iHomeCare offers support and assistance to individuals who require help with their daily activities or healthcare needs while remaining in the comfort of their own home. It is a valuable option for individuals who may have difficulty performing tasks independently due to aging, illness, disability, hospitalisation or other circumstances.
Support we offer:
Personal Care: This includes assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and mobility.
Medication Management: Caregivers can help individuals with medication reminders, ensuring that they take their prescribed medications at the right times and in the correct dosages.
Meal Preparation: Caregivers can prepare nutritious meals, taking into consideration any dietary restrictions or preferences of the individual.
Companionship: Loneliness and social isolation can be significant issues, especially for seniors. Caregivers provide companionship and engage in activities that promote mental and emotional well-being.
Household Chores: Assistance with light housekeeping tasks like cleaning, laundry, and food shopping can be part of iHomeCare services.
Transportation: Some individuals may need help with transportation to medical appointments, shops, or other essential outings.
Medical Care: We have a range of skilled healthcare professionals, such as nurses, pyysiotherpaists occupational therapists (OT), who can provide medical care at home, including wound care, physical therapy, and administering medical treatments.
Respite Care: This type of care offers relief for family caregivers, allowing them to take a break while a professional caregiver takes over temporarily.
Specialized Care: Some individuals may require specialized care for conditions like Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or terminal illness. Specialized caregivers are trained to address the unique needs of these individuals.
Hospice Care: For individuals with a terminal illness, hospice care can be provided at home to ensure comfort and support during the end-of-life stages.
iHomeCare offers several advantages, including the ability for individuals to maintain their independence, stay in a familiar environment, and receive personalized care tailored to their specific needs. It can be a more cost-effective and preferred alternative to institutional care, such as nursing homes or assisted living facilities, for many people. The level of care and services provided can vary depending on the individual's needs and the caregiver agency or organization providing the services.
Nursing
Nursing care is for people who need a qualified nursing care team available to them 24 hours a day. That might, for example, include people who need intensive rehabilitative care (like people who have suffered a stroke), people who need peg feeding, people with physical disabilities and people with long-term conditions.
Our approach to nursing care is based on the use of personalised care plans. Drawn up with the individuals we support and their families, our care plans will help ensure that each person we look after is treated with respect and that their independence and choices are maximised.
Domiciliary Care
Domiciliary care is provided to people who still live in their own homes but who require additional support with household tasks, personal care or any other activity that allows them to maintain their independence and quality of life.
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Complex and Continuing Health Care
Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is a package of care that is funded by the NHS for people who need long-term care because of a disability, accident or illness. There is a national process for deciding who is eligible for CHC.
Are you feeling breathless?
Breathing well is the foundation of health and movement
What is Respiratory Physiotherapy?
Respiratory Physiotherapy is physiotherapy for those with breathing problems.
​As respiratory physiotherapists, we understand that being able to breathe properly is a vital component of your health, well-being, and your ability to be active and enjoy life.
What conditions can Physiotherapy help with?
Long Covid
Breathing Pattern Disorders (BPD)
COPD
Hyperventilation Syndrome
Bronchiectasis
Recovery post heart or lung surgery
Asthma
Recovery post infection such as COVID-19 or pneumonia
Pulmonary Fibrosis
Recurrent chest infections
Cystic Fibrosis
Cough hypersensitivity
Neuromuscular conditions
Our Commitment to you
We will help improve your quality of life by:
Long Covid
Reducing your levels of breathlessness
Increasing your physical activity, stamina, endurance, and general exercise tolerance
Optimising the way you breathe
Providing you with tools and confidence to be able to self-manage your condition
Keeping your lungs clear of secretions
Reducing any anxiety
Occupational Therapy
Assessment
Assessments are a vital stage of the occupational therapy process; they provide the therapists with a tool to gather important information regarding your abilities and difficulties regarding activities of daily living. Our occupational therapist can complete assessments in the appropriate setting for you, including; work, home or in one of our clinics.
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Report
​Our occupational therapists write reports for a number of reasons, including; a second opinion, to summarise the completion of specific assessments and we also produce reports for case managers and solicitors. All of our reports are outcome based and demonstrate any change in functional ability in activities of daily living.
Hospital to Home
iHomeCare aims to deliver the highest standards of care to patients both in the NHS and private sector. We provide registered doctors, paramedics, nurses, pharmacists ,physiotherapists, occupational therapists and ambulance technicians
We provide world class medical professionals skilled in moving patients and providing medical staff for your requirements.
What is home care?
Home care is a range of support and care services provided to people in their own homes. It is typically aimed at elderly people, those with disabilities, and people recovering from illness or surgery.
