About Our Live-in Carers
We not only care about our clients but care about our ‘Live-in Carers’ too, they are part of our community. Many of our Live-in Carers have been with us for over a decade and that makes us very proud. Our Live-in Carers are as unique as our clients; with their own personality traits and beliefs, yet united by a common purpose – to improve the quality of life for their clients. These days, most of our Live-in Carers choose us, which is a real compliment and means we never have a shortage of professional, qualified Live-in Carers knocking at our door looking for people to care for.
Let’s Answer Some Questions:
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Question: What is a Live In Care Giver?
Answer: They go by many names; Live-in Carer, Live in Home Carer, Live in Care Giver – All offer the same service or ‘type of care.’ The wonderful people literally ‘live in’ the home of the person or couple who require help to live their day to the fullest. Most agencies have a minimum of one week of service – this is because a Carer needs to travel to a home and therefore to recoup the travel expenses a week is really a minimum in order to do this. However, a good agency will be able to provide a bespoke service so if you do require fewer days or even a Carer who appears for the day or night and you don’t have a spare room – do ask. Access Care has Carers who ‘live-out’ in a nearby Air Bnb for example. Anything is possible, just ask!
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Question: What does a Live In Home Carer do?
Answer: Within reason, whatever will help the person they are supporting the most. We have a great page all about this – just click here to read ‘What does a live-in carer do?’
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Question: How do I Find a Carer for Elderly Parents?
Answer – Call us – that’s exactly what we are here for to find you a Carer for your elderly parents, or for yourself or for any one else for that matter!
Our Live-in Home Carers are not only truly wonderful people, but they are unique in that to qualify to be introduced to Access Care clients they complete annual re-registration checks. To do this they must evidence further care training and complete recruitment checks. This way we can confidently ensure our clients are able to select from a pool of stringently vetted and recently trained Live-in Carers.
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We are fastidious about our recruitment process and no Live-in Carer is registered unless they meet every one of our specific criteria. We check identification, request and verify references, obtain criminal record checks (both UK and abroad if applicable). We explore employment histories, verify given qualifications, and assess training levels. We do all this prior to interviewing face-to-face where we assess language skills & comprehension and spend time getting to know each of our care workers allowing their personality to shine. We want to know who they really are - we talk to them about their hobbies & interests, their family, education, background, likes & dislikes, cooking & housekeeping skills and basically what makes them tick.
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Once we are confident we know them, we develop their ‘Live-in Care Worker Profile.’ We send this to our clients so they may select the Live-in Carer they wish to be introduced to. We need to know our Carers well to make a perfect match, which incidentally we do with our heads and hearts – not a computer.
Every Live-in Carer who wishes to register with us is required to spend time with us on a Registration Day. Personally run by our Live-in Care Manager this is our chance to impart and reinforce our values. To share our beliefs and principles to our Carers. We spend time explaining how Access Care operates, about what being a part of the Access Care community means. We speak about housekeeping, cooking & table setting, communication & record keeping, and living life to the full. All whilst finding ways to deliver their care with the finishing touches to really make their service shine.
We have an extensive pool of expert Live-in Carers available for you to choose from and are confident that by working together we will find you the perfect match. We have built a lovely reputation for being a company that genuinely cares for our Carers. We know that it takes our clients and their families, Live-in Carers & the office team working in unison, with open lines of communication, to create an elite service.
Not every applicant is offered a coveted place on our register. Our recruitment consultants are fastidious in their approach to select the cream of the crop and a Live-in Carer is not invited to register unless they meet our specific criteria, some of our primary registration checks are listed below for your information.
Live-in Carer Recruitment Checks
Evidence of Being Self-Employed
Our Live-in Carers are registered with HMRC as self-employed. We actively ensure we have proof of this by obtaining a Carers UTR (Unique Tax Reference Number given to self-employed people by the HMRC). They are responsible for paying their own tax and national insurance, taking any pressure from you in this regard. By working in this way, the Carers are masters of their own destiny and are happy to support you exactly how you wish. They can stay with you for longer periods of time offering true ‘continuity of care’. Engaging a self-employed Carer is just like hiring a plumber or a handyman to help you around the home. You let them know what help you’d like, and they oblige. Our role is to help you find that perfect person and establish a professional relationship between you.
