This is Home Instead Senior Care Hiring Week

Image: Home Instead Senior Care.

Home Instead Hiring Week is under way through these next five days, 15-19 August, creating opportunities to build a career in care in Kildare.

Home care continues to be an in-demand sector providing career opportunities across the country.

New recruits will be trained with the support of Home Instead’s Home Care Professionals Academy.

Home Instead is Ireland’s largest private provider of home care services and the week provides 1,000 professional CAREGiver opportunities in Kildare and nationwide.

Home is the preferred option for vulnerable and ageing people and their families, providing comfort, independence and familiarity, leading to better health outcomes impacting quality of life. Home Instead CAREGivers protect more people from the risks of isolation that can result in increased loneliness and malnutrition. They also help older people manage their conditions reducing hospital admissions and readmissions. 

Home Instead Kildare seeks to further support vulnerable and ageing people in the community by hiring professional CAREGivers. The recruitment days schedule is as follows:

• Monday 15th August – Recruitment Stand, Manor Mills Shopping Centre, Maynooth from 10am.

• Tuesday 16th August – Recruitment Open Day, Home Instead Office, Newbridge,  from 10am. 

• Thursday 18th August – Recruitment Stand, Fairgreeen Shopping Centre, Carlow, from 10am.

• Friday 19th August – Recruitment Stand, McDonagh Junction shopping Centre, Kilkenny, from 10am.

Agnes Moloney, HR/Recruitment,  Home Instead Kildare says the professional CAREGiver role is ideal for caring and compassionate individuals who are seeking job stability with a flexible schedule and supportive environment as well as continued opportunities for career progression. “We like to say that it takes a special person to become a professional Home Instead CAREGiver — with a desire to share their talents and skills with those they care for. It is a rewarding career for individuals from every walk of life and age group. We are looking forward to meeting those interested in a meaningful career in home care at our events during Home Instead Hiring Week. We are a great company to work for with a culture steeped in values. We would not be where we are today without our exceptional employees.” 

For more information about career opportunities at Home Instead, training and benefits, or to apply for a caregiving position, visit Careers.HomeInstead.ie or call 045 446593.

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Helping to manage the older years

Getting older is one of the inevitable facts of life. And there are going to be a lot more older people. That's an equally inevitable course of the demographic of today's Ireland, which suggests that the number of over-65s is going to double in the next 10 years.

The third inevitable is that as we grow older, we can find it more difficult to look after ourselves.

"It used to be that there were only two choices for people in that position, moving into one of their children's home, or to a nursing home," says Amanda Bohan, who has just opened a new business based in Kilcullen which offers a third alternative, Home Instead. This is a personal support service for elderly people in their own home. Amanda is pictured here with her Caregiver Manager Suzanne Rankin.



'Home Instead' is a global franchise which began in America in 1994. It was brought to Ireland in 2005 and now there is a growing network of owner-managed branches of the organisation across the country. Amanda, originally from Johnstown and now living in Calverstown, has acquired the franchise for County Kildare.

"I really only planned to get involved in some volunteering work with older people, when my youngest child began pre-school," she says. "But I came across Home Instead and heard that they were looking for somebody to open up in Kildare.”

With a background in environmental science and upper management in pharmaceuticals and the waste industry, it might seem an odd choice to go into Senior Care. But Amanda has always had a strong interest in the area.

“When I was going through College I used to do night work in a nursing home in Clontarf. I also used to spend time helping care for my grandfather on a farm in England, as he had Alzheimers. So I have a huge passion for Seniors.”

The initial negotiations with Home Instead involved what Amanda describes as some ‘pretty rigorous’ interviews and personality evaluations. For her own part, she wanted to be sure herself that she was prepared to give the job total commitment.

“I have to be at the end of a phone 24/7, for families who might need help at any time. But I decided that I could do that.”

The next step was a training stint at Omaha in Nebraska, USA, where Home Instead was founded. This was followed by further training in Dublin. “It’s all non-medical, and I have done all the training that the caregivers undergo. I already had the business experience, so I was then ready to go.”

