Helping Hands Home Care - Head Office

Avoid. Some fab carers but others lack experience and expertise. Worst of all though is the management who have no interest in managing their service. No care or attention to detail. Even when problems were highlighted they showed no interest in understanding or addressing them. The only thing they do consistently is collect your money.

Totally incapable of finding suitable live-in carers. Promise everything but deliver nothing. Management are terrible, never respond to emails. Obviously rely on clients either incapable or unwilling to complain. Avoid

I used Helping Hands Live-in care service for my client with learning difficulties. He needed support at home and although he had a very structured routine needed help with practical things such as shopping and cooking. He also had epilepsy which needed to be monitored. The live-in carer was able to provide the necessary support whilst allowing my client maximum independence. The carer was very observant and developed links with the local community alongside my client.
We had an issue with the first live-in carer sent to work with my client. This was resolved and the new carer was excellent.

Helping Hands were appointed to provide live in care for my brother. They were brilliant. We had one main carer who initially started as a holiday relief carer. They were very good, patient with my brother, helpful, friendly and efficient. They made sure that he attended all his appointments etc. When we had problem the office dealt with it straight away.

When we need live in care again we will certainly use Helping Hands!

Rely on the company for live in care and hourly paid staff. Some of the staff are fantastic, but don't expect to have them for very long they are used only as trouble shooters and to make you feel safe again.

The majority of carers are not trained and have no idea how to run a home let alone look after a person with medical needs.

If you dare complain you are advised they are short on staff and your needs are difficult to manage. The care management may visit but they will promise to sort things but three months have passed and we are still in the same position, having had yet another bad experience with a live in carer.

If you are family or a friend I suggest you keep a close eye on the care your love one is getting, as they are often to frightened of the consequences should they need to complain. Hopefully you will get one of the good ones, which we have at the moment, but it wont be long before they are removed another untrained person arrives.

Mum (83 with Alzheimer’s) & Dad (85 frail with poor mobility) needed more care than the 3 visits per day by a variety of agency ladies. A local manager visited Mum & Dad at home & collected all the relevant information. In my opinion it is very important at this stage to give HH as much information as possible about the prospective “client(s)” so that all their likes & dislikes as well as their needs & medication are recorded.

In addition we specified that the carer must have previous dementia experience, speak clearly (Dad has very poor hearing) & be of a sunny, friendly disposition with a great sense of humour. HH identified a fabulous carer who came for an initial 5 day period which we extended to a fortnight & have now made long term.

The carer very quickly settled in & is wonderful with Mum & Dad. The carer is very professional, identifying things that need to be done (above the normal day to day living) & arranging for them to happen. A few examples being: Arranging for an incontinence nurse to visit; Identifying when urine samples are needed & taking them; Calling the district nurse to check on sores; Being present for Doctors; Opticians; Gardeners; Cleaners; Window Cleaner & accompanying Mum to a local dementia club.

The carer has fitted in so well that they came with us all to a family wedding; accompanies us on weekly outings for Sunday lunch etc. I stay every few weeks for a few days, so I’ve seen the interaction first hand over a period of time.

Our main carer was with us for approx. 10 weeks before they had a week’s break. A suitable replacement was identified (their CV sent to us beforehand) & both carers performed a 24 hour hand over to ensure a smooth transition & continuity. The relief carer was also tip top.

I’ve had contact with the local & regional managers, invoice dept. & other staff & have found them all professional, friendly & willing to help. They return calls quickly & do what they say they’re going to do.

Whilst the care is not cheap (as with all care) we consider it great value for money, especially when the care is for a couple. We did a good amount of research into employing our own carers locally with plenty of advice from the LA. We found that the cost was going to be considerably higher, that we would have had to employ several carers to achieve the almost 24 hour cover & would have had to deal with a certain amount of admin.

The family still have a lot of input (by choice). I call every morning (from 330 miles away) & my sister visits daily. We are in contact via social media daily with the carer & work as a team to provide Mum & Dad with the best care & quality of life that we can all manage.

With Alzheimer’s being in the equation, there are obviously times of stress for us all (Mum & Dad, family and carer) & I think it is important to remember that no matter how good the carer is they do need support from as many people as possible to make things work smoothly, ensuring the welfare of the carer too.

When my father was first diagnosed with cancer, we were still grieving the loss of my sister (also to cancer 6 months earlier). My fathers was a strong man and we were shocked, when, after a check up for back pain, he was given just three weeks to live.
When the carer came to us, my father was against it - but because my father was unable to stand at all, we knew that we wouldn't cope alone. He reluctantly agreed to a one weeks trial.

The carer arrive promptly, and it was soon apparent that they were more than capable, and dealt with a precession of doctors, carers, district nurses, the carer coordinated with them all, and liaised with each of them to get the very best for my dad.
At this point, we were all overwhelmed, with grief, with shock, with exhaustion!
The carer took all of this in their stride, and took an enormous weight off our shoulders. Allowing us to concentrate on just spending time with dad, and had proven their worth a thousand times over.
But this is not why we kept the carer, after that first week, it was quite simply because;
I never really believed that anyone could look after my dad in the way I would, the kind of care that comes with truly loving someone. I was wrong.
The carers compassion and kindness shone through, as the days went by, we saw my fathers respect for them grow, (dad always appreciated hard work.)
When dad passed on (peacefully) we all wept, the carer did too, quietly in the background. Giving us the space we needed, but still there to support us.
I can truly say, that having the carer help us care for our father was the best decision I have ever made. We will be forever grateful.

We had three carers for my disabled sister (age 54) over a period of three months. We had to arrange this at very short notice and Helping Hands were very professional and quick in their response to us. We thus put the first carer in place very quickly. This did not really work out quite as we expected and after two weeks she was replaced by mutual consent. We had approached Helping hands to express our concerns about performance, but I feel they, and the carer knew by then that this was not a good fit. I think there were a mis match of skills and expectations on both sides. The work was not challenging, indeed could be described as mundane, with the focus being reassurance and running a home.

The next two carers we had were excellent and took us through the remaining two and one half months. There was a change part way through due to a pre-arrranged holiday, but we would re-use either of these two carers. I feel there was learning from Helping Hands about what worked in this situation and the type of person needed and this led to a successful outcome. The handovers were done efficiently and effectively and we were very satisfied.

I did find it difficult to really assess the potential carers from the briefs provided and you have to rely on "feel" to some extent in the initial stages. The descriptions are not as helpful as meeting and experiencing the person obviously.

I would certainly have no hesitation in approaching Helping Hands if we need such assistance again.

We have used Helping Hands for live in care for our father who suffers from advanced Alzheimer's for the last 18 months. This has enabled us to keep our father in his own home. Unfortunately due to his deteriating health he now needs the support of a nursing home, however I can not speak highly enough of the company. From the support of the office, carers and area managers we have always felt that our fathers care is paramount. Any issues have always been dealt with promptly with understanding and compassion. Although a national company the regional offices ensure a personal touch and familiarity which is reassuring when dealing with the care of a loved one. Our permanent carer and relief carers have given our father a high level of care and have shown a caring, empathic yet professional attitude throughout. We have been very satisfied with Helping Hands and would happily recommend this company as an alternative to residential homes

Helping Hands and the team in Nottingham, have been a fantastic support for my mum and her family. Many, many thanks. I thoroughly recommend their professional and caring approach.