Healthwatch County Durham - Experiences of receiving support from Homecare services since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

About this survey

Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion for health and social care. Last year we asked the public to vote on the services that they thought Healthwatch County Durham should look at in more detail. Homecare services in County Durham was one of the priorities selected and we are pleased to be able to give service users an opportunity to share their views and experiences.

We are contacting you because you receive care and support in your own home and we would really like to hear from you and/or your family about the support you have received since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will include things like what has worked well and also if you think there is anything that could have been better, as well as finding out about how isolated you feel you have been. Any information you share with Healthwatch County Durham is confidential and will not be passed on.

Many thanks for your time.

Part One: About Your Care

Question Title

* 1. Who receives home care services?
(Please tick where appropriate)
(N.B. if you are completing this survey on behalf of someone else they shall be referred to as ‘your friend or relative.’)

Partner/Spouse

Other family member

Friend or neighbour

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. What are the agreed tasks your/your friend or relative’s care workers carry out?
(Please tick all that apply)

Helping to get out of bed

Help with using the toilet

Prompting medication

Help with laundry

Picking up prescriptions

Washing and dressing

Help with preparing food

Help with going to bed

Help with shopping

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. How often do the care workers visit? (e.g. 30 minutes, 4 times a day, every day of the week)

Minutes

Times per day

Which days

Question Title

* 4. Are you/your friend or relative visited by one or two carers per visit?
(Please select the most frequent)

One

Two

Part Two: About Your/Your Friend or Relative’s Experiences

Question Title

* 5. What is most important to you/your friend or relative about your home care?
From the following list please tick your/your friend or relative top three priorities (N.B. by carer we mean a paid carer and not a relative/friend)

Care visits are long enough to provide the care needed

Carers always come at the agreed time

Carers visit for the full time agreed

Carers are always punctual

The people who care for me are paid well and are happy with their work conditions

Seeing the same carer each time

Friendly care workers

Carer communication with relatives/friends/other carers

Carer communication with other groups ie social groups

I am involved in the development of the care plan

Flexibility of care plan

Cooking skills of carers

Visit times that suit your needs

Personal care skills of carers

Good communication with social worker/care provider ie the council/agency

Retaining independence

Job pride of carer

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 6. Thinking about the things you/your friend or relative thought were important in the last question, can you tell us how well the care you receive delivers those? (For example, if you chose “friendly care workers” as a priority, tell us whether your care workers are friendly.)

Question Title

* 7. Do you/your friend or relative’s care workers visit at or around the right time?

Always

Mostly

Sometimes

Never

Question Title

* 8. Do the care workers stay for the whole allocated time for calls?

Always

Mostly

Sometimes

Never

Question Title

* 9. If care workers don’t always do what is set out in the care plan, please tell us what they don’t do and why you/your friend or relative think this is?

Question Title

* 10. If something happened and you/your friend or relative needed to change your arrangements would your social worker or agency be flexible?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Never

Question Title

* 11. Are you kept informed by your/your friend or relative’s home care agency about changes in your care? For example your visit will be late or you’ll have a different carer?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Never

Question Title

* 12. Do you feel care staff have enough time to consistently complete all the tasks on your/your friend or relative’s care plan?

Always

Mostly

Sometimes

Never

Question Title

* 13. Do you think the carers have enough training to meet your/your friend or relative’s needs?

Always

Mostly

Sometimes

Never

Any comments

Question Title

* 14. If you had a problem, do you/your friend or relative know how to contact the home care agency?

	Yes	No
During Office Hours	During Office Hours Yes	During Office Hours No
Out of hours	Out of hours Yes	Out of hours No

Question Title

* 15. Do you feel your/your friend or relative’s care workers are competent when operating the equipment in your home? (For example hoist, electric bed, medication safe, cooker/microwave)

Yes

Some equipment

Not applicable

Question Title

* 16. Do you feel your/your friend or relative’s care workers wear the right protective equipment to keep you safe (For example facemask, gloves and aprons)

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Never

Don't know

Question Title

* 17. If you/your friend or relative have any cultural or religious needs, do you feel that these are understood?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Never

Don't know

I don't have any of these specific needs

Question Title

* 18. Overall, how satisfied are you/your friend or relative with the care provided by the home care agency?

Very satisfied

Satisfied

Dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Question Title

* 19. Overall, how does the home care you/your friend or relative receive make you feel? (i.e. Safe, more independent)

Question Title

* 20. Can you/your friend or relative suggest any ideas for improvement?
(We would welcome any ideas you have to improve the service so that it meets your needs and preferences and enables you/your friend or relative to live more independently.)

Question Title

* 21. If you could improve one thing about the care you receive what would that be?
(This may include comments on the service received, feedback about care workers, attitude, and communication, how the service enables you/your friend or relative to live more independently etc.)

Question Title

* 22. What is the best thing about the care you receive?

Question Title

* 23. Can you tell us if there was a way of delivering support that did not have such a focus on the time the care worker spends with you/your friend or relative for each visit, instead giving more flexibility to tailor your support while still getting the important tasks done, do you think you would find this?

Better

Worse

Don't know

Question Title

* 24. Can you tell us if you/your friend or relative have experienced more loneliness and isolation since the start of the pandemic? We would like to know how you have managed and if you have received help from any friends/neighbours/organisations to keep in touch and have someone to chat to:

Part 3 - About you:

This information will not be used to identify you, but it is very useful to help us monitor who we have spoken to and see if different groups of people have different views or experiences.

