What prompted you to start having support from CuraCare?
My husband has quite advanced dementia and it’s terribly important for him and for me that we have continuity of care. He has so many idiosyncrasies and those are things you can only learn by working with somebody over a period of time.
What happened when you first started working with CuraCare?
I have the strongest memories of the time you actually spent finding the right people for us. You were able to bring people to talk to us, to have a chat to find out what we were like and for us to find out what the carers were like. It was a very speedy process. You somehow managed to have an instinct for finding the right person.
I was very impressed the first time I met you that you came around and there was no time pressure. You were able to sit and talk to me about what I was looking for, for my husband, and, as far as he could understand, by asking him too. That initial investment of time in understanding what the client needs was absolutely essential. You realized that there are two people, the individual person being cared for and their main carer or relative as well. You spent the time finding the right people for us both.
How was your experience with CuraCare?
Before CuraCare I’d had limited experience of carers but my experience was totally task based. I had absolutely no idea of the difference it would make to have a company like CuraCare who actually cared for the individual in every possible way. Not only the individual but for me as well. Having CuraCare completely transformed our lives from previously having a stranger coming to do a basic job to having a friend who is there to support us both.
My experience of care companies has been limited but it’s plumbed the depths and then reached the heights with CuraCare. I’ve learned that I can have absolute trust in how they look after my husband. He too has amazing trust in them. It’s charming to listen to him chatting with the carers. They get on amazingly well. I’m so glad to welcome them into our home.
Both of us have built up a really personal relationship with them. It can be difficult having people coming into your home. But we see CuraCare carers as friends, people who are there to help. It’s been a revelation to see how positive that kind of care relationship can be with the right people. This real sense of care is something which I think is unusual but incredibly touching when it happens.
What do you think of the CuraCare carers?
One of the things that is quite challenging when you start using carers is the level of trust that you put in them. I have been delighted to say I have absolute trust in CuraCare. The team have been wonderful. I can go out whenever I need to and I know that my husband will be looked after wonderfully. I don’t have any doubts at all – they are totally reliable.
If I could sum up what I feel about the carers at Curacare, it’s that they are caring, compassionate and totally professional.
What do you appreciate most about CuraCare?
I really do feel they are there to support me. I can always rely on them to do whatever is necessary to get me out of a hole when I need it. To have that kind of support is an incredible reassurance, particularly when you’re under a great deal of stress. To know that you have that personal relationship with a company is something I think that’s almost unique.
Life was very tough for us before we found CuraCare. Our lives have been transformed and my general health and sense of wellbeing has improved considerably. I can see that my husband is well looked after and stimulated by the company of such caring people.
