Home assessments are a key part of the process here at Teams and Bensham Community Care, for all new lunch club and men’s group attendees.
The home assessment helps you to get to know us, and it helps us to get to know you, your needs and any loved ones or carers you want us to meet and stay in touch with on your behalf.
Inviting a stranger into your home can be daunting.
You might worry about who will be visiting you, what the process involves, or you might be anxious about whether or not the service is right for you.
We understand this can make people feel like putting off making that initial call to ask for the support they need and deserve.
To put your mind at rest, Teams and Bensham Community Care, a day care provider in Gateshead, takes you through the commonly asked questions about our home assessments so our informal and friendly process feels a bit more familiar before we even step through the door.
What is a Home Help Assessment
After making the first call to Teams and Bensham Community Care, and chatting to our team about our services, a home assessment is the next step if you’d still like to attend our lunch clubs or men’s groups.
(An initial call can be made by a carer, loved one, or a support service or health professional for example, or by the person who wants to come along.)
A home assessment is a perfect opportunity to meet our senior day centre coordinator, who makes sure the service is right for you, by getting to know your needs, wishes and values.
We spend some time getting to know you, we tell you about our lunch clubs or men’s groups, and we ask a few questions to help understand exactly what we can do to make sure you get everything you need and want from a day centre service. But if you still really aren’t sure whether a day centre is right for you, don’t worry. Our Senior Day Centre Coordinator is an expert in helping you to identify what it is you most want out of a service like ours, and whether we’re the right fit for you.
If you are too nervous for a home assessment straight away, we can chat to you on the phone a few more times, or just pop out for a brief chat and to leave some information first, and follow this up with a telephone call to see if you are feeling more confident about a longer home visit. Or we can leave it up to you to contact us when the time feels right.
If you live outside of our catchment area for transport (we offer minibus transport in Teams, Dunston, Lobley Hill, Saltwell, Bensham and Central Gateshead) or do not want or need transport, our assessment can take place in our centre if preferred.
Why is a home assessment necessary?
Without a home assessment, our lunch club and men’s group attendees wouldn’t get the best service they possibly can, and we wouldn’t be able to carry out a risk assessment to make sure that our centre (and transport if needed) is perfectly suited and safe for your needs.
A home assessment is the perfect way to make sure you get the most from your day(s) out with us, right from the beginning.
It’s also a great way for you to decide if Teams and Bensham Community Care is right for you too, and to ask any questions to help you to decide whether or not to proceed.
Who carries out the home assessment?
Each home assessment is carried out by one of our two day centre coordinators.
They are so passionate about making sure that each person gets the most out of the service, and are skilled at making sure we’re the right service, and if not, providing suggestions on other services that might be better suited.
What questions do you ask me?
Because home assessments are personal, we take a personalised approach, which means some questions we ask one person, we might not need to ask another.
Here’s just a few of the standard questions that we might ask…
What is your mobility like? How confident are you when you’re on your feet and walking?
What would you most like to get out of attending a day centre?
What are your interests and hobbies that we might be able to accommodate at the lunch clubs or men’s groups?
Do you have any health conditions or disabilities? Do you ake any medications that you need to bring with you to the day centre?
Do you have any dietary requirements?
How would you travel to and from our centre? If you live in our catchment area for our minibus, we will ask if you would like to us our door-to-door minibus transport. If you’d like to have minibus transport, we will carry out a risk assessment to help the drivers to safely transport you from home and back again. In this assessment, we are identifying any steps from your door or in your garden, your mobility for getting on and off the bus, any access issues in the street you live etc.
Do you have any personal care needs such as help with eating or using the toilet for example? Unfortunately, we can’t provide personal care our day centre, but we can let you know which other centres will be able to support you with this.
Which groups are you most interested in?
Are there any particular days you’d like to attend?
Is there a charge/fee for a home assessment?
No, we never charge for a home assessment.
Should I have someone there with me?
We always welcome any loved ones, carers, a neighbour or a health professional (such as an occupational therapist or a social worker) or any other person you'd like to attend your home assessment.
Some people like to have the reassurance of having someone they know at the assessment to remember key information, ask questions that you might not think to ask for example.
Do you look around my home?
No, it is not necessary for us to look around your home. If you would like to use our minibus transport, we will just take a few minutes to assess the access in and out of your home, and the route from your door to the minibus to ensure we can help you in any ways we can to travel to and from our centre safely and comfortably.
How long does the home assessment take to complete?
Our home assessments typically last for an hour or an hour and a half, but we schedule in plenty of time should it take a bit longer than this. If an hour or more is too overwhelming, we can also do the home assessment in stages too, so that it feels more manageable.
Do I have to decide there and then if I want to join the lunch clubs or men’s groups?
Not at all.
We will never rush you into making a decision.
We hope we are the day centre you feel will make a difference, but there is never any obligation before, during or after a home assessment. You are welcome to join our groups at your own pace, when you feel ready, or not at all if you decide we’re not the right day centre for you.
What if I change my mind during or after the home assessment?
We want you to have the service that is the best fit for you, and if you feel that Teams and Bensham Community Care isn’t the service for you, we would never be offended.
Joining a day centre is an important step in helping you to feel connected, enjoy lunch and activities in the company of others and enjoy a lovely day out.
This is why we are always happy for you to change your mind at any point, knowing how vital it is to attend a day centre that’s right for you.
Can I reschedule or cancel it?
Of course, simply let us know anytime beforehand to cancel or rearrange.
How do I book a home assessment?
To book a home assessment, or find out more about our lunch clubs and/or men’s groups, simply call our day centre on 0191 4600297 between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday.
What happens afterwards?
If you have decided at the home assessment that you’d like to join our lunch clubs and/or men’s groups, you might have already set a start date with us. After the home assessment, we will set up your personal folder so that we have all of the current information, which we keep confidential and stored securely at our centre, and we put in place everything needed to make your first day as welcoming as possible.
If you need more time to think about whether or not to come along to our centre, we might arrange to give you a call in a few days, or if preferred, you might have decided to call us to let us know. There’s no rush, and you can call us any time.
If we don’t hear from you for many months, of if anything have changed (such as where you live, or your health or mobility) since we last met, we may need to repeat the home assessment if you decide you want to join us at the day centre. This is just to make sure we continue to provide you with the service you need, in the best and safest way possible.
If you or someone you know would like more information about the Teams and Bensham Community Care day centres, we're always happy to answer any questions, arrange a home visit or to help in any other way that we can. Call the team on 0191 4600297.
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