How do I choose a carer?
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Elder tips
Once you’ve started to review profiles of suitable carers in your MyElder account, you can –
- Chat to carers to understand if they’re a good fit
- ‘Lock’ in a carer you’re interested in, this means they won’t be visible to other families while you’re reaching your decision. Once you’ve decided your locked carer is the right fit, don’t forget to ‘accept’ them.
- Accept a carer straight away if you’re confident they’re the right person for you.
However, choosing a carer is a big decision – there can be a lot of detail in their profiles to weigh up, and it’s not always easy to agree if you’re doing it as a family.
Here’s some tips for choosing your carer.
Create a wish list of ‘must haves’
Together with your loved one, work out what you are looking for and set out a list of must haves, nice to haves, and deal breakers. Your loved one may be looking for different qualities and you may be surprised at how they would rank the skills and abilities that you value.
Think about personality traits and interests
This is especially important for live-in care. Your carer will be with your loved one 24/7 so shared interests, hobbies and experiences can provide some common ground for a good relationship to flourish.
Carefully review carer profiles and videos together
Looking at potential carers together will help flag any difference of opinion, and could help you think about factors you’d not considered before.
Don’t judge a book by its cover
It can be easy to dismiss a carer because their profile photo isn’t the best quality, or if they’re not naturally confident in front of the camera, but they might have the ideal skills and personality you’re looking for. In these instances, starting a chat with them can be a great way of getting to know them better.
Remember, nothing is set in stone
If things don’t work out the way you expected, there will always be a more suitable carer out there. If you decide your carer isn’t quite the fit you thought they’d be, you can look for an alternative carer at no additional cost, and we can start matching you with new carers in under 24 hours.