Home care
Fourteen questions to ask a home care agency before you sign
The questions that separate agencies, ordered by how much the answer tends to matter.
The short version
- Caregiver consistency predicts satisfaction better than price does.
- Ask what happens when the regular caregiver is sick — every agency has an answer, and they differ enormously.
- Get the cancellation policy and the holiday rate in writing.
- Ask to meet the caregiver before the first paid shift.
About the caregiver
1. Will the same caregiver come every time, and will you name them in the agreement? 2. Who covers when they are ill, and will I meet that person first? 3. What training do they have for my parent's specific condition? 4. What languages do they speak, and can you guarantee that on every shift? 5. Can I meet them before the first paid visit?
About the money
6. What is the minimum visit length? 7. What are the evening, weekend and statutory holiday rates? 8. Is travel or mileage billed? 9. What is the cancellation window and what is charged inside it? 10. Is there an assessment or registration fee? 11. How and when am I invoiced, and do the invoices itemise hours?
About what happens when things go wrong
12. What is the process if a caregiver does not arrive? 13. Who do I call at 9pm on a Saturday, and is it a person or an answering service? 14. How do you handle a complaint about a caregiver, and can you give me an example?
The last question is the most informative one on the list. An agency that has a real example, told plainly, is a different organisation from one that says it has never had a complaint.
Want the numbers for your own situation?
The cost calculator uses the published rate cards on this site, not national averages.