Amanda is quite clear that there is a need for what she is offering, that there’s a gap in the services available because the resources available to the HSE in this sector are limited. “The emphasis now is on having older people live in their own home for as long as possible, and they can do that, with assistance.”

The Home Instead motto is to ‘assist, encourage, and stimulate’. The services offered range from companionship through light housework and meal preparation to help with personal hygiene, medication reminders, taking the client to do their shopping and to appointments.

“It can be as simple as helping them to walk their dog or complete a jig-saw puzzle, or be more complex like reminiscence activities for those suffering from early Alzheimers or dementia. That can include helping them to put together something like a family book to tell the story of themselves before they are seriously affected.”

The work, Amanda says, is ‘person-centred’. “It isn’t task oriented, and what we really emphasise is compatibility between the client and the caregiver. We have been interviewing for caregivers over the last while and there’s a huge variety in age and personality. In the work we spend a lot of time trying to match these up.”

Recruitment of people to be caregivers was on the theme ‘Special Touch Needed’. “We had a tremendous response. The danger was that we would get people who are just looking for work, but in fact we overwhelmingly got applications from people who had looked after somebody already.”

The experience gained in the global network is all available to underpin the local office’s service. Home Instead gives full training to those selected to go on their panel of caregivers. And because the business is operating county-wide, it needs caregivers in all parts of Kildare.

Amanda will spend much of her time for the next while networking with GPs, nurses, and hospitals, while scheduling and organising is carried out by Suzanne Rankin, Caregiver Manager. Living in Newbridge, she was one of 260 applicants for the job. “It turned out she had previously worked for Home Instead on Australia’s Gold Coast,” Amanda says, clearly very happy with the symmetry of it.

Every client’s requirements are different, and Amanda and her team will ensure that all needs are individually addressed. Confidentiality is absolutely important, as is continuity. “When we match up a client and caregiver, they will stay together. Older people don’t like chopping and changing.”

It is work which involves building trust, as Amanda has to satisfy the person concerned about their mother or father that they will be properly looked after by the service. “I’m passionate about it, and that is what I have to get across.”

Clients pay for the Home Instead service themselves, but there is a 41 percent allowance against tax, which is adjusted on a monthly basis. There are basically three levels of care -- companionship, home care, and personal care which can include helping during early onset of Alzheimers or dementia. Rates start at €18.90 an hour. Live-in and overnight care can be arranged on an agreed rate.

Home Instead is also available to advise on how to raise difficult subjects to older people, such as their children’s concerns about diminishing driving ability and similar worries.

Home Instead is based in the Main Street premises formerly used by Adrian Dunne’s pharmacy.

(This story was originally published in the Kilcullen Page of the Kildare Nationalist.)

Where home care is more than numbers

Looking for the natural care giverYou can put numbers on any business, but they only tell part of the story, writes Brian Byrne.

The Home Instead Senior Care operation in Kildare and Laois provides some 6,000 hours of care a month, and in the process has already helped around 200 families. If you look at those numbers, the business set up at the end of 2009 by Amanda Bohan is a serious success story.

But it's the human side of that story which is really important, the part that actually measures success. The Home Instead philosophy is to enable elderly people to live in their own homes and environment as long as possible, and by its very nature it has to be 'people centred'.

"What we can do is respond quickly to peoples' needs," says Amanda (pictured on left with office manager Karen O'Donoghue), whose interest in seniors care began while working nights in a nursing home as a student in Dublin, and also caring for her grandfather who had Alzheimer's. "Sometimes our work is simply providing support for a few hours on a daily basis, but if there's a sudden change, maybe due to a hospital admission and discharge, we can adapt the level and type of care immediately to suit the new situation."

That flexibility is a key part of the success of the Home Instead service. But at least equally important is the care they take in selecting caregivers, and then matching them to the client. It's all about relationships and all about people. Especially with the 'live-in' part of the service which is showing substantial growth. This can range, depending on circumstance, from a couple of 24 hour shifts a week through to full 24/7 care by a team of Home Instead staff.

