Home Instead (Norwich)

My mother was looked after by Home Instead for eight months. Initially, only a single daily visit was needed to help her get up and organise the day but when live-in care was suddenly required, Home Instead recognised the urgency and organised round-the-clock care immediately. Over this time, we have been consistently impressed by the emotional intelligence, caring instincts and practical common sense of the visiting carers. They write up the details of their visit on an App - listing positives and concerns - which office staff and family members can then immediately view. The wide variety of ages and personalities, from which suitable carers are selected, is a great strength. Office staff, too, have been regularly in touch: with great tact at difficult moments, and a firm oversight. We have always felt 'seen', understood and respected. Some of my mother's longest standing carers have become like family thanks to their personal generosity and humanity. Unreservedly recommended.

In general I find the service to be very good. Improvements in my health mean that I need fewer visits than used to be the case, but I still need visits, both for help as well as company. The one area of uncertainty is still punctuality. With lateness the result of an unrealistic timetable or weight of traffic on the route between jobs. This presumably has a knock on effect for clients later in the schedule. I would also observe that, to me, the hourly rates paid to carers seems low in comparison to the top slice for owners.

Huge thanks to the Home Instead Norwich team for caring for my parents so well. We were impressed by everyone we met from the team. The office staff were professional, well-organized and caring. Communication via phone, email and mobile app has been excellent. The Home Instead team have been able to respond quickly to changes in our care needs. The visiting team were amazing, generous, kind, respectful, warm, compassionate, competent, flexible and professional. My parents grew fond of their caregivers and looked forward to their visits.

I am very pleased with Home Instead's service. We have a really excellent team of experienced carers to support and assist my husband and myself as his main carer. They quickly established a friendly yet respectful relationship with him inspiring complete trust and confidence. Their role is very adaptable and flexible responding to immediate needs. They support us in a variety of ways, from personal care to help with laundry, cooking and companionship. They are professional, highly trained and available to discuss changing issues around his care. They also enable me to go out and maintain my social family network with confidence.

My mother-in-law has been having visits since June 2021. I must say, the carers have all been lovely and generally the timings are excellent. Unfortunately, due to the progression of Alzheimer's, we felt a move to a care home was necessary for her own safety. Many thanks to the team that helped us during this time and rest assured, she is settling into her new surroundings extremely well!

All carers provided by Home Instead give a high standard of attention and care to my wife. The only criticism is, they are not given sufficient time between clients and after arriving late.

I look forward to my visits from the carer. She is always cheerful and has a lovely smile. We have worked out a routine between us for the visits which she carries out and then looks for other ways that she can help me.

Can't fault them, with 6 months down the line. The carers have all been nice and supportive of my dad after losing his wife and my mum. Thanks very much for the support, advice, and service.

I was impressed by every aspect of the service and had every trust in the staff. This is a well-run business that I have no hesitation in recommending.

My sister gets on very well with the carer, she visits once a week for social activity and company. They chat, have a coffee and sometimes play a game. She always look forward to her visits and they have built up a bond over the last couple of years.

A few months ago, we decided to approach Home Instead again, this time for my dad. Once again, Home Instead showed the same compassion, empathy, and understanding towards us.

I have used Home Instead for the past 2.5 years and have never been so well looked after. I find the carers efficient, caring and polite.

We appreciate the management team’s attention to my dad’s ongoing care needs as they shift and their commitment to ensuring he receives the best of care.

Home Care provides daily care visits to our mum but last week we needed a live-in carer for the week as we were away on holiday. Mum loves her regular carers but they were not available to live in for the week. We were all so delighted that Mum enjoyed a lovely week with the chosen carer. She was so well cared for and the carer who did everything to ensure Mum was happy. Thank you so much you were brilliant. Every time we rang Mum was full of praise for her carer and said she would really miss her. We could check in daily on the app too to keep up to date which was reassuring. I cannot thank Home Instead enough for matching the carer to Mum. It enabled us all to enjoy a holiday knowing Mum was happy and being well cared for. We will definitely use this service again if needed.

Very pleased with the excellent care of my husband whilst I was on holiday. Lovely to return home to a clean and tidy house with washing and ironing all done. There was even a cottage pie left for our next meal! Thank you, Home Instead!

I would have no hesitation at all in recommending this team to friends or family.

Dad continues to receive first class care from Home Instead. We have noticed a marked improvement in his physical and mental health since having the carers visit twice a day. Communication with myself is always prompt when any concerns are raised. They are also very accommodating if and when I need to change or increase visits. Home Instead were recommended to me by a friend and I would not hesitate to do the same. I am able to relax knowing Dad is being taken care of by kind, caring and efficient carers.

Mum loved all her carers and with their gentle encouragement agreed to personal care support and walks outside which were huge milestones for her. They were amazing when Mum had to move into a care home recently. We were terrified that Mum would be distraught but one of the carers ensured this process went smoothly. Her carers have been marvellous with their kindness, understanding, professionalism and hard work. Our client liaison lead has been very supportive; always there when I’ve needed to talk and always ensures that things are done effectively. Whoever I’ve spoken to in the office has been lovely and brilliant at their jobs. Rarely do I deal with an organisation that does what it says on the tin and not only does its job properly but goes above and beyond. If it weren’t for Home Instead Mum wouldn’t have been as safe, healthy or happy. They have alleviated so much worry and stress. Home Instead became part of our family and we will miss them very much. Thank you.

She was treated with the care she needed to keep her independent and living in her home. Very reliable and flexible care package which blended with my mum well as her needs increased. Home Instead also supports the family with empathy and understanding.

Carers are first-class, efficient and professional but when something does go wrong there is a 'disconnect' between front-line staff and office management. So as an example, a carer had a difficult call to a client before us, and the carer rang the office and asked for comms to us, never done. So 89-year-old mother is left getting up 94 year 94-year-old father to wash, shave and dress etc. The carer finally arrives 40 minutes late when the job is already done but Home Instead still charge for call! When I email, no response after 8 days.