Home Instead UK Reviews 178

Can't say enough about how good Kerry and all of the team were last year. Nothing was too much trouble. The team genuinely cared about their clients. In my experience the carers are well regarded and supported in their role.
We will always be grateful for the support received.

As a previous employee of the company in Lincoln. Management was awful, couldn’t take any sort of pushing back from someone still in their probation. Never even sent through my contract even after threatening legal action.
It’s the kind of people to give an inch and take a mile. Not many people stay for long and I feel bad for the ones that do because the other employees are lovely. It’s a shame that they have such ignorant management. Truly horrible.
I do not recommend working there and they should 100% be investigated.

Hi my name is William and my wife is called Dorothy last year went to a Memory Cafe in Atherstone it was with some trepidation and anxiety we went.
On arrival we were met by Penny and Leanne within 5 minutes we felt so welcome and comfortable they provided a wonderful range of activities terrific exercises, quizzes and crafts , something to suit people with dementia and their caregivers they have regular singers and entertainment.

We both love it and have since started attending the cafes at Tamworth & Litchfield each week Penny & Leanne are Wonderful ambassadors for Home Instead

I would encourage anyone to try the Memory Cafes you also get a nice cup of tea or Coffee cake or biscuits it’s 5 stars from Dot and myself

Horrendously Rude company. I have never in my life experienced the discrimination and harassment i received from the owner of this company. Currently taking legal action

Poorly managed staff, very greedy after every single penny they can get. Some staff are good others are somewhat lacking. I often find some staff just sat on my mother's sofa playing with their phone, when you can clearly see there are things that need doing.
Compared to the national average they are so expensive. Not a problem if they gave above and beyond service.

Home Instead Bromley and Orpington area. I have worked with Home Instead nearly 2 years and I can honestly say it is a care company that I feel proud to represent. As a Care Professional I feel truly appreciated by my employer, I’ve been supported to further my learning in care work with subjects that help me to support my clients the best way I possibly can.
What I really like about every Home instead Bromley employees and employers is we all have our background story of why we want to work in the care sector. We all have the aim to assist in making our clients content and secure in their lives. We all consider our clients as we were looking at our own family members, it’s not just any job it’s an uplifting and warming gift to support some brilliant individuals who in turn can teach us so much.

I’ve during my time with home instead had a baby and I was fully supported during this period and not just supported but was helped to further skills which was really lovely as most women fear of being left behind from opportunities whilst having families but not with Home Instead.

I am truly sorry to see some bad reviews from other Home Instead offices because here in Bromley regarding us staff and client experience so far I’ve seen only positive.

Home Instead Central Hampshire - provided excellent care for my grandad. Professional providing top quality care. Regular carers at the same time. Would highly recommend

I was a former employee of a company led by individuals who exploit others until they are completely drained and then discard them. I experienced a severe nervous breakdown and have been struggling ever since. Melissa displayed no understanding or willingness to recognize the impact of the workload she entrusted me with on my children or my health, even when the signs were clear. It was easier for her to stab me in the back and create a reason to let me go.

Interestingly, I used her terminology to admit my mistake. This was fatal for an employee who had sacrificed Christmas with her children, driven non-driving employees over weekends so they could earn for their families, and gone weeks without a day off because we were short-staffed even during Christmas.

Furthermore, even after leaving, they ensured they interfered with my future career. If you seek genuine care rather than just feeding money to directors like them, please take your time. Look around and ask for advice from the carers you see. Don't be fooled by franchise advertising! Pay attention to local media and press for more honest insights.

We are absolutely delighted with Home Instead Kidderminster - professional, reliable,caring,great to talk to with very sound advice - they were recommended to us and we now recommend them to others!

I’ve been having problems with a carer at my home. He cares for the person below me. If truth be told he is acting like a thug and thinks he rules the place. I’ve complained to the management at Stirling branch in Central Scotland on numerous occasions about this certain individual namely WILLIAM DUNSMORE, but they do absolutely nothing about it! Like there covering each other’s backs. Even telling a pack of lies to my Housing Association. It’s about time this was brought to a head. If i were doing at my work what he’s been doing here I would be suspended and eventually sacked for gross misconduct. Hoping something gets done about this asap. Looking forward to speaking to someone in command.

