AS PER MY REVIEW FOR HOME INSTEAD UK:
Where to start?! My late Gran's niece caused the initial mess by sticking her nose in where it wasn't wanted, or needed, and tried to arrange alternative care for my then 95-year-old Gran behind my back (without doing any actual legwork!), even though I was dealing effectively with Gran's care already (and had done for nearly 20 years). Furthermore, at the time of these events, Gran was being cared for in hospital but immediately prior to this had been in respite care in a care home, since she had ailments that meant she could not live at home and the outlook was permanent care in a care home, NOT home care. I was Gran's carer/next-of-kin/POA. The Manager of Live-In Care, Home Instead Glasgow, Stirling, Perth, Ayr and Falkirk (whom we'll call S) started visiting Gran without my knowledge to discuss live-in home care, and I only found out about these visits by chance - just in time too. S ended up preying on Gran - a very elderly, weak and vulnerable person - directly with unethical and aggressive sales tactics, and I believe this is because Gran told S that she had money that her late husband AND late son had left her, and because she had been deemed as having mental capacity, even though she did not have the capacity to manage her own financial affairs - I dealt with this side of things as her carer/POA. S hid behind Gran's 'capacity' which became her line of defence. I had to step in to stop the nonsense before it went too far. In the end, I sent a MASSIVE complaint email to the Care Inspectorate who passed it to management at Home Instead. The Group Operations Manager sympathetically acknowledged and apologised that the situation had caused me stress and worry, and though S lied through her teeth about her conduct, he prevented S from continuing to pursue this lead. In addition, due to my concerns about S, I had to ask that hospital staff, care home staff and the social worker alert me should they find S speaking to or visiting Gran. SPECIFICS: S did not feel the need to get in touch with Gran's POA/next-of-kin (me), or do a financial assessment, or carry out a risk assessment at Gran's house, or have anyone witness conversations or join in with meetings, nor was she intending to have anyone witness the signing of any forms/agreements (which thankfully never happened but it was close - my Gran couldn't even see the forms!!) S was hesitant to provide me with information when requested (financial or otherwise), and there was no information left for Gran at the hospital or care home for me to see. From conversations with her, I don't believe Gran fully understood the costs, what having a live-in carer meant for her and her home, e.g. what service she was to receive and what changes had to be made to her home, and what privacy and security concerns this arrangement could cause. What information I did finally receive from S was vague. S was pushing to start the service only a week and a half after I got in touch with her (once I found out what was going on) even though Gran did NOT have an agreed discharge date from the hospital and there was NO agreed plan for her continuing care at that point. S caused great confusion with hospital staff who thought Gran had home care arranged when she did not. S even had the gall to ask me for a set of keys to Gran's house and sent me a Direct Debit form to complete! I was SPEECHLESS. I'd never even met the woman and I was to let her and who knows who else into Gran's home?! Plus, as if all of this isn't enough to put people off, it turns out that carers are not always fully qualified to SVQ Level 3 and are often working towards this - therefore you could end up with a 'carer' who started at college yesterday. Don't worry - you can REQUEST A FULLY QUALIFIED CARER (yes, I was actually told this).
Please be very wary of Home Instead and DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE LETTING SOMEONE LIKE 'S' OR AN UNQUALIFIED CARER INTO YOUR FAMILY'S LIFE. *I have emails to prove the majority of the information I have provided in this review, which were used as evidence for my complaint to the Care Inspectorate. Other conversations with S were by phone. None were in person.