You may have to consider home care if you are finding it difficult to cope with daily routines, such as taking care of your own personal hygiene, getting dressed or getting out independently, or if you do not wish to move into a care home but you need additional help in order to remain living in your own home. Having home care in place should generally improve your quality of life on a day-to-day basis.
iHomeCare can cover a wide range of help at home, including:
Personal Care- This can include assistance with tasks like getting out of bed in the morning, bathing, dressing and toileting.
Help with medication- This can include help with administering medicine or simply reminders to take it.
Meal preparation – This can include planning and cooking meals tailored to specific dietary needs and preferences.
Emotional support and companionship – This can include participation in social activities, providing emotional support and someone to talk to.
Help with household chores – This can include cleaning, laundry, shopping and other household tasks.
Assistance with mobility issues – This can include assistance with mobility and transfers, using mobility aids if necessary.
Support for people to be as active as possible – This will depend on the capabilities of the individual receiving the care.
Health monitoring – This can include observing and reporting any changes in health or well-being.
Respite care – This can help to give family carers a break for a short period of time.
End-of-life care – This can include any type of help or care needed when someone has a terminal illness.
If you are requiring care within your home in the short term, this is known as reablement. Reablement usually involves a group of care workers from different sectors who provide different approaches and support within your own home. The reablement services that are available for different individuals can vary, depending on your condition. They are usually offered at the appropriate level needed in order to increase independence, so that people do not become dependent upon the support given to them. Reablement is usually needed as a result of an illness or injury and most reablement programmes last between two and six weeks. The NHS only provides a maximum of six funded weeks of reablement, after which, adult social services and private services are responsible for providing other care options.
Who may need home care?
Home care can be beneficial for people who require extra care in order for them to be able to remain living in their own homes. This can include:
• The elderly.
• Post-surgery patients.
• People with disabilities.
• People with a chronic health condition.
• People with an advanced, progressive illness. This is also known as palliative care.
• People with a terminal illness and those requiring end-of-life care.
How is the transition from hospital to home care done?
A successful discharge means a patient being ready to leave hospital and be able to safely manage their condition at home. Discharge from hospital to home requires the successful transfer of information from medical professionals to the patient and family in order to reduce adverse events and prevent unnecessary readmissions. Patients and families need to be part of the discharge planning process as this is found to make the transition in care safe and effective.
The patient and family members should be prepared as much as is possible for what life at home will be like, they should have an understanding of their condition and any medication requirements, understand how to spot warning signs and problems and have the dates of any follow-up appointments.
Registered managers and their teams have an important role to play as part of the community-based team supporting people transferring in and out of hospital. They should think about who might be at risk of hospital admission and support them to make a care plan in the event that this happens. They should be familiar with the hospital discharge planning protocols and processes. The care team should have all the information they need about the person. This might include any medication they are on, care plans, including any preferred routines, and advance care plans, communication and accessibility needs, family, including carers and next of kin, and any housing issues.
Good communication between professionals is vital and can prevent:
• Avoidable hospital readmissions.
• Unnecessary admissions to care homes.
• Care and support needs remaining unmet.
• Delayed transfers of care.
The discharge coordinator at the hospital is responsible for:
• Agreeing a discharge plan with the person and the community-based team.
• Arranging follow-up care and any specialist equipment and support that may
be needed.
• Agreeing the plan for ongoing treatment and support with the community team and maintaining regular contact with them.
A copy of the discharge plan should be given to the patient and family and also the team responsible for providing the home care. A discharge plan sets out the kind of care the patient will need after they leave the hospital. Discharge plans can help to prevent future readmissions, and they should make the move from the hospital to home or another facility as smooth and as safe as possible.
The discharge coordinator at the hospital is responsible for:
• Information about the person’s condition.
• Information about medication.
• Contact information for after they have been discharged.
• Arrangements for social and health care support, including family support.
• Information and contact details of other useful services.
People who need end-of-life care or who have complex needs should have the details of who to contact in case any problems with medicines or equipment occur within 24 hours of discharge.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard on end-of-life care for adults says that “people approaching the end of life should receive consistent care that is coordinated effectively across all relevant settings and services at any time of day or night. This should be delivered by practitioners who are aware of the person’s current medical condition, care plan and preferences”.
The term end-of-life care usually refers to the last year of life, although for some people with a terminal condition, this may be significantly shorter. It is intended to enable people to live as well as possible until they die, and when the time comes, to die with dignity.
