Home Care in Pulborough

Pulborough has 3 CQC registered home care agencies. 2 are rated Good, and 1 has not yet been rated. 1 of the 3 was last inspected more than three years ago.

Source: Care Quality Commission register, kept up to date as ratings change.

Choosing a home care agency in Pulborough and what to look for

A care plan on paper and a care plan as delivered are two different things, and the distance between them is where home care either works or quietly stops working. So the useful questions are about delivery rather than intention: who arrives, how often it is the same person, and what the agency does on the morning when somebody does not turn up at all.

Where the three providers stand on inspection

Angelica Care Mid Sussex and Caremark Horsham and Pulborough both hold a Good rating from the Care Quality Commission. Wanderlust Case Management Services has not yet been rated. An absent rating is not a warning in itself, but it does remove the evidence most families lean on, so the questions about staffing, training and complaints have to be asked face to face and the answers weighed on their own merits.

The questions worth putting plainly

Ask how many different carers a client typically sees over a fortnight, and whether the rota allows travel time between calls. Ask what happens when a carer rings in sick, how late a visit must be before the office contacts you, and who answers the telephone in the evening and at weekends. Ask who writes the care plan, how often it is reviewed and what would prompt a review sooner. Where there is no inspection report, ask what internal quality checks the agency runs and how it handles complaints.

Arranging and funding care in Pulborough

Starting with an assessment

Anyone who appears to need care and support is entitled to a free care needs assessment, whatever their savings, and it is the sensible first step even where a family expects to pay privately. It is arranged through the West Sussex County Council social care team, the body responsible for adult social care and funded support in this area, and it produces a written account of what the person needs and how much support that implies. A separate financial assessment then looks at capital and income, and asking for both at once saves considerable waiting.

Who pays

Above the national capital threshold, home care is funded privately and arranged directly with the agency. Below it the council contributes on a means tested basis, and support may be offered as a direct payment, which lets a person buy their own care rather than accept a commissioned arrangement. Continuing healthcare funding comes from the health service and follows its own separate route.

Cost in context

Home care is normally charged by the hour or by the visit, with rates differing according to the time of day, weekend cover and how complex the support is. No single local figure applies, so ask in writing what the rate covers, how short visits are charged and what notice is needed to alter a schedule. Confirm current rates and availability with each provider through its profile here.

Home Care near Pulborough

• Billingshurst
• Littlehampton
• Worthing