HICA at Home - Grimsby

My Aunt has gone from us thinking we may loose her, to being mobile and in great health - we truly believe the support, dedication and hard work of the Carers she has had has played a crucial role in her recovery.

The only bad side is which we understand can not be helped is staff changes - my aunt has a strong relationship with one carer who has supported her from being bed bound to mobile - she has pushed her and supported her and has always taken her role seriously. This carer although all have been amazing has recently not been visiting as she did on specific regular days per week which is disheartening for my Aunt as this girl really has from day one been the specific person who has given her back her motivation, strength and determination to take back her life.

having tried to call the landline on several occasions i thought i may get a response from this review the date in question is 13th january 2026 i received a call at 9.20am from mums carer to say she had found her on the bathroom floor she had rung for an ambulance but said could be 8 hours we had no idea how long she had been there (dementia sufferer) the carer said she had covered her with a blanket but could not stay to take care of her until i got there fortunately i was able to get to her within 20 minutes but found her cold and wet from urine and very scared i dont think its acceptable to leave a 86 year old lady on her own frightened cold and wet i managed to get her up and into her chair and got some clean clothes on and took her to A and E where she was admitted and is still there as i write this i understand that staff shortages are an issue but the care of the patient should be the most important thing.

This company is filling in for the palliative care team until they have availability to take over.The care calls are very late often meaning my elderly Mum is stepping in to help my Dad with personal care with great difficulty, as he is too frail and exhausted to wait up any longer. His scheduled call is 8-9pm but the carers are turning up 10.30-10.45pm. My mother is elderly and struggles to wait up for them this late too. It is also not exceptable to expect a vulnerable couple to have carers coming in so late at night. Complaints to the office seem to go a miss.I shall be ringing the continuing health care team to change the care providers as this is causing more stress for my parents for what it's worth

I feel sorry for the carers carrying out the visits as they are run ragged while the company reaps the rewards

I have never seen or heard a carer have such low regard for a client. Firstly all the care notes for a client should be on their phones. After saying shut up a minute, I need to concentrate. I would have been sacked. I hope they have a good insurer, I’m sure there’s going to be a massive if not fatal mistake having people like her. I saw and heard everything myself. Then before she goes she says right I hope we’ve got them all right! Wow! After already having a meeting with the deputy manager and her friend. Supposedly everything has been sorted. I’d say far from from it. I am absolutely beyond angry, We were told no more doubles would be sent. A couple of days later 2 carers again, one sat on her phone and the other started to change her into a night dress in the living room. We rang the house and sorted that. Same old excuses, haven’t been before but outside she said she had. Give HICA a wide berth if you care for your loved ones. We’re lucky to already have cameras but we’re getting more.

This week alone, the bed was left wet, it’s a good job as not one of the carers make the bed properly. My wife remakes the bed daily. Thought the 3 minute tea calls had stopped but today 2 carers came 1 washed the pots while the other watched and was in the house for less than 4 minutes. The office didn’t send anyone for dinner today as it was cancelled. Wrong again, they were cancelled on Monday not Wednesday. Absolutely fuming but if you complain nothing gets done. I just hope the carers of today get the same sort of care when they get old and need help.

When we spoke with her she was in tears as she said she had told them she needed to go to the toilet but they had told her just to do it in her pad and was very uncomfortable with a stomach ache. My father-in-law was upset too as he tells us this is a regular occurrence, them just coming and going within a few minutes and not really tending to her needs and he said it made things worse as they never knew who would turn up or even if they’d turn up. He told us on one occasion recently that the carers had made their evening visit but not turned up until 1100am the next day. She has told me if she says anything they tell her to shut up.

The client pays for 3 half-hour sessions and one of 45 minutes. The sessions last between 5 and 10 minutes if you are lucky and the care plan obviously cannot be maintained. Different carers and times with often 15 hours between night and first-day visit. Waste of time phoning the head office. When asked to be hoisted to the WC the reply is often "co it in your pad". I am sure there is a shortage of staff but HICA are still being paid for full-service delivery. There are, however, still a few carers that care and offer a reasonable service.

Always different carers, and no set times. We would often have the three allocated calls a day within 4 and a half hours. Most carers did not follow the care plan. If you contacted the office for anything they never returned your phone call, or always said they would be on their way, they had been held up as short of staff. I'm still waiting for a call back from last November. Most times meals would not be given, even though they were prepared, and often mistakes over medication.

Don’t know why they send you an email with times on because they have never been on time. Always late up to two/three hours and sometimes don’t even turn up! When you ring up it’s always they're running a bit late or short-staffed, we’ve got a lot of poorly people! So is my Dad! It’s not the carer's fault, I don’t blame them at all. They don’t get travel time and then get extra calls put on them. It’s the managers that are sat in the office! Wouldn’t recommend it at all!

You know who you are!