Criminal Record
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A Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS for short) is a recruitment check performed for the purpose of analysing a person’s past, specifically looking at any convictions, cautions, reprimands, and warnings they may have received. The level of DBS check we obtain at Access Care also checks our Live-in Carers against the adult's and children’s barred list too. This is known as an ‘Enhanced DBS’ and is designed to offer more protection for vulnerable people.
References​
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We gain references to confirm work experience and to gain feedback on our Live-in Carers, to allow us to decide whether to register them, we only register the best of the best. Access Care obtain the 2 most recent employment references for a carer which must at least cover the past 2 years. We then get at least one character reference for each Live-in carer too. We believe there’s no better referee for a Live-in Carer than his/her past client and so gaining testimonials are key. We continue this process throughout a Carer’s time with our agency to ensure we always have a recent reference on their performance for our new clients.
Identification
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Each Live-in Carer that registers with Access Care must pass our robust identification checks. We have a process of checking documents that support identity to assure you we are acting responsibly with the safeguarding of our clients as one of our top priorities.
Work History
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We gain the last 10 years of work history from all our registering live-in carers. There must be no gaps so our team goes through this with a fine-tooth comb and questions any gaps that may arise. Any gaps must be filled, and the work history of a Live-in Carer must flow from start to finish. We then check the carer’s employment references against the work history provided by the carer has provided and these must match.
Right To Work In The UK
Every Live-in Carer that registers with us that does not have a British passport needs to prove their right to work in the UK.
Experience
Every Live-in Carer that applies to register with Access Care states what levels of experience they have with different conditions and equipment. They will tell us whether they have no experience, a little experience (Less than 1 year), moderate experience (1-3 years), or advanced Live-in Care experience (3+ years and are very confident).
Insurance
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Each of our Live-in Carers have valid ‘Self-employed Care Worker Insurance.’ Each policy varies of course but typically would cover:
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Public liability insurance providing cover for bodily injury to other people or damage to property belonging to others.
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Personal accident insurance providing cover to the Live-in Care should they suffer accidental injury whilst at work
Live-in Carer Training ​
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Our Live-in Carers have professional qualifications, verified by us, and certified in a combination of,
or all the following areas:
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Being a Live-in Carer & Understanding the Role
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Person Centred Care & Infection Control - Health & Safety
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Personal Care/Advanced Personal Care Incl. Catheter, Stoma, PEG feeds
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Hygiene & Nutrition
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Moving & Handling including Hoists, and Wheelchair safe transfers
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Medication Assistance
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Safeguarding People from Abuse
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First Aid with CPR & Do Not Resuscitate Orders
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Understanding Alzheimer’s & Dementia
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Mental Capacity & Power of Attorney
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End of Life Care & Palliative Care Techniques
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Diabetes
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Brain Injury Care Techniques
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Neurological Conditions Awareness including Stroke, MS & Parkinson’s care
The most experienced group of Live-in Carers have vast professional experience caring for those living with all manner of conditions such as Alzheimer’s & Dementia, Parkinson's, MS, Stroke Rehabilitation, Cancer and Palliative care in varying stages of progression and as such ably assist with all the above, plus a host of specialised services, including but not limited to:
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Hoisted Mobility Support
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PEG-Gastrostomy Care
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Catheter, Bowel & Stoma Care
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Tracheotomy Care
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Neurological Care
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Ventilated Care
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Acquired Brain Injury Care
Many also have NVQs in Health and Social Care, expert training in specialist conditions and/or professional RGN qualifications. We will spend time talking to you about the level of experience needed and the training criteria required to present you with suitable Live-in Carers to choose from.
Some frequently asked questions about our Live-in Carers include:
Where are your Live-in Carers from?
All over the world would be an accurate answer but we are feeling the effect of Brexit on our landscape. Inevitably more of our Carers are now UK citizens than ever before. With a diverse range of ethnicities, backgrounds, and religions we represent the eclecticism of the United Kingdom.
Do your Live-in Carers Drive?
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Whilst we have a proportion of Live-in Carers that do drive, it’s fair to say that the majority do not. Those that do typically do not have their own car but are happy to drive yours no problem. It is important that both carer and client ensure the appropriate insurances are in place to enable this. If having a Carer that can drive is one of your absolute criteria, we will of course work with you to secure this as best we can.
How many Live-in Carers do you have?
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We have over 300 fabulous Live-in Carers on our books. The ratio of Carers to our Clients is a formula designed and monitored for success. We watch this carefully and know it is the secret (not so secret now!) to our success.
What Our Carers Say About Us:
