Keeping your details up to date

When someone is in need of care, things can change quickly. Medications, conditions and care needs may increase as time goes on, or decrease in cases of recuperation and rehabilitation. Whatever the changes are, it’s really important to keep your loved one’s Elder Care Profile up to date to make sure the self employed carers you select have all the information they need to provide the best care.

When you started your care journey with Elder, you may have had to only complete certain elements in the Care Profile. These elements will have allowed a quick check to establish if it was appropriate for a self-employed carer to deliver care through the Elder platform. The Care Profile has additional sections regarding your loved one’s care needs for you to fill in at your leisure. While that information isn’t critical for onboarding it is essential for your self-employed carer.

We believe the more information you provide, the better prepared the self-employed carers you select will be to deliver the care needed to your loved one. That's why you can update your care profile at any time via My Elder by clicking on your loved ones name. You don’t need to contact Elder to let us know you have done so, if there’s anything we need to discuss about the changes you’ve made, we’ll be in touch.

Key times to make updates

Some of the changes that would require updates:

• A new condition has been diagnosed
• Significant change to a existing condition
• New medications prescribed
• New equipment is being used (such as hoists or mobility aids)
• Significant changes to night time needs
• New involvement from healthcare professionals (such as district nurses) or carers (visiting carer support)
• Significant changes to personal care needs
• Feedback from self-employed carers

There are also times when it’s right to review the Care Profile:

• If you’ve paused care for a significant period of time (4 weeks or more)
• After a hospitalisation
• When a new carer is coming after a primary carer has been on placement for a longer period of time

Top tips for keeping your care profile up to date

• Elder will send automatic reminders, try not to ignore them and flag them for your attention later.
• If you’re managing care from a distance, you can work with your self-employed carer to ensure care needs are accurately reflected.
• Consider adding collaborators to your account, so if you're not available and an urgent change needs to be made, someone else can step in.
• If you’re requested to update the care profile by Elder or your self-employed carer, please do this as soon as possible. If we’ve had feedback that it is not accurate, this may prevent us advertising for respite or replacement self-employed carer until the profile is updated.

Remember, the Care profile is an essential tool to help your loved one receive the best care at home.