How your support package will be developed

If you are buying paid care support at home, your support provider should be willing to spend time getting to know you, to find out about your needs and wishes and what is important to you, your family and the person you care for.

What should I look for?

• Ask the care support provider how they will approach getting to know you and how they will involve you.
• They should develop a person centred plan, which details what you, your family and the person you care for want to achieve.
• You should receive a contract that sets out what support you will get and when.
• A decision making agreement should also be developed which clarifies who needs to be involved in decisions about making changes to the support received.
• Some of the things you might want to check include asking what happens about holiday arrangements both for the care support worker providing support, and also the person being supported, as well as what happens when you need a break from caring. For example, you might want to choose another care support worker for when your usual support worker is on holiday. Or you might want to wait until they get back and perhaps get support from a friend or family member in the meantime. Make sure you discuss this when you are drawing up the contract with the care support provider.

Getting help at home

Find out more about getting help from paid care support workers at home.