Finding a private carer for elderly relative

[Mellow Matt]

Is there a way to locate a private carer for an elderly relative without having to go through an agency and therefore avoiding having to pay the agency fees?

My Nan lives in her own bungalow, but has had my mum going round 3 or 4 times a day to help her out for the last few years. Unfortunately, she (Nan) has recently taken a turn for the worse and appears to be getting confused a lot, such that it's a lot harder for my Mum to look after her, and it is worrying to leave her on her own for too long as she may get confused and do something dangerous.

We've been through this with my Granddad, and found that the social services' help isn't all that reliable and wouldn't really be up to the job, and as such we're looking for a private helper, but we're not entirely sure where we can find one...?

Thanks

[Shaw Tarse]

Unless you can get a recommendation from someone, it's difficult to find a carer. Agencies can be hit or miss.

[BlackVanDyke]

I use personal assistants, 'rescued' one from an agency (her weekly income increased 20% while my costs for the care she was providing were almost halved), the rest over the years have been about three-quarters word of mouth, and the last via just standard private advertising - Gumtree, job centre, card up in Sainsburys etc. Gumtree I've found very good indeed for this job - less bullst applicants than job centre by a long way.

[Mellow Matt]

Thanks for the responses, I hadn't thought of looking on Gumtree, I'll give that a whirl!

[Ruskie]

Make sure you get them CRB checked and have good reliable references.

[Riley Blue]

When my Dad needed a carer we got in touch with his local council who in turn contacted Age UK (formerly Age Concern) which provides the service in that area. Various people came to assess Dad's needs and the carer assigned to him was an absolute angel, we could not asked for better care. So Age UK may be worth a phone call.

[Mellow Matt]

Just spotted these comments; useful advice, thanks!