Visiting Care in Exeter
Do you need regular visiting care in Exeter?
Visits from the same carer, any day of the week, at the same time, that last as long as they need to
Visiting care means somebody comes to the house at agreed times to help with agreed things, then leaves. The difference here is who that somebody is. One carer, chosen by you, every visit. This page walks through what a visit actually looks like, hour by hour.
Free visit, no obligation, and an honest answer about whether I am the right fit.
- Enhanced DBS checked
- Fully insured
- Free home visit
- Same carer, every visit
What visiting care in Exeter looks like with one carer
A visit is a block of time, at a fixed point in the day, doing the things that were agreed. That sounds simple, and it should be. The reason it so often is not comes down to the rota. When an office is fitting thirty visits into a day across the whole of Exeter, every visit is squeezed by the one before it and the drive to the one after. Fifteen minute calls exist because of that maths, not because anyone thinks fifteen minutes is enough.
I do not have a rota. I will only ever take on a short list of clients who all live close to each other, so there is room in the day. A visit booked for an hour is an hour. If the tea takes ten minutes to make because she wants to tell me about her grandson first, that is what the ten minutes are for.
A morning visit
Mornings are the most common visit families ask for, because they are the hardest part of the day to do alone. A typical morning visit runs like this. I let myself in with the key safe code or knock, depending on what we agreed, and say hello properly before doing anything else. Help getting out of bed and to the bathroom. A wash, shower or bath, depending on the day and the person, with as much done independently as possible and as much privacy as possible. Getting dressed in what they have chosen. Then breakfast, a drink, and the morning medication prompted from the blister pack and written down.
Before I leave, the small things. Curtains open, bed straightened, the bathroom left dry, the bins out if it is bin day, and a glance at the fridge and the post. If something is not right, a message to whichever family member we agreed on.
A midday or afternoon visit
Midday visits are usually about food and getting out. A proper cooked lunch rather than a sandwich, sitting down together to eat it, and the lunchtime tablets. Then, if the weather and the mood allow, a walk to the shops, the post office, a bench with a view, or a drive to a garden centre for a coffee. On days when going out is not appealing, it might be a crossword, a phone call to a daughter with the phone set up on speaker, or simply sitting down with a cup of tea and talking.
Afternoon visits tend to look towards the evening. Something prepared for tea that can be heated easily. The evening medication set out. The house checked, the heating right, the door locked, and a note of anything the family should know.
How often visits happen
There is no set pattern, because no two people need the same thing. Some people want twice a week for a couple of hours, mostly for company and a trip out. Some want every weekday morning. A few want morning and afternoon on most days. The pattern is worked out at the first visit and it is written into the agreement, and it can change as things change. Adding a visit or moving one is a phone call, not a form.
What I will not do is spread myself so thinly that visits get shorter. If I am at capacity, I will say so rather than squeeze you in and give everyone a worse service.
Visiting care alongside family
In my years in care, the arrangements that worked best were usually the ones where family and carer shared the week. A son does the weekend, a neighbour pops in on a Wednesday, and I cover the weekday mornings. That is not a compromise, it is often the ideal. It keeps family involved, it keeps the cost sensible, and it means the person at the centre of it sees people they love as well as somebody they pay.
I fit into that picture rather than replacing it. If you would like a short note after each visit, or a weekly call to go over how things are, that is part of the arrangement and not an extra.
What visiting care with me does not include
I do not visit overnight and I do not offer live-in care. I am not a nurse, so injections, dressings and clinical tasks come from the district nursing service, and I work around their visits rather than replacing them. If a move needs two people, I will say so. And because I work alone, I cannot provide cover for my own absence. I help you plan for that before the first visit, and the plan is written down with everything else.
What visiting care with an independent carer gives you
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Visits that last their full length
If we agreed an hour, you get an hour. Travel to the next address is not taken out of your time because the next address is a short drive away.
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The same time, the same face
Visits happen when the agreement says they happen. You are not left wondering whether anyone is coming or who it will be.
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From once a week to every day
Some people want a Tuesday morning. Others want every morning and most afternoons. Either works, subject to my having the capacity.
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Built around real routines
If she has always had a bath on a Thursday and a crossword after lunch, that is how the visit runs. I fit the routine, not the other way around.
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Family kept in the loop
A short message after each visit if you want one. What was eaten, what was taken, how the mood was. Nothing gets lost between visits.
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Easy to adjust
Needs change. Adding a visit or moving a time is a conversation and a line in the agreement, not a renegotiation.
Setting up visiting care in Exeter
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Step 1: A phone call
Tell me what is going on. No script and no sales pitch. If it is not something I can safely take on, I will say so on that call.