People in these circumstances also benefit from having an advanced care plan where possible. Advanced care planning involves discussing and preparing for future decisions about your medical care if you become seriously ill or unable to communicate your wishes. The National Audit of Care at the End of Life found that there has been an increase in advanced care plans, but the latest audit shows that 9 out of 10 people did not have one on arrival at their final hospital admission. Around half of the people in their final hospital admission lack the capacity to make decisions about their care and would benefit from having an advanced care plan in place.
If someone is at risk of readmission, the GP or community-based nurse will telephone or visit them 24 to 72 hours after discharge.
NICE have issued guidelines which cover the transition between inpatient hospital settings and community or care homes for adults with social care needs. It aims to improve people’s experience of admission to and discharge from hospital by ensuring better coordination of health and social care services.
Who may need home care?
During the hospital stay the care team should keep in touch with the hospital team and share any information which might affect discharge planning. This includes working with the discharge coordinator to help develop the discharge plan.
Discharges should be planned and coordinated, despite whether there is any pressure on beds. Discharge planning should begin from the point of admission so that everything is considered and decisions are not made in a rush or under pressure. This should include:
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• Referring to any existing care plans.
• Selecting a hospital-based team according to the person’s individual needs.
• Continuously assessing the person’s current and ongoing health and social care needs and referring back to these before any recommendations are made.
• Discussing with the patient and family members throughout the process.
What happens at discharge from hospital?
As soon as you are admitted to hospital, your treatment plan, including details for discharge or transfer, will be developed and discussed with you.
For some people, especially if they have had an extended hospital stay or they are requiring additional care once they leave, being discharged from hospital can be just as unsettling as going into hospital in the first place. Having a hospital discharge process is good practice for the hospital but it can also be reassuring for the patient and family to know what will happen next.
A discharge assessment will determine whether you need further care after you leave hospital; this will also be discussed with you and you should be part of this process. Your family or support network can also be part of this process, if you would like them to be.
Each hospital will have its own discharge policy and the process may vary slightly. You can ask the ward manager for a copy of this if you are unsure.
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During your stay in hospital, staff will discuss with you:
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• How it will be decided that you are ready to be discharged from hospital and when that is likely to be.
• Whether it will be an option for you to go home or whether you will need to go to another setting.
• If you will be going home, whether you will need home care and what that will consist of.
• Any other support or care you may need.
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Medical professionals use two terms to describe hospital discharges. These are either minimal discharges or complex discharges. A minimal discharge means that the patient will need little or no additional care once they leave hospital. A minimal discharge is one that can be carried out at ward level with the multidisciplinary team. A complex discharge indicates that the patient will need more complex care post-discharge from hospital.
If you need care and support after you are discharged from hospital, staff will talk to you about how you can get this. They will work with social care staff, if necessary, to plan your short-term care.
If you are likely to have long-term health and care needs, social care will arrange a care needs assessment. This may occur while you are still in hospital or in your home once you have been discharged. A care needs assessment is where someone from your local authority such as a social worker or occupational therapist will ask you how you are managing everyday tasks like washing, dressing and cooking. They will also gather information from the hospital about your needs which will feed into the assessment. The assessment might take place in person or over the phone.
There’s no charge for a care needs assessment and you are entitled to one regardless of income, savings or level of need. A relative or a friend can also make arrangements for you to have a care needs assessment as long as you give consent for this. You may have to pay towards the costs of long-term care and support but this should all be explained to you during the assessment process.
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You can find information about how to apply for a care needs assessment here.
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If you are unhappy with your hospital discharge, for example if the hospital want to discharge you before you feel that you are ready or if you feel that your discharge assessment was not accurate, you should speak to hospital staff. You can also get advice from the patient advice and liaison service (PALS).
Your GP will also have been informed of your discharge from hospital and may arrange appointments to monitor your recovery. They will also be responsible for giving you repeat prescriptions of your medication if this is required.
Private GP Appointments
Fast access to our friendly private GP services, without needing health insurance
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Our private GP services are here for whatever is worrying you. You don’t need health insurance to book and our GP appointment costs are always upfront.
We offer face-to-face or remote GP appointments. We recommend a 30- or 45-minute appointment for your first one, or if there is more than one thing you'd like to discuss. We also have 15-minute slots for repeat appointments or one minor concern.
If you need prompt advice, you can often see a GP on the same-day or the very next day.
If you have a medical emergency, please don't wait for a GP appointment with us even later in the day. Call 999 or go straight to A&E.
A medical emergency includes things like:
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• chest pain
• severe or sudden breathing difficulties
• suspected stroke or seizure
• bleeding heavily
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