Personal assistants
If you are looking for a care worker or personal assistant (also known as a PA) to help you live independently at home, you may get one through our adult care department, a home care agency or you may choose to employ someone directly.
We are currently looking at putting together an approved personal assistants register so that you know it is safe to employ an individual.
Professional carers have a variety of skills - some have nursing and first aid qualifications and others may be home helps or personal assistants. Some examples of the type of tasks a carer might help with are:
cooking and cleaning
help with personal care like washing and using the toilet
driving or help with getting around
medical tasks like giving injections or changing a catheter
shopping, banking and paying bills
Your options for professional home care
There are three basic arrangements for getting a professional carer.
You may ask a care agency to find you a suitable carer. This means you have to find and pay the care agency, but you do not take on any responsibilities as an employer because the carer works for the agency.
You may also employ a carer directly. This option gives you more choice and control over who cares for you and what tasks they do, but it also means you have legal responsibilities as an employer.
You may have one provided directly by our adult care department, in which case everything is arranged for you.
Finding a carer through a home care agency
All home care agencies in England are regulated and inspected regularly by the Care Quality Commission. This guarantees certain minimum standards of service. Home care agencies must also conduct police checks on all employees who will be working with disabled people.
The websites of the Care Quality Commission (opens in a new window) and the United Kingdom Homecare Association (opens in a new window) both allow you to search for a home care agency in your local area. The Care Quality Commission website also contains inspection reports on individual home care agencies.
If you think you need care at home please contact Call Derbyshire to arrange an initial assessment: 08 456 058 058.
Getting started
The first step towards getting the care you need is usually a health and social care assessment which we will undertake. At the assessment a specialist will discuss your needs with you so that the right support can be provided.
If we agree that you need care at home, you can usually receive a direct payment. This means you can arrange and pay for your own care services instead of having them provided by the council.
Once you know how much your direct payments will be, you can work out how much to pay a carer and how many hours a week you would like them to work.
Your direct payments should meet your care needs, but if you want to use a more expensive care service or pay for extra hours, you can top them up yourself.
A week in the life of… video
You may be interested to see the social care video on our website about Ann Pridmore who employs PA's to assist her to live independently.