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Step 2: A visit, free of charge
I come to you. We sit down, talk through what would actually help, and you decide whether I am the right fit. No charge and no obligation.
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Step 3: A written agreement
Days, times, what I will do and what it costs, in plain English. Yours to keep, and nothing in it changes without asking you first.
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Step 4: We start
Same carer, every visit. After a few weeks I know the routine, the neighbours, and which mug is the right one.
How this compares
Three ways families arrange care at home. None is right for everyone, and the honest answer is usually about what matters most to you.
| Question | Private Independent Care | An agency | Live-in care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who turns up | Me, every time. You met me before anything was agreed. | Whoever is on the rota that day. Often a different person each week. | One carer living in the house, with a second covering their days off. |
| How long a visit lasts | As long as we agreed. I am not counting down to the next address. | Frequently 30 minutes, sometimes 15, and the travel between calls comes out of it. | Not visit based. Support is available through the day, with agreed breaks. |
| What you pay for | Between £20 and £40 an hour for the hours I am with you, one figure agreed in writing before we start. Usual minimum term three months, paid in advance, open for discussion at the first visit. | An hourly rate set by the agency, which also pays for an office, a manager and a rota. Ask each one for its rate and terms. | A weekly fee, usually well over a thousand pounds, plus board and lodging. |
| When I am ill or away | I cannot send anyone else. You keep a backup arrangement, and I help you set one up before we start. | The office sends a replacement, though you may not know them. | The provider arranges relief cover. |
| Who you deal with | Me. The person doing the care is the person you ring. | A coordinator or care manager, then the carer. | The provider, then the carer. |
| Regulation | Engaged directly by you, working under your direction, which sits outside CQC registration. DBS checked and insured, and I will show you both. | Registered with the CQC and inspected. | Usually a provider registered with the CQC. |
I do not offer live-in, overnight or nursing care. If that is what is needed I will say so at the first phone call.
What it costs
Hourly rate
£20 to £40 per hour
Where in that range depends on what is needed. I give you one fixed figure at the free first visit, in writing, before anything is agreed.
- The rate is all in. Mileage is included, there is no VAT to add, and there is no registration fee or charge for the first visit.
- Minimum visit one hour. Usual minimum term three months, paid in advance, open for discussion at the first visit.
- A visit I miss, or cannot complete because I am ill, is not charged. The time is carried over to another visit or refunded, whichever you prefer.
- A visit you cancel with 48 hours notice is carried over. With less notice it is charged.
- 14 days to change your mind after signing the agreement. Visits you asked me in writing to start in that time are paid for.
- Two weeks notice to end the arrangement, from either of us. If it ends early you pay for the visits made and the notice period, and the rest is returned.
Questions families ask
How long is a visit?
The minimum is one hour, and visits can be longer. I do not do fifteen or thirty minute calls. A rushed visit is stressful for the person receiving it, and it leaves out the part of the job that matters, which is having time to talk.
What times of day do you visit?
Any time of day that suits you, seven days a week. Mornings for getting up, washed, dressed and breakfasted. Lunchtimes for meals, shopping and getting out. Afternoons for company and appointments. Evenings for tea, medication and settling in for the night. I do not offer overnight or live-in care.
Can visits be at the same time every day?
That is how I prefer to arrange them. A fixed time means the person I am visiting knows when to expect me, the routine holds, and family know exactly when somebody has been. Occasionally I will need to shift a time, and when that happens you hear from me first.
What if we only need a couple of visits a week?
That is fine. An arrangement can start with two or three visits a week and grow from there if it needs to. There is no minimum number of visits a week. The minimum visit is one hour, and my usual minimum term is three months, paid in advance, which is open for discussion at the first visit.
Do you cover weekends?
Yes. Visits can be on any day of the week, including weekends and bank holidays. Many families cover weekends themselves and use a carer for the weekdays. Either pattern works.
What happens if you cannot make a visit?
I work alone and cannot send someone else. I give as much notice as I can for planned time off and contact you immediately if I am unwell. Before we start, I help you put a backup arrangement in place, so a missed visit is an inconvenience rather than a crisis.
Other things I can help with
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Home Care
Help at home with the things that have become hard, from one carer you know.
About home care -
After Hospital Care
Support for the first few weeks back at home after a stay in hospital.
About after hospital care -
Long Term Care
An ongoing arrangement that changes as needs change, with the same face throughout.
About long term care -
Domiciliary Care
What the term means, how it works with a direct payment, and how I differ from an agency.
About domiciliary care -
Personal Care
Washing, dressing and continence support, done with patience and privacy.
About personal care
Let's work out a visiting pattern
Tell me what the days look like at the moment and where they are going wrong. The right pattern usually becomes obvious quite quickly.