PA or fully managed care?
For many families, Personal Assistants (PA) can be an excellent homecare option. For others, a fully managed service proves the preferred solution. Understanding the difference is essential, so here’s a brief rundown…
As a fully managed homecare provider, Doris Jones is regulated (and rated Outstanding) by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which ensures compliance, quality and accountability. Precious few PAs are CQC-registered.
We look after the recruitment, vetting, training and insurance of our care workers. If you hire a PA, these tasks will likely be your responsibility.
In the event of carer sickness or absence, our office team will ensure your care visits are covered by other members of the team. You may struggle to find a short term replacement for your PA.
We train our team in accordance with CQC expectations and in line with Skills for Care guidelines, including specialist condition-specific training. PAs’ training is often self-directed and you may be required to contribute to the development of any specialised skills.
All our care workers are employed by us, we so naturally manage contracts, payroll, tax, etc. With a PA, you become the employer and take responsibility for PAYE, pensions and holiday pay.
In the event of an emergency, our team is available from 06:00 to 22:00, 7 days a week. You will likely have no such guarantee from your PA.
Choosing a PA is typically cheaper because you’re not paying for an agency’s overheads.
It is not our wish to devalue the work of PAs. For many families, they provide the perfect solution. However, we do believe that families should fully understand the different care options available to their loved ones.
