How to find a carer

[akissbeforebed]

My MIL now needs a carer to look in on her two or three times a week. At the moment my BIL is dropping in daily and it's just about done him in. We can't help as much as we'd like as we're 250 miles away.

My question is, how do we find a good carer, particularly from such a distance? Obviously BIL is there to meet them but we really want to take some of the pressure off him so if I can find an agency that would be great. But how do I know if it's any good? There must be some sort of register?

As you can tell, we're very new at this.

Speak to Age UK for recommendations. Yes all agencies are inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and their reports are on their website.
I assume she will be paying privately so if you can find an agency that only does private work you won't be subsidising their social services clients. SS contracts do not pay well and have stringent targets so their rates for private pay clients are much higher to make up for the SS shortfall. They don't have the same performance targets to meet so private pay can be pushed down the list in terms of visit times.
Make sure you choose an agency that has a family and friends app so you can check up what time the carer arrived, how long they stayed for and what they did whilst there.

I would start with the local Age Uk. Each one varies but if they offer carers, they do the initial interviewing, DBS checks etc and most important of all, generally offer continuity and will find a replacement if usual carer is away.. in some areas , Age Uk employ them so you pay Age Uk, or sometimes you employ them directly. It’s very varied but maybe a starting point

We discovered that my DM actually knew the best agencies due to having slightly older friends who were already using them.

Try the website Curam. It takes a bit of practice to read between the lines and work out your absolute requirements but it works well

Thank you - I've contacted Age UK for her area so that's a start.

I found mine for my DP by asking around their neighbours. I found two good ones, one through an agency and one (much cheaper) self employed.

We used "Home Instead" for a visitor to see my dad. He liked her and I thought they were excellent but he felt he was too busy to see her and couldn't cope with the chatter. We did it for companionship but it wasn't right for him. However I'd use them again in a heartbeat if he needed care.