Why do I need a care broker?
A closer look at how a care broker can make it easier to arrange care for your family.
Finding the right care for a member of your family is a daunting task. You may know what type of care they would like, or you might never have talked to them about their preferences for care. Do they need to move into residential care, or are there services available to support them at home? How do you find a care provider, and when you do find one, how do you know if they are any good?
The care market is complex and navigating your way through it can feel overwhelming. Homecare providers and care homes all offer different types and levels of care, and the costs and quality vary greatly. However, very little information is available about what you need to do if someone you love needs care and support.
A care broker can assist you in arranging care for your family in three main ways. They can:
- Encourage a timely discussion about your care wishes and put a draft care plan in place, ready to be activated when needed.
- Contact and negotiate with care providers when you need care to find the right level of care at the right price.
- Review and monitor an existing care plan to address problems and ensure the best care is delivered.
It is time to talk about care.
In 2016 the charity Independent Age commissioned research to understand why many families avoid talking about the care they may need in older age. The study found that when it came to talking about our future care wishes including, our preferences for end of life care, who will care for us when we are older, and where we would like to live if we cannot stay in our own homes, “nearly four out of five people judge each of these conversations to be important, [but] less than a quarter have actually had them with family members.”[1]
The report identifies five conversations that older people and their families should consider.
- Where will I live in the future?
- Who in the family might be able to support me?
- What are my options if I need more care and support?
- Who could make decisions on my behalf if I am no longer able to do this myself?
- Have I recorded my wishes about how I want to be looked after at the end of my life?
Talking about your wishes in advance gives your family time to plan and make early changes that could result in more positive future outcomes. For example, moving into a care home is not the only option and is not always necessary. It may be that your family member would prefer to live independently for as long as possible. Pre-empting a need for future care encourages you to think about whether you could adapt their house or whether they would like to move and settle into a different home before the need for care arises. It also gives you all time to think about how to fund the care. A broker will ensure you have accurate information about the options available.
Care Captains can encourage and help you start the difficult conversations with your family and make sure that you are fully informed about all the different types of care on offer. Care plans thought out before crisis hits are more likely to offer care that works well for everyone involved.
Care Captains can also refer you to professional advice about handing over the legal power to deal with the affairs of your loved one if they lose the capacity to make decisions in the future.
Arranging care when it is needed.
72% of people who contact their Local Authority for care do not receive long term support, which means that family members usually take responsibility for care arrangements.
If you find yourself seeking care for a loved one after an accident or bout of ill health, time may be of the essence, which makes it all too easy to rush the decision. Trying to understand the care market and consider all the options while filtering out the noise is not easy. It could lead you to overlook smaller care homes in favour of large franchises with big marketing budgets. However, paying more does not necessarily mean that the care offered is better.
The move into a care home is nearly always one way. Transferring between care homes is not easy if you later feel that you made the wrong choice, and a poor decision can be costly to undo, which means that it is essential to establish the right amount of care from the beginning. A broker will explain the options and help you decide which one is right for your family.
If you are considering care at home, you need to make sure the care provider does not overestimate the amount of care you need. Providing too much care can be as damaging as too little. A care plan should work with a person, considering things they can do for themselves as much as things they can’t. The goal should be to maintain their self-esteem rather than reduce their capabilities by providing care for tasks they can do themselves. A care broker can help put together a care plan that offers the right amount of care based on individual needs.
At Care Captains, we believe that a well organised and delivered care plan can offer comfort and support to your loved one. The least amount of intervention is often the best, and those who wish to stay at home should be supported to do so for as long as possible. We can help you make the right choice in all the circumstances, then negotiate with the care provider to make sure you do not overpay.
Concerns about an existing care plan.
It can be hard to raise your concerns if you feel that an existing care package is not quite right. Research has shown[2] that many care home residents and their representatives find it difficult to make complaints and seek redress, partly because they feel complaints systems are confusing and poorly signposted. People also worry that complaining could lead to reprisals against the person receiving care or that friends and family visits could stop.
Rightly or wrongly, these concerns create a barrier to people speaking out on behalf of family members who receive care. A care broker can undertake an impartial review of the situation and intervene on your behalf.
Care Captains can raise concerns about an existing care plan and help you find alternative care providers if necessary.
Care Captains can also review an existing care plan in line with your family member’s needs to ensure it delivers the best value and quality in respect of hours, type of care, level of care, and costs. If we find areas for improvement, we can negotiate with the current care provider or seek alternatives by following your family’s wishes.
If the care market is so complex, why has nothing been done about it?
In 2017 the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) conducted a study into the care homes market. The report identified two broad areas of concern;
- the need for significant reforms within the care sector to enable it to meet the expected substantial increase in care needs, and
- the need for more support in choosing care homes and greater protections to residents.
In response, the government announced that it would publish a green paper on care and support for older people by summer 2018. At the time of writing, the green paper has not been presented to Parliament.
The report focused solely on the residential care market. It is more likely that the first interaction your family has with social care will be in the form of additional support at home. It is just as important and no less complicated to find a suitable homecare provider as it is to find the right care home. However, there is no corresponding report or set of recommendations relating to the homecare market. Neither has the Government suggested any intention to address the issues with homecare care in the green paper.
In the current circumstances arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems unlikely that reform will happen any time soon.
How Care Captains can help
Care Captains act as an intermediary between the person in need of or receiving care, their family, and the care provider. When you contact Care Captains, we take the time to get to know you, your loved ones, and their care needs.
Dan O’Donoghue leads the team. Dan was head of one of the UK’s largest home care providers for almost 20 years, delivering over 4 million care visits per year. He also founded Cyril Flint Befrienders, a local charity to reduce loneliness and social isolation within the elderly community.
Dan’s strong relationships with care providers, combined with his extensive knowledge of the care market, mean that he is well placed to help you find the best possible care.
Care Captains can approach and negotiate with suitable care providers on your behalf to achieve the best quality of care and value for money. We can also help organise budgets to pay for care costs and manage the care package on an ongoing basis giving you peace of mind that your loved one is getting the best care for their needs.
Let Care Captains take the stress out of arranging care for your family. Contact us on 0345 340 5065 or send us an email [email protected]
[1] We need to talk about caring: dealing with difficult conversations, 11 July 2016, ComRes
[2] Care Homes Market Study: Summary of Final Report, 30 November 2017, Competition and Markets Authority
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