Christies Care Ltd

Some carers are better than others about stimulating my mother e.g. taking her out in her wheelchair or helping her to bake and Mum thinks many of the carers need more tuition in old-fashioned cooking.

Christies Care have managed my mother’s dementia care for the past six years and we are very happy with them. We’ve met some amazing carers in this time and have always been confident she’s in the best hands.

However, the staff I have met through Christies are highly competent, friendly and professional. I'm not worried about my mum's level of care whilst Christies provide it. She has complex needs and I'm so thankful to Christies for looking after her so well and for so long. I WISH MORE THAN ANYTHING THAT IT CONTINUES.

Regular carers are excellent but I am unconvinced that sufficient effort is put into ensuring the regulars attend as often as possible with the result that we are apparently now faced with a series of new faces. Although a carer schedule for most of 2018 was provided early in the year this has not been forthcoming for future months which is disappointing.

Carers are extremely well trained and very caring and competent. They have tried to stimulate Dad and are very patient. They treat Dad and the family with respect and are very pro-active in trying to improve his life. We have only had three so far - two, we would be happy to return, one, we have requested does not, because Dad did not get on with her. It is still early days, but one problem seems to be a lack of drivers, which is important to us. We have also found that though our care team at Head Office is very helpful, we have not always had all the information we need. For example, we missed out on an important mailing, for some reason, which caused problems with cover.

Carers are well trained, have support during their assignments and the agency tries to ensure that they are compatible not only with care needs but also personally. Where problems have arisen, the agency has worked hard to resolve them.

We have been using Christies Care Ltd full time since May 2018 and are now settled into a routine of returning carers, which is more settling for the client, although changing carers sometimes after just two weeks can still be unsettling. Christies Care Ltd listened to our concerns when we had a couple of carers that were not what we expected and they have not returned. The team we have now have got to know my relative and her needs. She is well fed and the help with personal care is good. Obviously, some personalities gel better with her than others in terms of keeping her company and her spirits up. She is also of an older generation who are unused to the multicultural modern world and she finds this difficult from time to time. She is also very deaf and carers have to make a good effort to make themselves understood. Some of the problems we have had are due to my relative's feelings about her loss of independence and mobility, rather than any fault of the carers. Support from Christies Care Ltd office seems good as is the overlap of carers.

A very satisfied client and family.

I have been a client of Christies Care Ltd for nearly four years. In that time I've met some lovely carers and the management have always remained friendly and supportive. On the rare occasions that I have not 'clicked' with a carer, the issues raised have been dealt with quickly. I have regular carers who I look forward to spending more time with.

In addition, they cope with occasional disturbed nights and other difficult times when she has not been well.

Christies Head office has been quick to respond and will support when issues arise.

After some teething problems, Christies Care Ltd now understands the needs and character type of carer that our mother requires.

Our carer was a lovely person and very kind and attentive. She is coming back on a regular basis. She provided excellent companionship as well as looking after my needs. She also loved my little dog!

Christies carers supported my father during the last year of his life and their skill and compassion enabled him to enjoy life again after a hospital stay left him in need of live-in care. The carers were, for the most part, exceptional people with great patience and a good understanding of his needs; they encouraged independence where possible but were always there to support as needed. The admin team were also very polite and helpful; the carers always appeared to receive high-quality training and excellent support from the company. Many of them said they had worked for other companies but felt that Christies was the best. I wish we had discovered Christies sooner and have no hesitation in recommending them to other families. Thank you, Christies for all you did for my dad and our family.

The Carers have been kind and caring, but their level of competency has varied. I would not recommend Christies because of the level of communication. Also, the care plan was not updated to reflect my Father’s changing needs. I would like to say that I have recently been given a new booking coordinator, who has gone out of her way to be helpful and communication has improved significantly.

All carers supplied by Christies are very caring and Mother has made good friends with them. They are efficient and considerate.

Helpful and quick to find a suitable replacement when there's an unexpected loss of a carer. It took a few goes to find a couple of carers that worked really well, but that's to be expected. Very pleased with how things are now and our regular carers are fantastic.

Very professional and quick response to our dealings with the company. The carers have all been kind, helpful and understanding towards us and our 90-year-old mum. She feels more secure, is happier and eating well again with a live-in carer. We feel greatly comforted knowing mum is cared for and has a constant companion.

I have found Christies staff to be professional, understanding and accommodating. My father has been well cared for and is happy with his carers. Information is clear and timely and there is always someone available to talk on the phone if I need them.

Your form insists on naming one month. This is difficult. My mother has used Christies Care since March 2016. My comments are relevant for longer than October 2018 which is what I had to click on. Overall, I have been very happy with Christies. They have an excellent training school, a local rep to oversee standards, and the carers are not only well trained but have to keep to strict standards and attend annual refresher courses. Christies go to a lot of trouble to match the right carers for my mother and to keep her favourites coming back on a rotational basis, and some of them are exceptionally good and conscientious. The only adverse comment I would make is that some of the carers have left Christies after only a short time and I understand this might be because they can work for other Agencies at a higher rate of pay. It's a shame to lose them in this way. I think this problem has been addressed (we have chosen to increase our rate) so, hopefully, staff retention is now better.

Christies generally provide a satisfactory service in all respects.