually there is memory loss especially for recent events; communication is problematic as is the ability to interpret information. A level of disorientation is not uncommon. This is very frightening for people with dementia. Structure and familiarity are important. This is partly the reason we offer respite in the home.

It is very important to be sensitive to the needs of a person with dementia. It is equally imperative to enable them to maintain as much independence as possible and not assume they cannot contribute in a meaningful way. Our trained carers are patient and tactful and give the person time. We work with our clients to empower them to make choices and decisions. We also run support workshops for families caring for loved ones with dementia. In addition we expect to support our carers offering regular supervision so that they also feel they can offer a high quality service to clients. Please contact us for more information on how we deliver our services to our clients with dementia.

If a client is returning home after a hospital admission we can assist by checking the home environment to make sure it is clean and warm and there is food and drink in the fridge. If the person requires assistance to enable the rehabilitation process we can offer a trained carer to ensure the specialists instructions are carried out. Sometimes this is just a routine of simple exercises or helping mobility along after a period of difficulty. Perhaps the client had a fall and has lost confidence. We can help you to regain confidence and support you back to as good a level of independence as possible.

In the event you require help in an emergency e.g., you need to get to an appointment or your family are unavailable for some reason, we can offer assistance to help in the short term. Or failing this we can help by contacting the appropriate service on your behalf. Either way we will not leave you to cope alone.

Some clients require care usually carried out by professional services. This may involve caring for someone with an enteral feeding regime (PEG), care of someone at the end of their life, advanced dementia, continuing care, rehabilitation someone who required help with a stoma or catheter or someone who has mobility problems and needs to have a general bath using aids. We provide trained carers to support clients with specialist needs. It is important to have a thorough understanding of specific need so our training programme has been developed to ensure a team of carers are available to carry out this level of assistance.