"Getting the right people is challenging," says office manager Karen O'Donoghue, who figures that maybe two out of 20 of the applications that cross her desk end up being suitable. "It takes a huge amount of work to get the quality of the people that we need."

Home Instead meets with students in local colleges to recruit from those who are being trained in this area, but obviously is competing with the nursing homes for these people. And in some respects, caregivers for home care need to be a little different. So Amanda and Karen are currently seeking to recruit from the ranks of 'natural' caregivers in the community through Kildare and Laois.

"There are plenty of lovely women and men out there who have cared at some stage for family members," says Karen. "Perhaps a parent, or an aunt, uncle or dependent. When they no longer need care, have passed on or grown up, there's a void, and maybe those carers can fill that through working with us."

What Amanda and Karen are looking for is people with that kind of practical experience of caregiving. But they are the very ones who might be frightened off from offering their skills in a commercial operation because of the statutory requirement for training. "The training is necessary, but that can be done with us at their own pace," says Amanda. "Already they are home-makers. They bake, they sew, they do all the things that many of our clients value." As well as providing the kind of companionship that is essential to the wellbeing of every human being.

They also need to be licenced to drive, as in some cases they will be asked to use a client's car, and anyway will need to have access to a car to get to and from their work. "There's no age limit, as long as they are physically fit," Karen notes. "The usual Garda vetting and references requirements also apply, but the references don't have to relate to professional experience in the area."

At the moment, the Kildare/Laois Home Instead operation has around 120 caregivers on its books. More are needed, especially with the growing awareness of home care as a realistic, and often preferable option to a nursing home. "Once you go the nursing home route, it's very hard to come back," Karen observes.

Amanda makes the point that in the area where her franchise operates there are many older people living in rural areas. "They don't want to leave their homes, and in many cases their families get together to co-fund care at home. With the tax rebate available, on a cost basis it competes favourably with the nursing home scenario."

That tax break provides for 41 percent of the home care costs to be applicable against income tax for qualifying family members, including nieces and nephews. It can be split between a number of them, and Home Instead can invoice the individual co-funders separately.

That, of course, is again numbers telling only part of a story. Because, at the bottom line for its clients and for Home Instead itself, it's always a people thing.

And maybe you are the kind of people they want to get in touch with as a potential caregiver? If you think you are, give Karen a call on 045 484623.

Caregiver opportunities at Home Instead Kildare

Image: Home Instead Senior Care.

Home Instead Kildare, which was started in Kilcullen in 2009, is offering employment opportunities for care-givers who would like to join their team.

Home Instead Kildare first opened its doors on the Main Street in Kilcullen in December 2009, with Amanda Bohan and just one other employee. It quickly became apparent that there was significant demand among older people in the community for assistance that allowed them to remain living independently at home. We received great support from the business community in Kilcullen, who were most welcoming and guided us on our path.

We had to expand into the upstairs apartments over the Main Street unit and then, in less than four years, Home Instead had to relocate to a bigger premises in Market Square, Kilcullen. Five years later, we left Kilcullen for a larger premises on the Main Street in Newbridge.

While we were sad to leave Kilcullen, it still remains a special place to all involved, and some would describe it as “the soul of the office”. A lot of the office staff employed in Newbridge are from Kilcullen and its hinterlands and we continue to employ the most fantastic and kind CAREGivers in the area, some of whom have been with us since Home Instead Kildare first opened in December 2009.

Our CAREGivers provide vital support to lots of older members of the Kilcullen community, allowing them to remain in the comfort of their own homes where they are happiest, and, more recently, safest. We continue to provide care on behalf of the HSE or directly with the individual and their families. Support forms such a key part of what we do and this was a valuable lesson learned in Kilcullen.

We are always looking for new members to join our team and if you feel this is something that you would be interested in looking into further, please contact Agnes Moloney on 045 446593 or agnes.moloney@homeinstead.ie and she will be delighted to explain our opportunities to you in more detail.

