Help at Home

Home Help and Domiciliary Care

Councils provide a range of domiciliary care services, including personal care (washing and dressing etc). More details can be accessed through our Social & Community Services page. However they will not provide gardening or general housework services.

"Home Helps" - in the tradition of undertaking general housework, laundry, and meal preparation, whilst keeping a watchful eye. Guideposts Trust’s Care at Home service provides specialist domiciliary care for people with dementia. All of our support workers have been trained to understand dementia and its impact on families and carers.

Services are available in

• Oxfordshire -covers the west Oxfordshire area
• Gloucestershire -covers Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, Bourton on the Water areas
• Warwickshire - covers Rugby, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick, Kenilworth, Nuneaton and Bedworth areas

Home Care

Home care visits are provided by many different care agencies. These may be arranged by a Care Manager, following a Community care assessment, or arranged directly with the agencies if someone is self-funding.

Alternatively, if a person with dementia or a carer has been assessed as needing community care services, the local authority may agree to give them money so that they can arrange and pay for these services themselves. These payments are called direct payments.

Inspection reports for care services are available on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website.

You may find the Age UK Factsheet Paying for care and support at home useful.

Medication Only Calls

Medication only visits are funded differently from other home-care visits. Your GP should be able to arrange medication only calls, at the times you need supervision to take prescribed medication. These calls should be provided free by the NHS. This just applies to visits which are only for medication, if other care is also involved it will not be classed as a medication only call.

Providers of Home Support & Assistance

Agencies can be approached directly to obtain care for people who are self-funding or using direct payments / personal budgets. Different agencies will vary in the services they offer (e.g. night care), their charges, and area covered: so you may need to approach several agencies.

Live-in Carers

Some home-care agencies can provide live-in carers, which may provide an alternative to going into a Care Home for some people with dementia, or reassurance if family do not live locally.

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Shopping Delivery Services

For some carers, or people with dementia living alone, it may be useful to have groceries delivered directly to your home, rather than having to make trips out to get these. However for other people popping out to get the grocery shopping may be an important part of your routine, that gives you a reason to get out and about.

If you do think home delivery or home shopping for groceries would be useful to you, it may be worth enquiring whether any of your local shops offer a delivery service, and whether there is any charge for this.

Laundry Service

Laundry service is a free service, but can only be accessed via Social & Community Services. The laundry service is only provided when somebody has no other way to get their washing done.

Linen is not provided, it is the client's own garments and sheets that are washed. Laundry is collected weekly, so laundry service users must have at least two weeks worth of garments and sheets available. People should also note that laundry is put through hot washes, so this service is not suitable for delicate items!

Help with Continence

As dementia progresses people may experience continence problems with bladder or bowels. This may be because they are unable to find their way to the toilet anymore: in which case leaving the toilet door open, and measures such as a highly visible red toilet seat may help for a time. The Alzheimer's Society factsheet Incontinence has more information.

Urinary incontinence is more common, and pads are usually used to manage this when someone has dementia. This is because measures such as urinary catheters are unfamiliar, and therefore a foreign object to the person with dementia, who may well pull the catheter out, causing themselves considerable pain and possibly physical damage. However if the person with dementia is already used to having a urinary catheter this may continue to be tolerated. A small clip is available to prevent inappropriate emptying of the leg bag (e.g. the Bard Urilock).

Continence assessment and care is provided through the District Nurses. Everyone is entitled to free continence care on the NHS, including provision of pads if required.

If you are willing to purchase continence products yourself there is a wide range available to meet the full spectrum of needs, including pull on disposable pants that incorporate high absorbency: these are ideal if the person with dementia sees a pad as a foreign object to be removed from their underwear. Such products can be ordered through Boots (own brand is Staydry), or independent chemists (e.g. TENA products). You can also order through a number of mail order companies online, e.g. youreableshop.co.uk.

Further information is available on the The Bladder and Bowel Foundation website (formerly known as the Continence Foundation) or call the nurse helpline for medical advice on: 0845 345 0165. For general enquiries call: 01536 533255.

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