Helping Hands agency: are they genuinely good?

[Liliee]

I've had such bad experiences with agencies providing live-in carers, but am now needing to look again. Helping Hands have excellent reviews on Trustpilot. Harder to tell on google reviews as they are separated by branch.

Taking into account that some reviews are fake, I still find this surprising for such a tricky sector.

Can anyone share their experience? Or recommend another agency? I would prefer to avoid agencies, but that brings its own problems.

Many thanks

We dealt with the Amersham branch and weren't impressed. They decided what time they would come, not the time we wanted. Didn't check when MiL told them she'd had her meds and sent male carers for personal care when we specified female only.

Same here as pp. They promise a lot and deliver very little.

I used Home Instead for my mother for two years and they were brilliant. The Manager was so kind, capable and genuinely caring, she quickly solved any issue I went to her with. She always went the extra mile to ensure we were happy.

Of course it probably depends on the branch. They get a mixture of very good and very poor reviews on Trustpilot - I honestly don't recognise anything said in the poor reviews, and I do think sometimes people have unrealistic expectations of what can be provided. I have nothing but good to say about them.

Hmm, how are Helping Hands getting almost zero critical reviews? It just doesn't smell right.

Appreciate you had a positive experience with Home Instead, @catofglory, but I wouldn't go near them with that review breakdown.

My parents are using Helping Hands, I may be wrong but I think it's a sort of franchise thing and so I imagine branches may vary. Our experience so far is good, my mum is only having a couple of visits a week for extra support but the carers she has have been fantastic. Once the needs ramp up (as is likely) we'll see how things go but I am quite optimistic. I didn't look at reviews but I phoned a few agencies and HH were the most responsive and confidence inspiring.

They're popular where I am. Too expensive for the LA to fund so only self-funders use them. All positive feedback.

All the companies/agencies will be different as most are individual franchises .. some will be good, some not
I would suggest the best thing to do is contact a few and get them round to talk to you so you can get a feel for how they are run.

My mum has Right at Home and is very happy with them.

As everyone has said, it depends entirely on the branch (and your expectations). You will get as many differing opinions on here as you do on Trustpilot.

I didn't read reviews, I rang and spoke to the manager who was very helpful so I arranged to meet her at my mother's house. My mother liked her and she said all the right things. That is the only way to make a decision - pick three agencies, meet them and see what you think.

Last time around I spoke to and met agencies, @Munchyseeds2

Pleasant, friendly, reassuring managers/care coordinators. Nevertheless, the first two carers sent were categorically unsafe. Next one was OK but came back from her break very drunk a couple of times. Next was very good but also drank heavily some evenings.

That's why I'm also looking at reviews this time.

The Trustpilot reviews for Helping Hands aren't varied, they're overwhelmingly positive, @catofglory. Seems almost too good to be true, hence this thread

used them for live-in care a few years ago. I would definitely plan surprise visits every so often and would check their room from time-to-time if they're live-in (ours trashed the room and en suite). All of them provided safe care, but were very variable in how much they engaged otherwise. One was frankly bonkers!

Thanks for all the perspectives.

My late mum used them and was quite happy. We use them for my DH who had a stroke last year and now needs extra support. We’ve been quite satisfied so far. DH doesn’t need personal care but does need support to do things such as go for a walk/shops/make a meal. We have a couple of hours support a week to take some pressure off me. The support workers mostly seem cheerful, personable and happy to be sociable. I’ve found they do need a nudge to remind DH about his meds and so on, otherwise fine.

We used HH. Infighting amongst office staff and poor quality care made us end contract.
Trustpilot reviews are probably result of their IT investment. They had complicated admin systems that took time away from the client while copious unnecessary notes were made.
HH talked of taking new staff away on five day training/selection course. I found their selection process really poor. I could go on, they were very unpleasant to deal with.

If you are in London I can recommend Angela Hamlin Nursing and Care. Exceptionally well run agency.

Thanks. Can I ask a bit more about how this works, @spotddog? "Trustpilot reviews are probably result of their IT investment."

Not in London unfortunately. Shropshire.

I'm not an expert but IT can be set to all sorts of things. Some companies engage people to do good reviews. That's why reviewers are sometimes asked if they received a sample.
But I'm sure there's ways around that too.

Home Care Instead are franchised. Every document issued has a disclaimer. I could not find anyone to lodge a complaint about the branch who provided care.

You'll find that only people who have had carers tell you the truth. Most people have no idea of how bad care can be.

Don't get taken by nice uniforms, it's the quality of recruitment / training that counts. We had people who had received no training. Didn't even know how to complete company daily report sheets.

Listen, look, watch and pay attention to your gut instinct. If you can, make spot checks. Ask around. Elderly people will tell you of experience they or friends had. Hope you find someone kind and caring.

Can recommend MyHomeTouch.com. Used them for three different relatives over a number of years. They don't have local offices. They are internet/phone based for the office, but I have had good relationships with the Managers who have managed the carers and have been v impressed with the quality of carers.

Thanks, @spotddog. You sound like I felt after dealing with Featherbed Carers and Berkeley Home Health. Put dad in danger.

Thanks, @Notquitegrownup2, that's looks a possible.

I used Helping Hands for live in care and also for additional hourly care when needed. I found them very good overall. We had one carer for more than two years. Management were helpful and training seemed good. Of course it depends on the franchise but this involved a move and two very different regions. Hope that helps.

As somebody who worked in the industry for years at senior level, The Good Care Group or Consultus for Live-In care are the only two I'd use. The others are mainly franchises and can be very hit and miss. Friend had excellent carers from Home Instead in West London but the back office admin was a nightmare.

Take Google reviews with a pinch of salt and read their CQC reports for a specific branch in your area if going with HH or any other franchise.

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Used both them and Home Instead. Both fine. Very few carers available for what we needed (live in), so the guff about matching clients to carers was pure fantasy, but it worked ok.

I use Helping Hands for my mum's care. She needs 4x visits per day after being ill & in hospital - the NHS recuperation package ended and my mum was just left. HH were the most responsive when I spoke with them (I don't live near my mum). I would say they have mostly been good. Some carers are excellent. Some just ok. Office very responsive when I need to cancel a rota slot because I will be there etc.

My mum is happier when we get the same people coming in but of course that doesn't always happen. Interesting chatting to the staff when I am there to see what they have to say about the office staff. I think they have issues around recruitment but we are in mid- Cambridgeshire so that could be the location. So far we are on month 6 now.