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Rugby greats open Home Instead office

Several legends of Irish rugby attended the official opening of the Home Instead Senior Care (Kildare) HQ in Kilcullen on Friday afternoon. The honours were done by Ciaran Fitzgerald, in the company of Moss Keane and the event recalled especially the late Mick Doyle, the father of Amanda Bohan, MD of the Home Instead franchise for Kildare.

Also among the attendance was Minister of State Aine Brady TD.

The voices under the pictures above are Ed Murphy of Home Instead Ireland, Amanda Bohan of Home Instead Kildare, and Ciaran Fitzgerald.

Secure box for defibrillator presented to First Responders

Mary Kelly of Home Instead presents first responders John Davitt, Suzanne Lawlor and Mary Rafferty with the box today. Mary Rafferty works as a carer for Home Instead and is now also a Kilcullen First Responder.

Home Instead Senior Care has kindly donated a heated secure box to Kilcullen Community First Responders for their defibrillator.

In business 10 years, Amanda Bohan has built the Home Instead care provision to now 160 carers employed in the greater Kildare area. The company and their carers realise the importance of first responders in the community and within their own community. Home Instead’s main office is now in Newbridge but was formerly in Kilcullen and they remain avid supporters of the community here.

The location of the box is being finalised but it will enable the responders to access the equipment easily for their rostered time.

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Home Instead sponsors golf tournament

First golf sponsorshipThe first Open Competition sponsored by Kilcullen based Home Instead Senior Care at the Curragh Golf Club was a great success.

Amanda Bohan of Home Instead said the company's involvement with the Curragh Golf Club is 'a wonderful way to build relationships in the local community'.

Pictured at the event are prize winners Hugh McGauran and Karl Schutte of Home Instead; with Helen O’Malley, Lady Captain Curragh Golf Club; and sponsor Amanda Bohan, MD Home Instead Senior Care.

Home Instead is a Franchise of the Year winner

Local home care provider Home Instead Senior Care was named Franchise of the Year (Service) in the 2015 Irish Franchise Awards.

The awards recognise excellence in franchising and reward the outstanding achievements of businesses and individuals in the franchise industry.

Amanda Bohan, owner and Managing Director of the local home care provider in Kilcullen saidwinning the Service category acknowledges the efforts Home Instead have made in providing an unrivalled home care service to clients in the local community. "To us, home care is personal," she says, "and the relationships we have with clients underpins everything we do”.

The judging panel for the 2015 Irish Franchise Awards included Newstalk Business Presenter and former Irish Dragon Bobby Kerr; Orla Nugent, Director Executive MBA, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School; Greg Swift, head of enterprise at Dublin Local Enterprise Office; Michael Bradley, former CEO of the Irish Franchise Association and Elaine O'Regan of the Sunday Business Post.

The Irish Franchise Awards celebrate 20 years this year and it is one of the longest running business award ceremonies in Ireland. 230 guests attended the black-tie gala event hosted by Newstalk’s Jonathan Healy and officiated by Minister Kevin Humphreys TD.

Pictured at the Awards at the Clyde Court Hotel are Minister Kevin Humphreys TD and Bobby Kerr, presenting the Franchise of The Year (Service) Award on behalf of Rialto Ford Motors to Lorna Dunne, Tony O Donovan and Deirdre Donnehy, Home Instead.

Home Instead is national competition finalist

Home Instead Senior Care has been officially named a Finalist in the SFA National Small Business Awards 2015 by AJ Noonan, SFA Chairman and Chair of the Awards Judging Panel.

The aim of the awards is to celebrate the achievements of small business in Ireland, and to recognise the vital contribution of the small business sector to Irish industry.

“The response to the awards programme serves as a reminder that Irish small companies are resilient, putting their best foot forward and seeking recognition for their efforts” commented AJ Noonan, SFA Chairman and Chair of the Awards Judging Panel.

