A caregiver is a person who comes into the home of someone who cannot care for themselves and provide activities of daily living (ADLs) – a term used in healthcare to refer to people’s daily self-care activities. Common ADLs include feeding ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming, work, homemaking, cleaning oneself after defecating and leisure.

To establish the care needs of the client, an appointment must be scheduled with your nearest Procare branch for an initial assessment at your retirement facility or private home. The assessment is done by a registered nurse, referred to as a case manager. To complete the initial assessment, the case manager needs access to the client’s medical/surgical history, list of chronic medication and details of treating doctors. The client’s physical abilities will be assessed and safety concerns in and around the house will be addressed. This information is kept confidential between the case manager, client/responsible person (with permission from the client) and care worker. From the initial assessment, a recommendation will be made as to what type of care package the client requires and this is then discussed directly with the client or the responsible person. A Service Level Agreement and costing structure will be provided for consideration and service will commence upon signature. The case manager will compile a care plan based on the information obtained during the initial assessment and will then match a suitable care worker with the client.

The Home-based Care contracts range from short ad-hoc contracts to 8-hour, 12-hour, 24-hour and live-in contracts.

Procare caregivers consist of care workers and enrolled nursing assistants. Care workers do not hold a formal nursing qualification such as that of qualified nurses, but have been trained to care for and be a companion to people. Enrolled nursing assistants carry a 1-year certificate in nursing and are registered with the South African Nursing Council. They are able to render more specialised care than that of a normal care worker. The type of caregiver placed with the client is established according to the client’s needs and in accordance with the initial assessment conducted by the professional nurse before inception of service. Any medical conditions will still need to be managed by qualified nursing personnel.

There is a once-off fee payable for the initial assessment and a once-off fee for implementation, which is payable in advance. Home-based Care packages are priced according to hours of service rendered.