We don't need your name, just some basic details. If you are answering on behalf of someone else, fill in the answers that apply to them, not yourself.

These questions are voluntary but they can help us check whether things such as age, gender or ethnicity can affect people's experiences.

Question Title

* 25. Please tell us the first half of your postcode (or the person you care for), e.g. DH1:

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 26. What is your age?

Under 18

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Prefer not to say

Question Title

* 27. What gender do you identify as?

Woman

Man

Prefer not to say

Other (please describe)

Question Title

* 28. What is your ethnicity?

White British

Any other White

Mixed

Indian

Pakistani

Black Caribbean

Black African

Chinese

Prefer not to say

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 29. Do you have a disability?

Yes

Prefer not to say

Thank you for completing this survey!

You can sign up to our regular e-newsletter for the latest updates on our survey findings by emailing healthwatchcountydurham@pcp.uk.net and asking to be put on our mailing list.

If you want to give more detailed feedback you can speak confidentially to a Healthwatch County Durham staff member. Email healthwatchcountydurham@pcp.uk.net, giving your name and number and we will call you back.

Healthwatch County Durham - Experiences of receiving support from Homecare services since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

About this survey

Question Title

* 1. Who receives home care services?(Please tick where appropriate)(N.B. if you are completing this survey on behalf of someone else they shall be referred to as ‘your friend or relative.’)

Question Title

* 2. What are the agreed tasks your/your friend or relative’s care workers carry out?(Please tick all that apply)

Question Title

* 3. How often do the care workers visit? (e.g. 30 minutes, 4 times a day, every day of the week)

Question Title

* 4. Are you/your friend or relative visited by one or two carers per visit?(Please select the most frequent)

Question Title

* 5. What is most important to you/your friend or relative about your home care?From the following list please tick your/your friend or relative top three priorities (N.B. by carer we mean a paid carer and not a relative/friend)

Question Title

* 6. Thinking about the things you/your friend or relative thought were important in the last question, can you tell us how well the care you receive delivers those? (For example, if you chose “friendly care workers” as a priority, tell us whether your care workers are friendly.)

Question Title

* 7. Do you/your friend or relative’s care workers visit at or around the right time?

Question Title

* 8. Do the care workers stay for the whole allocated time for calls?

Question Title

* 9. If care workers don’t always do what is set out in the care plan, please tell us what they don’t do and why you/your friend or relative think this is?

Question Title

* 10. If something happened and you/your friend or relative needed to change your arrangements would your social worker or agency be flexible?

Question Title

* 11. Are you kept informed by your/your friend or relative’s home care agency about changes in your care? For example your visit will be late or you’ll have a different carer?

Question Title

* 12. Do you feel care staff have enough time to consistently complete all the tasks on your/your friend or relative’s care plan?

Question Title

* 13. Do you think the carers have enough training to meet your/your friend or relative’s needs?

Question Title

* 14. If you had a problem, do you/your friend or relative know how to contact the home care agency?

Question Title

* 15. Do you feel your/your friend or relative’s care workers are competent when operating the equipment in your home? (For example hoist, electric bed, medication safe, cooker/microwave)

Question Title

* 16. Do you feel your/your friend or relative’s care workers wear the right protective equipment to keep you safe (For example facemask, gloves and aprons)

Question Title

* 17. If you/your friend or relative have any cultural or religious needs, do you feel that these are understood?

Question Title

* 18. Overall, how satisfied are you/your friend or relative with the care provided by the home care agency?

Question Title

* 19. Overall, how does the home care you/your friend or relative receive make you feel? (i.e. Safe, more independent)

Question Title

* 20. Can you/your friend or relative suggest any ideas for improvement?(We would welcome any ideas you have to improve the service so that it meets your needs and preferences and enables you/your friend or relative to live more independently.)

Question Title

* 21. If you could improve one thing about the care you receive what would that be? (This may include comments on the service received, feedback about care workers, attitude, and communication, how the service enables you/your friend or relative to live more independently etc.)

Question Title

* 22. What is the best thing about the care you receive?

Question Title

Question Title

* 24. Can you tell us if you/your friend or relative have experienced more loneliness and isolation since the start of the pandemic? We would like to know how you have managed and if you have received help from any friends/neighbours/organisations to keep in touch and have someone to chat to:

Question Title

* 25. Please tell us the first half of your postcode (or the person you care for), e.g. DH1:

Question Title

* 26. What is your age?

Question Title

* 27. What gender do you identify as?

Question Title

* 28. What is your ethnicity?

Question Title

* 29. Do you have a disability?

* 1. Who receives home care services?
(Please tick where appropriate)
(N.B. if you are completing this survey on behalf of someone else they shall be referred to as ‘your friend or relative.’)

* 2. What are the agreed tasks your/your friend or relative’s care workers carry out?
(Please tick all that apply)

* 4. Are you/your friend or relative visited by one or two carers per visit?
(Please select the most frequent)

* 5. What is most important to you/your friend or relative about your home care?
From the following list please tick your/your friend or relative top three priorities (N.B. by carer we mean a paid carer and not a relative/friend)

* 20. Can you/your friend or relative suggest any ideas for improvement?
(We would welcome any ideas you have to improve the service so that it meets your needs and preferences and enables you/your friend or relative to live more independently.)

* 21. If you could improve one thing about the care you receive what would that be?
(This may include comments on the service received, feedback about care workers, attitude, and communication, how the service enables you/your friend or relative to live more independently etc.)