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, who is Patron of the Awards, said the Awards provide an opportunity to highlight the success of our small firms as they seek out new markets and innovations. "Staying competitive is essential for growth and recovery and the Government will continue to do everything we can with our Action Plan for Jobs to support small firms across Ireland.”

Home Instead Senior Care is Ireland’s largest home care provider and has been in operation in Ireland since 2005. Its mission it to enable older people to live a happy, healthy and independent life at home by providing a range of professional home care services. The company started providing care services in Kildare and neighbouring Laois in 2010. Amanda Bohan, Owner and Managing Director of Home Instead Senior Care said it makes a positive difference in the lives of older people and their families in the local community. "Being named finalist in this prestigious awards is a reinforcement of the importance and need for senior care. It is also an accolade for our caregivers who have enabled the availability of this important service available in Kildare."

The awards will be presented by An Taoiseach to all category winners and the Overall Winner at a Gala Event in March 2015.

Home Instead Christmas night

Home Instead Senior Care in Kilcullen recently hosted a Christmas night for older people in the local community and caregivers, with a screening of the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” in the Kilcullen Town Hall Theatre.

The venue provided easy access for people of all ages and including those living with a disability as well as spacious and comfortable seats. Teas, coffees and mince pies were on hand for movie-goers and attendees had a chance to not only watch a Christmas classic but to also mingle with people in the local community.

Amanda Bohan, owner and MD of Home Instead Senior Care, said the event went down a treat with older people in the local community. "It gave people a chance to get out and about and meet up with friends and neighbours as well as watch a classic Christmas movie," she added. "Home Instead Senior Care is a supporter of older people living a happy, healthy and independent life at home and look forward to hosting further events for older people and the very important caregivers in Kildare”.

Amanda is pictured above at the event with John Carey, Newbridge.

Caregivers needed for Home Instead

Two recruitment fairs to introduce the Home Instead Senior Care organisation to potential carer employees will be held in the coming weeks, writes Brian Byrne.

The Kilcullen-based Home Instead for Kildare and Laois urgently needs caregivers for the Kilcullen, Curragh, Newbridge and Kildare Town areas.

Home Instead Senior Care is the largest non-medical home care provider in Ireland and the Fairs are aimed to provide people with a better understanding of the role of a caregiver and opportunities to join the team.

They will be held in Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge on Wednesday 17 May, and Celbridge Manor Hotel on Wednesday 24 May, with the Jobs Desk open from 9.30am to 1pm on both days.

Places at the free event can be booked by calling 045 484623 or emailing brenda.mooney@homeinstead.ie.

Candidates with qualifications have an advantage but training can be provided to suitable applicants. Fluent English and own transport is essential. Applicants must have a kind, dependable and trustworthy nature.

Home Instead to represent Ireiand in business competition

The Home Instead Senior Care operation headquartered in Kilcullen has been awarded a National Champion status in the European Business Awards, writes Brian Byrne.

The Awards are sponsored by major international accounting firm RSM International, the 7th largest company of its kind in the world. The Awards are now recognised as the most important competition for business in Europe.

Home Instead Senior Car will now go forward to the next stage of the Awards competition, where the presentations by each of the National Champions will be reviewed by a panel of judges made up of Europe-wide business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs.

Over 24,000 business from 33 European countries have been involved in the Awards this year so far, and 709 companies from across Europe have been named this week as National Champions.

"The European Business Awards is widely recognised as the showcase for Europe’s most dynamic companies," says Amanda Bohan, owner and MD of Home Instead in Kildare. "We are now looking forward to the next round of the judging process where we can explain in more depth how we are achieving business success.”

An Irishman was named as Entrepreneur of the Year in last year's Awards, Liam O’Kelly, Founder and CEO of AirSpeed Telecom. AirSpeed Telecom provides high performance telecommunications products and services to enterprise, public sector and SME businesses.

Home Instead a great place to work

The Home Instead Senior Care franchise in Ireland has been given the accolade of 'A Great Place to Work', writes Brian Byrne. The Kildare/Laois operations of the organisation are headquartered in Kilcullen.