This review is not about the carers , it about the unethical way this company rips people off, unless you can see into the future or a have crystal ball, hopefully this review , if it helps just one family from losing thousands of pounds it will have been making people aware of my experience worthwhile.
So my 93 yr old mum who has dementia and serious mobility issues caught Covid, probably via one of the carers, as she had no close contact with anybody else and was admitted to hospital for 3 weeks then into a care home were she has been for the past 6 weeks, at the beginning of this traumatic time whilst I was worried sick about my mum, I phoned home instead and told them of the situation from day ONE,and always updated them by phone of the status of my mum I also phoned them repeatedly about my mum not requiring any visits due to her being in hospital and then into a care home, I then received a bill of £3,382.50 for visits to my mum that never took place as when all this time she was in hospital then into a care home, so I challenged this extortionate amount for visits that never ever took placed and was told they needed 28 days written notice, no empathy or understanding that the last thing you think about in scenarios such as my mum was going through, and absolutely at no time was I reminded about this 28 days written notice , why would they they knew this was a devious dispicable way of profiting from other people’s situations.
so despite me not having the ability to see into the future or any actual visits that never took place this company has taken that amount of money from her account and left her penniless, so unless you can see 28 into the future before putting in writing you loved one may fall ill, go to hospital or into care and phone calls from you don’t mean a thing , then DO NOT USE THIS RIP OFF UNETHICAL GREEDY COMPANY, unless you are rich and can see into the future ,if I can save just one family the distress, anxiety and now leaving my penniless this Utterly true horrible and distressing review will have been worth , my honest recommendation is AVOID AVOID AVOID

The entire team including managers, team leaders and carers were knowledgeable, compassionate and very efficient. We received the care assessment within hours of a phone call and a tailored package of care was initiated within the required time frame. The lovely carer fit right in with our family and made my dad's stay with me so much easier. My dad was able to maintain his independence without feeling he was imposing or having to always ask for help. I will definitely use this organisation again.

We were with them for over a year, maybe two. It was good at the beginning. The organiser was very attentive and my mother had a great carer. But as time went on and with all the management changes, the service became less good but when my mother's Alzheimers started to kick in and the really good carer left there wasn't a carer that seemed as good or as experienced. it all came to a head when the final carer was too frightened to deal with mum and didn't feel safe - which I understand. But that doesn't help us. When I said to her, "but I thought you're meant to be trained with dementia patients?" She said, "not the aggressive ones."

I thought that was a really poor answer.

Anyway, they abandoned us saying my mum kept on dismissing the carers they sent but she is ill, this is what sick people do. As with all care agencies the quality of care depends on the carers themselves and they just don't have experienced carers.

I spoke to a carer who is a family friend and she was really shocked by the agency's inability to deal with difficult dementia cases. I've tried to get the family friend to care for my mother but she's happy with her company and job.

Again it was all good when Mum's dementia was not full-blown but afterwards, we were abandoned and they blamed the ill person they were meant to be looking after. They contacted me recently to say that they stopped the service as below.

"No the case was that mum kept rejecting carers, I suspended for sometime until we can figure out what was best as mum was declining all carers."

But note that they haven't offered to resume the service.

