Frequently Asked Questions
We aim to set up your service as quickly as possible. After your needs have been assessed, your care plan will be developed and we will try to allocate you with a suitable support worker, based on your needs. We do not like to rush the process as we want to ensure that you will be happy with the support worker. You or your representative will have to sign the care plan documents and consent form(s).
You can cancel the service at any time provided that this is in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated in the Service User Agreement. There are no cancellation fees or hidden charges. You only pay for the care that you have received.
It is difficult to provide a definite answer to this. Each individual is different and the cost of your care will be dependent on the level of support you require. After your free care needs assessment, you will be provided with the exact figures. We can provide an approximate cost over the telephone.
Many people ask – what is live-in care? This is where one of our professionally trained carers lives with you in your own home – full-time, seven days a week – so there is always care on-hand whenever you need it.
24 hour live-in care is a wonderful, welcome alternative to residential care. No upheaval, no disruption and allows you to be independent, stay close to friends, keep pets and most importantly maintain all your hobbies and interests.
Why use a live-in care agency, rather than hiring a private live-in carer?
With our live-in care service, you benefit from our 20 years experience in the care sector and on-going support from our team. Our live-in care is a bespoke service, completely tailored to your needs.
We begin by one of our experienced team visiting you at your home, listening carefully to your needs and we then establish a comprehensive assessment of how we can help. We’ll match you with one of our carefully selected and professionally trained carers and once we have introduced you, you’ll have the on-going advice and support from our office team.
You also have the full confidence and knowledge that we are fully regulated and regularly inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
We generate invoices every four weeks. Each care visit during the invoicing period will be itemised in the invoice. We can post or email this to you or your representative, depending on your preference. Invoices are payable within seven (7) days.
TNC Healthcare always provide adequate travelling time for each carer to get to your home with plenty of time to care for you. In some instances, owing to hold ups with traffic, we will always inform you if the carer is running a little late.
If you want to stop using our services, you can do so at any time without any cancellation payments necessary; all we ask is that you give us four weeks’ notice.
We always try and introduce you to the carer we have chosen for your visit before their first call. Our manager carefully selects the carer following your assessment and will take time to consider your needs, area and personality when matching you with one of our carers. If for some reason you do not like the carer we will always accept your opinion and introduce you to a different carer at the earliest point.
Feeling unable to express yourself may make you feel vulnerable, but it’s important to know that independent support called Advocacy is available to help you make yourself heard. Advocacies offer support and guidance to help you communicate with others so that your views are heard and your rights are upheld.
An advocate can assist you by giving you access to information to make informed decisions, giving you confidence to make these decisions, assisting you to secure your rights and obtain services or further support. Advocates and advocacy schemes work in partnership with the people they support to promote social inclusion, equality and social justice.
Advocates are independent and not connected to care providers.
An advocate can:
In some situations, an advocate may need to represent another person’s interests. This is called non-instructed advocacy and is used when a person is unable to communicate their views.
The guidance and support given by an advocate is impartial and an advocate cannot give you their opinion, make judgements or decisions on your behalf.
We will help you examine the possibility of gaining some financial assistance from the government. Many people can access our care services free or part funded. Our care manager will assist you to find the funding whenever possible.
We ask for just 24 hours’ notice to cancel a regular visit and we will not charge you. If you wish to cancel your care package permanently we ask for 5 days’ notice period so we may re-assign care staff.
We value our service users’ feedback and understand that human relationships are complex. We want you to be happy and comfortable with the person supporting you. If you find that you are not getting along with your support worker, contact us to discuss this and we will try to get you someone else.
All our support workers have to undertake a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check (formerly known as Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check) to indicate whether they are suitable to work with vulnerable people. In addition, we request at least two references from previous employers before deciding whether to offer them employment or not.