It was one of 59 Irish organisations celebrated in the recent awards ceremony in the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Dublin, which was attended by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD.

Home Instead Senior Care was named one of the Best Medium Workplaces in the Ireland 2015 list. Amanda Bohan, Owner and Managing Director of Home Instead Senior Care in Kildare and Laois said the award will further fuel efforts to take even better care of clients and promote advocacy for seniors at every opportunity.

"At a time when there is a growing need for senior care, independent assessments and rankings of care providers such as Great Places to Work, will become an invaluable reference tool to help families research care service providers for their loved ones," she said.

Home Instead supports call for more Home Care Services

A greater number of older people could avail of home care services as a result of a new bill introduced by Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Social Protection, says Amanda Bohan, owner of Home Instead Senior Care in Kildare which is based in Kilcullen.

The new bill will allow for home care services to be offered to people in place of long-term residential care.

“As Ireland’s largest home care provider it is our mission to enhance the lives of older people and their families," Amanda Bohan says. "We have cared for thousands of older people and we believe it is their preference and in their best interest to remain at home for as long as possible.”

She adds that the benefits of home care to both older people and the local community are tremendous and that the individual wins back a level of independence, security and confidence.

"By keeping people out of nursing homes and hospitals who don’t really need to be there, by reducing the length of time someone must stay in institutionalised care following an illness and by helping people remain at home for longer, valuable resources can be better utilised by the local health board."

Home care also offers one-on-one care. A professional caregiver will support the older person in any way they can, this support can include personal care such as bathing or something as simple as companionship and light housekeeping — the home care service is tailored to the needs of the older person.

For more information visit HomeInstead.ie or call 045 484623 for a free home care consultation.

Families paying for home care 'should check for tax relief'

Families who use a home care service to help their elderly loved ones stay living at home should check that they’re getting tax relief that they may be entitled to.

That’s the advice from Amanda Bohan, MD of the Kilcullen based Home Instead Senior Care in Kildare and Laois, who says many families may not be aware of an entitlement to have some home care expenses reimbursed every year.

Families who employ a home care provider to look after an older relative can avail of tax relief of up to 20pc or 40pc depending on their marginal rate of tax, up to a maximum deduction of €75,000. The bill payer can then claim tax relief at the end of the year or on a monthly basis based on the individual’s preference.

According to the most recent figures from the Revenue Commissioners, 1,910 people claimed the ‘Person Entitled to take care of an Incapacitated Individual’ tax relief in 2014. However, there are approximately 4,000 individuals receiving home care services from Home Instead Senior Care, one of a number of home care providers in Ireland.

“While not all of our clients and their families qualify for the tax credit, as a large number are in receipt of HSE-funded home care packages, there are still people who could be claiming it,” Amanda Bohan says. “If more families were aware of this allowance, it would make home care a more affordable option and encourage older people to remain living independently at home.”

'We need to talk ...'

Adult children and their parents need to have conversations about ageing issues before a critical illness makes them necessary, writes Brian Byrne.

That’s the view of Home Instead Senior Care’s Amanda Bohan, commenting on survey results that show such conversations simply aren’t happening enough.

The owner of Home Instead’s Kildare franchise, based in Kilcullen, notes that from the survey, half of such adult children have waited until a health crisis before discussing with their parents such matters as living choices, driving, health and end of life.

Home Instead has developed a ’40-70 Rule’ and programme with resources such as videos, conversation starters and ageing plans, to help jump-start that dialogue when children are approaching their 40s and, or, their parents are approaching their 70s.

“Too often, conversations about important senior care issues are taking place in a hospital, after a health emergency has occurred,” Amanda says. “We’re hoping to change that.”

The most difficult conversation for families to discuss is around living choices. Two-thirds of adult children surveyed and four in ten of senior parents say it is most difficult to discuss the parent’s need to move away from the home in the event of a change in physical or mental health.

More information from HomeInstead.ie.

'Claim tax refunds on senior care fees'

The local Home Instead Senior Care office is reminding those who avail of home care to be sure they apply for any tax refunds due on the fees.

