At Reliance Community Care we understand that beginning to think about care or support for yourself, or your loved one, can be a difficult decision to make. We've tried to answer some of our most frequently asked questions below to help you.
If we haven't answered your question, or you'd like to talk to us about arranging care, please get in touch and one of our team will be happy to help.
Deciding on the right type of care for you and your loved one is a big decision. There are definite benefits to selecting home care, whether that’s regular visits from a domiciliary carer or live-in care arrangements, such as the ability to stay in your own home and stick to your preferred routines.
Our person-centred planning means that all care packages are personalised to the individual, whether you need care for a few hours a week or 24-hours a day. Our carers can help with a whole range of things, from personal care such as washing and dressing, to domestic support such as cleaning and meal preparation.
How much care is required can depend on many factors, including medical conditions, mobility, availability of other support from family and friends, individual preferences and available budget. We will take account of your loved one’s wishes at every stage, to make sure they feel listened to, comfortable and supported.
Read more about what our carers can help with, or contact us to discuss your needs.
Home care has a number of benefits.
To discuss how home care could benefit you or your loved one, please contact us.
At Reliance Community Care our person-centred care plans are tailored to the individual, and your wants and needs. We also understand that some conditions need constant monitoring, both day and night.
We can provide our high quality care 24-hours a day. We offer waking nights, where a carer will be alert to any care duties and available for the full night-time period to assist with care, or sleeping nights, if you or a family member needs support during the night but only occasionally.
This gives you and your loved ones the reassurance and peace of mind that someone is always there if you need them.
If a situation occurs during the night, your carer can react quickly to give you the support you need, or to contact your medical professionals or next of kin, as agreed in your person-centred care plan.
The primary benefit of overnight care is that individuals with complex medical conditions, or who may be anxious or lonely, are able to rest well and get a good night’s sleep.
To discuss your individual care needs and how we can help, please contact us.
At Reliance Community Care all our carers are experienced in providing individualised care to suit a wide range of needs, whether you need support for a few hours a week, 24-hours per day or anything inbetween.
Our home care services are designed to help you with everyday living, whether you need personal care, such as washing and dressing, domestic chores, such as laundry and vacuuming or help getting out and about, such as doing the shopping or visiting a friend.
We also provide more specialised care services, such as rehabilitation support after a life-changing injury, long-term support for people with physical or learning disabilities (including autism spectrum disorders) and palliative care for those with life-threatening conditions.
If you’re not sure whether our carers can help with the tasks you’d like them to, take a look at our individualised care page for more information or contact us to discuss your needs.
Our carers are bound by regulations to help keep people safe from harm, including themselves. This may mean that there are some limitations on what support they can provide. For example, they may need to use equipment to help with lifting someone out of bed, in order to keep themselves and the person they care for safe from injury.
Our carers are also no replacement for qualified medical professionals and will always seek advice if required, for example if you or your loved one wants to discuss a change to your prescribed medications or dosage.
Tasks required for a person’s care will be pre-agreed and written into their person-centred care plan. If you would like to change the tasks you want completed, then you can contact us to discuss this and we can book in a review to update your care plan as required.
Whilst our home carers are not nurses or medical staff, we do have carers who are trained to support certain aspects of medical care at home, for example, helping people to manage their medications, administering oxygen therapy or helping with stoma or tracheostomy care. We can also help people with using mobility aids, doing physiotherapy exercises at home and reablement care.
Medication management is particularly beneficial for some individuals, for example, if a person is living with dementia or another disease which impairs cognitive function. Taking multiple medications can be particularly overwhelming, but mistakes can have serious implications for health and wellbeing. If you are concerned that you are forgetting to take your medication regularly or you observe that a loved one is not coping with managing their medications, we can help.
Our carers will work with you, or your loved one, to agree a comprehensive and personalised plan of care. It may be that you simply want the reassurance that comes with having a carer to supervise you, but that you’re otherwise able to follow instructions and take your medications as prescribed. Alternatively, you may need more physical help, such as opening packaging or dosset boxes, gently supporting a shaking hand, getting water in a glass or beaker, and helping note down times and dosages.
Reliance Community Care is monitored and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). As such, we are legally bound to ensure proper procedures, reporting and recording takes place, whatever care we provide. This is especially important in areas of medication management or maintaining medical equipment. Our carers will always defer to the relevant medical professionals when an incident or medical need exceeds their training.
Ultimately the role of our carers in medical matters is simply to ensure that your loved one is safe and secure, that all safeguarding procedures are in place and the person is not putting themselves at risk. If you’d like to know more about how we can help, please contact us.
Wherever possible we will send the same caregivers. However, due to sickness, annual leave and unfortunate circumstances we cannot guarantee this. So, on the rare occasion this isn’t possible, we will send another caregiver, who you will have met and been introduced to by a senior member of staff who will go through your situation and care needs.
