Everyone wants the very best care and support they can find. But what does “best” actually mean? Home Care is not a one-size-fits-all service, so there isn’t any one Home Care provider who is the best fit for everyone – each person has individual needs and therefore requires a particular type of provider to match these.

Who is the best Home Care provider?

Finding the best home care provider for you can be an overwhelming task! With so many different providers, it’s hard to choose the one that fits you the best.

The best home care provider for one person is unlikely to be the best home care provider for the next person. That is the nature of a service like Home Care, no two people will have exactly the same wants and needs and therefore may not suit the same provider.

The first step is understanding what your needs are and what is it that you want in a Home Care provider. Once you’ve done this, finding a provider that suits your wants can be a little tricky! There are a huge number of providers in Australia and understanding the differences between each one isn’t always easy.

That’s where CareAbout can help! We’ve done most of the hard work for you and have hand-picked a select group of Home Care providers who are high quality and have fair fees.

Characteristics of the best Home Care providers

Even though there isn’t a single provider who is the best, there are certainly providers who are better overall than others. Good, quality providers share many of the same characteristics, such as:

  • Clear, transparent and reasonable fees – you should always know exactly what it is that you’re paying for and should feel like you’re getting value out of your Home Care
  • Robust processes – providers who have good processes in place generally operate more efficiently and with higher quality services than those who do not have robust processes. For example, if you need to make a complaint, a provider with good complaints process in place will ensure that you are heard and your issue is quickly and properly resolved
  • Flexible and agile – good Home Care providers should be able to adjust quickly to any changes in their environment. COVID-19 has been an excellent test for providers, and the best providers have been able to adjust their processes quickly to continue providing care quality care
  • Continuous improvement – providers who are continuing to learn, test new technology and regularly review all of their processes are the ones who generally provide the best services. A provider who puts processes in place and then doesn’t check to see if they’re working well or whether they could be improved, often misses opportunities for better quality care.
  • Strong recruitment – in an industry like Home Care, the staff are the bones of the business! Look for a provider who has strong recruitment processes and guidelines or benchmarks. Providers who prioritise this will recruit staff who are highly qualified and have good experience. When recruitment is important to a provider, it also usually means that once hired, staff will be provided with regular and ongoing training.
  • Good customer reviews – sometimes the best way to get a feel for a provider is to hear from the people who have experience with them. However reviews don’t always give you the full picture. For example, a provider may have a fantastic Care Manager in one particular location but not in others. Or, perhaps a provider has some poor reviews, but they have taken the feedback on board and since changed the way the operate. Now, they may be a fantastic provider but those negative reviews are still on the internet for everyone to see!

The Aged Care Quality Standards

The best providers will follow the Aged Care Quality Standards, which cover:

  • Consumer dignity and choice – you should always be treated with respect and have choice and control over your own care decisions
  • Ongoing assessment and planning – your needs should be regularly monitored and reviewed, and you should have input in the planning of your care and services
  • Personal and clinical care – you should have access to safe, effective and quality personal care and clinical care
  • Services and supports for daily living – your Home Care services should aim to meet your daily living goals, whatever those may be and should work towards enabling you to be as independent as possible
  • Feedback and complaints – the process for making a complaint should be easy, accessible, confidential, prompt and fair. You should feel supported in making a complaint should you wish too
  • Human resources – your Home Care provider should have a skilled and qualified workforce, able to deliver safe and effective services
  • Organisational governance – the Home Care provider should be held accountable by a governing body for meeting the Aged Care Quality Standards

Can CareAbout help me to find the best provider?

CareAbout has expert Care Advisers who listen carefully to your needs and hunt for a provider who matches these the best.

The providers we work with are all screened and must meet certain quality benchmarks before we accept them onto our panel and recommend them to anyone. We often say, “we don’t recommend anyone that we wouldn’t recommend to our own Mum”.

It’s always best to speak with people in the know so you can be sure of exactly what you’re getting!

Find a quality provider!