Owner of Kildare Home Instead franchise Amanda Bohan notes that there's a four-year time limit for reclaiming such refunds, so anyone with unclaimed rebates for as far back as 2011 must be applied for before 31 December 2015.

“Being a carer can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Caregivers often feel overwhelmed by the work and the demands of those receiving their care," Amanda Bohan says. "It is therefore important for family carers to be aware of relevant allowances and entitlements to support them in making home care available for loved ones."

It was announced in Budget 2016 that the Home Carer's Tax Credit will increase from €810 to €1,000 in 2016. The home carer’s income threshold will also increase from €5,080 to €7,200.

For information and advice on home care visit HomeInstead.ie.

Bogus caller check cards to be distributed

Some 300,000 bogus caller check cards are to be distributed to older home owners around the country, thanks to sponsorship from the Home Instead Senior Care company, writes Brian Byrne.

The cards offer clear advice to home owners about how to deal with callers, who may be genuine or bogus.

The advice includes looking out the window, having a viewer fitted on your door and a door chain —and keep the chain on.

Also make sure your back door is locked before you go to the door, ask for ID — a genuine caller won’t mind — and don’t be embarrassed to tell the caller to write and make an appointment.

The basic rule is: if you don’t know the person at your door, you shouldn’t let them in. It is advised to give them a bogus caller check card to fill out their details — a genuine person will typically co-operate and not have a problem filling out the card.

If anxious contact your local Garda station.

Many people in the local community routinely employ door-to-door traders and repair people/contractors. Some of these people carry out very little work and charge exorbitant amounts of money for their services. This is criminal behaviour and if you suspect bogus callers are in your area or are working in a vulnerable neighbour’s home, never hesitate in contacting the Gardaí immediately.

“We encourage older people and anyone else concerned about bogus callers to contact our local office on 045 484 623 and request a bogus caller card,” says Amanda Bohan, owner and MD of Home Instead Senior Care in Kildare.

Alzheimer's workshop today

Home Instead Senior Care in Kilcullen is offering free training for caregivers of those suffering from Alzheimer's. A workshop is being held in Fallons today, 18 September at 2.30pm.

This workshop is specially designed for family caregivers and offers a personal approach to help families care for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease at home. Some 60-70 percent of people with dementia in Ireland currently live at home in the community and rely on family caregivers.

The Home Instead Senior Care network assembled the top experts in Alzheimer’s disease across the globe to develop this new training and support programme for family caregivers.

The workshop for family caregivers consists of four classes: Alzheimer’s Disease or Other Dementias Overview; Capturing Life’s Journey; Techniques to Manage Behaviours; and Activities to Encourage Engagement.

A free kit is available for those who are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Also called Confidence to Care, the kit includes advice and resources to help families keep the home safe for a person with a dementia as well as advice on caring for the caregiver.

Concerns expressed on 'unregulated' senior care

Seniors who use unregulated care assistance may be leaving themselves open to compensation and tax liabilities, according to Kilcullen based Home Instead Senior Care Kildare-Laois, writes Brian Byrne.

"Seniors are availing of care that is not monitored, or may be employing carers directly," says the company's MD Amanda Bohan. "This leaves them vulnerable as employers but not necessarily fulfilling employer obligations like insurance, health and safety regulations, and tax requirements."

Linda Gallagher of First Ireland insurance brokers says that in the senior care sector most claims relate to injuries caused either to the carer or the senior themselves by their moving and handling. "If the carer is not employed by a professional, insured senior care specialist company, and sustains an injury, they will be advised to sue the homeowner or whoever engaged their services," she says. "In addition, the seniors themselves will have no recourse to anybody in the event of them sustaining an injury.”

Amanda Bohan says the home care market in Ireland is currently 'completely unregulated' and if individual carers and companies providing home care services are not following good practice, this can cause undue stress and worry to the senior and their family.

Home Instead has experienced a 25 percent increase in enquiries for care in recent times.