During your care planning stage we gather lots of information about your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and interests to make sure our caregivers are carefully matched. If, for any reason, you do not feel like your carer is a good fit, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to discuss your options.
Reliance Community Care makes sure that all our carers and support workers are carefully checked and screened before undertaking a role with us. All our carers are professionals and we make sure that full background checks are undertaken, including training, certificate and reference checks, as well as relevant criminal records checks.
Each caregiver attends induction training when they first start with us, and will have shadowed a supervisor or manager before attending clients on their own. We also gain feedback from the clients on how the shadowing shifts went, as your opinion is of utmost importance to us.
If you have any concerns or feedback about your carer, please contact us, and we’ll be happy to discuss this with you.
All our person-centred care plans are tailored to the individual, and your wants and needs. Tasks required for your care will be pre-agreed and written into your care plan.
Whilst your carer will be as adaptable and flexible as required, if you would like to change the type of care you receive or the tasks you want completed, then please speak to your carer or contact us to discuss this. We can then book in a review to update your care plan as required.
We will also proactively review your care on a regular basis, to ensure that you continue to receive high quality care and that we’re able to make any necessary adjustments, or offer additional support where it’s needed.
If your health improves or deteriorates, your carer can alert us to any changes in your condition. A full care plan review would then be organised at your convenience and agreements would be made as to the best way forward, to ensure that your care needs continue to be met. We will also liaise with your loved ones and medical team as appropriate.
Whilst the majority of our clients are adults, we also provide support and personal care to a number of children with diverse physical and emotional needs, including those with physical or sensory impairments, learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders.
Similar to our service for adults we can provide a wide range of support, tailored to your needs. This includes assessments, domiciliary care, social inclusion support and short breaks.
Read more about our children's care services or contact us to discuss your requirements.
Reliance Community Care provides high quality, person-centred services which promote independence, choice, flexibility and inclusion for every single person we support.
We recognise that some of the people we care for may have difficulties communicating verbally, and that there are many additional challenges for those with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD).
We believe that everyone has the potential to make decisions about their lives, regardless of their ability to communicate verbally. All our carers are trained to meet specialist communication needs using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools so that they can facilitate person-centred planning with service users who have little or no verbal communication. This includes techniques such as British Sign Language (BSL), Makaton and Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS).
Reliance Community Care also expects all staff to ‘listen’ carefully at all times and take appropriate action based upon a services user’s wishes, intentions and dreams. This ensures that all service users are able to plan around their individual goals and preferences.
If you have limited verbal communication skills or learning difficulties, our experienced carers and support workers can also help you overcome obstacles such as accessing your local community and developing independent living skills.
Contact us to discuss your individual requirements, and one of our team will be pleased to help.
At Reliance Community Care, we understand that every patient is unique. That’s why we offer personalised pricing plans tailored to suit your specific requirements.
The cost of care can vary greatly depending on the level of service required and individual needs and preferences. We provide a spectrum of services from one hour weekly calls to 24-hour live-in care. Things such as overnight care, medical needs or social support and carer-assisted transport can also affect care costs.
When working with you and your loved ones to develop your person-centred care plan, we take into account factors such as the level of care needed, the duration and timing of care required, and any additional services or accommodations necessary.
We aim to keep our costs low and affordable to ease the worry for our clients and families. If you would like to discuss this with us in more detail, please contact us.
There are several ways in which the services that you receive from us may be paid for. We support a wide range of clients, whether you are self-funding your care, using direct payments or other funding sources.
Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible to receive funding from your local authority to pay for your care. If your local authority has assessed you as needing help from social services, you’ll be allocated a personal budget.
You can then ask the council to either:
You can also choose a combination of these options. For example, the council could arrange some of your care but send you the rest of the money. This is often called a mixed package or "mix and match".
Direct payments give you more flexibility and control over how your care and support is arranged and provided. It also potentially reduces administrative costs to help your money go further.
Many Reliance Community Care clients use either direct payments, or other funding packages such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Attendance Allowance, to help fund their care costs.
We would be happy to discuss your circumstances and needs so that we can advise you on the availability of various funding options and the best method of paying, just get in touch.
If you are not eligible to receive financial assistance from your local authority, you can still take advantage of our services by paying privately.
We will quote you a clear payment structure, with no hidden extras, and will send your bills at agreed intervals e.g. monthly. You can pay by electronic transfer (BACS), cheque or standing order.
If your care needs change at any point, we can review your personalised care plan and provide a new quote, at any time.
If you have any other questions regarding funding and payment options, please contact us.
Reliance Community Care can now be found on My Choice which is a directory for care and support services for people living within the Leicester city area.
My Choice gives those living in Leicestershire the choice and control to decide which services will enable them to have independent lives. This website helps people to look at all the options available in Leicestershire, and find the services and products that can best meet their needs.
Everyone can use this website. This includes those with a personal budget from the local authority, or anyone else who would like to find services.