Lincoln office - Absolute abysmal unprofessional behaviour, always belittling and intimidating clients with rude behaviour.
Don't actually inform clients of any changes e.g Structured time changes , staff changes or cancelled appointments by them!! if the time was 1-4pm e.g they would turn up at 10am without any notice or any contact with the client and put it down as a paid client cancelation!! (which is nasty to take advantage of disabled people) Communication is then shockingly poor as they do not seem to coordinate properly on the phones they always complain about lack of staff and being out in care and significant attitude problems with clients that do have the ability to contact them, they then try to exacerbate their disability and emotional state.
They also do not turn up to appointments and also put this down as a client paid cancelation and some staff do turn up and leave straight away without care being delivered, Others turn up and state the director has told them they cannot deliver care today and still goes down as paid cancellation to the client expense to no service being delivered.
Carers have also taken client to the hospital for emergencies purposes and even though the hospital couldn't help in this situation. The care company forced the carer to leave the client to walk home over 4 miles in the Dark in distress and the client almost committed suicide when they got lost with their memory problems and ended up at a quarry.
I would of thought it would of been the number 1 rule a carer is to care for their client and make sure they get home SAFLY
Client has also requested a data access request/SAR and the company are not responding and seem to be ignoring this. This is a lawful request.
Home instead agreed the clients needs through a 3rd party to support and care for this client and not a single one of those needs could be met and was never met and the client seems to have been thrown under a bus.
which has had significant effect on their health and also impacted the provided care needed.
Client has also requested complaint process information as this is not stated anywhere on the website and this has not been provided to the client after numerous requests in writing.

As others have said, once they have you signed up the communication deteriorates. They are very expensive. Fine for companionship and making cups of tea but do not use them if you require more detailed care. Once my relative’s condition began to deteriorate they were completely out of their depth. Didn’t respond appropriately in a crisis and played family members off against each other with responses to “what is best”. Once a complaint went in they closed ranks and Head Office washed their hands of any responsibility as each branch is run as a franchise. They turned up at my vulnerable relative’s house, press ganged her into signing something to say she was perfectly happy with them and then refused to leave a copy. Terminated contract with no notice and then tried to charge her for the visit! Appalling treatment of my relative and the family who know her best.

Undoubtedly the most rewarding job you could ever wish for. Clients are absolutely delightful, and care professionals are well matched to them. You get the choice of how few or how many hours you work, though obviously you can be asked to cover for absent colleagues, however there is no obligation to do so. I was completely new to the care sector, having worked in another field for many years, and I felt that training was very thorough, and I am extremely proud of all the new skills I have acquired. The work can be challenging, of course, and it is very difficult when the time comes to say goodbye to a client you have become close to, but the rewards of doing this job are indescribable - to know you have put a smile on someone's face, or that someone's day was a little easier or happier because you were there, gives you a feeling of joy and pride which is hard to capture in words. I intended only to do a few hours per week, but by choice, I have built up to full time and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the fact that care calls are long enough to really get to know the clients, and to have time to find out what really makes them tick; their interests, loves, and passions, as well as taking care of the needs which have made them require care. I love to take them out, help them revisit places, hobbies and interests which maybe they haven't had so much opportunity to take part in recently, whether that be gardening, music, socialising etc. You can be so much more than a carer to them, and this is what I love best. I would recommend Home Instead unequivocally to any prospective client, family member, or care professional. I can't speak highly enough of my experience of working here.
Pros
Wonderful clients and plenty of time to build up a rapport with them
Cons
Very difficult to say goodbye to a client you have become attached to them

Firstly carers are great. Company vastly overpriced. Don’t respond to emails promptly if at all. Once they have you signed back office support and communication is dreadful. I certainly would not recommend to anyone.

Home Instead is a fantastic care provider that works hard to deliver the best quality care to its clients. Everyone I’ve interacted with from members of the office team to care pros are highly professional, compassionate, helpful and caring!

I have been the Registered Care Manager for Home Instead Wembley for the last year.
It has been really nice working in a female led environment where we all try to grow together and grow the business.
There is a big supportive network throughout the UK that helps you familiarise with all processes.
The best thing was that there is a lot of training specifically for managers and there is a national office quality team that is always there to assist with any quality or auditing queries.

The training is ongoing and everyone has been amazing so far.

I have worked closely with Home Instead for a number of years helping them to make a difference to people's lives. They really care, the Office Teams and Care staff want to give everyone the best quality of life and to enjoy their twlight years with respect and dignity. They continue to impress.