Close your eyes for a moment and picture yourself at home, the house holds many precious memories, it's where you raised your children, it's a place you love - but either through old age, health problems or a disability, some aspects of your day-to-day life are becoming increasingly difficult.

So, you start thinking about arranging some additional help so that you can live at home safely, but with so many different care providers around, where do you start?

The first thing to ask yourself is "what would good care look like to me?"

Let's start with time. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that care visits should last no less than 30 minutes.

That's potentially just 30 minutes to help someone with significant health problems, maybe dementia or general frailty to get out of bed, use the toilet, take a shower or bath, get dressed, take their medication and have breakfast. Probably not a great experience for the person or the carer.

Now picture a visit of at least double that and imagine what a difference that would make.

When care is unhurried there is time for dignity, independence and building trusted relationships. That is the difference we offer at Home Instead through collaborative care.

Finding a good quality care provider is also likely to be high on your priority list, but how can you be safe in that knowledge?

Care providers in the UK are monitored, inspected and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Care providers are rated by the CQC inspectors based upon how safe, effective, caring, well-led and responsive they have found the care provided to be – scoring them on a scale of inadequate to outstanding.

This information is readily available on the CQC website, but with less than 0.1% of UK home care providers rated 5* outstanding in every area, it can still be difficult to identify one that really stands out.

Home Instead Exeter and East Devon are the only home care provider in the South West to have been awarded 5-star outstanding in all areas.

Further recognition has been given by the CQC for their innovation in care due to their investment into two Raizer Chairs which take the strain from the emergency services for non-emergency falls and ensures clients are comfortable within the shortest possible time.

After all that, there is still the matter of allowing strangers into your home to work with you on such a personal and intimate level. Understandably this isn't a thought that sits comfortably for many people! It can be hard to break the ice and get to a point where you feel really comfortable with someone.

Wouldn't it feel better to be introduced to your carer first by someone that you already know and better still, if some thought had gone into selecting your carer based on both your personalities and interests? That's precisely what we strive to do at Home Instead.

When Mark and Vanessa McGlade found themselves in the position of arranging care for a much-loved relative, they were quickly at a loss for a home care provider that could really offer what their loved one needed and deserved.

What they were seeking to find was care that was to the same standard that they would provide to their family member themselves. And when they couldn't find it, that was the moment they decided to open Home Instead Exeter and East Devon!

But the story doesn't stop there! Mark and Vanessa's uncompromising concept of unhurried and companionship-led care, of the highest quality, continues to prove popular with both their clients and employees alike.

They are passionate about being an employer of choice and have won various awards over the years for their accredited training and employer excellence.

If you would like to know more about Home Instead's local care services and/or current recruitment opportunities, you can contact them on 01404 515900 or email [email protected] and a member of the team will be happy to help.