Are you looking for a care in your home? There are many care agencies that will provide your care however, it might be overwhelming to decide how to get started. For instance, you might be struggling to find a care agency, or not know where to start with reviewing them.

So, you’ve come to the right place to find out how you can get started. Here are our easy steps that you will want to follow to find a care agency. Follow these simple steps to get started.

1.     Decide what care you need

Care agencies can offer a range of services and different levels of support. Firstly, if you’re looking to arrange support in your home, it’s helpful to have a good idea of what you might want. For example, you might want to think about these questions.

Do you want companionship support? Or are there tasks in your home you’d like help with? In addition, are you looking for someone every day? Could it be that you need someone for just a few hours a week?

In summary, have a good idea of what you might need the carer to support you with if you can.

Secondly, working out what care you need and what your budget is before you get in touch with care providers is an important step.

Therefore, having an idea of what care you want and your budget is the most critical thing first off. But don’t worry if you are totally lost! Care providers should be able to guide you on what they think is best for you although having a think first is helpful.

 2.     Search for providers

Now you know what you’re looking for – it’s time to find the right provider for you. For example, a simple google search will bring up a list of providers, especially if you use the phrase ‘near me’ after your search. Of course, other search engines like Bing or Ecosia can help you too. However, whichever search engine you use, that isn’t the end. In other words, there are other places you can look too!

There are also some guides where care providers are listed, including the CQC website. Secondly, you may be able to find some guides to care providers in your local area too. Finally, you can check local magazines, as many care agencies will advertise there.

3.     Check their reviews and CQC rating

If you’ve done a google search for instance, it will bring up reviews of providers. This will help you get a real taste of what people who’ve used their services have said. Check these reviews for insight into how people have found them in the past.

In addition, reviews can also be really helpful in understanding what the care agency specialise in, if any. You might understand more about their specialisms through reading through others’ stories and experiences. In other words, these can really help you make the best pick!

However don’t be too concerned if you can’t find many – this isn’t necessarily an indication of the agency.

Similarly, if you’re a social media user, try reaching out to local people to see what their experiences are. This can be very helpful in understanding the full picture. Again, don’t be too concerned if other’s don’t have recommendations, but it’s definitely worth a try.

Along with this, all care agencies are registered. The CQC stands for Care Quality Commission, and they regulate home care agencies like Martlets Care. Each care agency has an inspection and a rating, so you’ll get a good idea about how good they are from this. You should expect most care agencies to receive at least a good rating.

 4.     Get in touch

So you’ve researched your agencies and decided which ones you’d like to explore. After that, our final step to find a care agency is to get in touch. It’s worth contacting one or two agencies for instance to see if there are able to provide care that meets your need.

If you live in Brighton and Hove or surrounding areas, we’d love to help. In other words, make sure you give us a call!

Finally, here are some helpful links to find out more

• Get started with Martlets Care
• Read Which’s guide to finding care