Live In Care survey

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This survey informed the Council’s strategy for commissioning Live In Care for adults in Hampshire. Live In Care is a type of care provided to individuals with assessed care needs. It is provided by a carer who lives in the individual's home for up to four weeks

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Hampshire Perspectives is the County Council's residents' forum

This report summarises key findings from the 35th Hampshire Perspectives survey.

It aimed to provide insight on what service users and other stakeholders understood about Live In Care, the benefits it provides, and any suggestions on how the service could improve. 474 respondents shared their views.

Key findings were as follows:

People who have experienced Live In Care generally had positive things to say about it

The majority of those with experience of Live In Care reported it was of a high quality, commonly mentioning the personal qualities of the carer when explaining their views.

Care was reported as being provided professionally, supporting individuals’ friends and families, and making individuals feel safe.

In contrast, on the whole people felt that services were not easy to access, that it was challenging for individuals to share their home with a carer, and that carers’ breaks were not handled as well as they could have been.

Maintaining independence was seen as the most important function of Live In Care

Independence, reducing strain on individuals’ friends and families, and helping maintain hygiene were seen as the key benefits of Live In Care, while security, social contact, confidence and healthy dietary habits were seen as lesser advantages.

There was not comprehensive awareness of the Service amongst those who had not experienced it

About half of those who had no experience of Live In Care were aware of its existence before taking the survey, with indications that neurodiverse people were less aware of the service while those from ethnic minority groups indicated greater awareness.

Healthcare services would be the first place people would go for information on Live In Care

GPs would be the way most people would seek information on, or access to, Live In Care, and a third would not know who to contact, with only around a quarter of respondents indicating they would approach their local Council in the first instance.

Concerns around Live In Care related most frequently to trust and security

Concerns around Live In Care arrangements amongst those without prior experience most commonly related to trust and security issues, with concerns about the relationship with the carer also mentioned frequently.

When respondents were given the opportunity to provide general comments, service costs and charges were mentioned frequently, as were the benefits of the service, particularly in relation to reducing the burden on individuals’ support networks.