Coming home with a care package? Here is what nobody tells you.

What is Home First, or AMG?

If you or someone you look after is being discharged from hospital in Staffordshire with a care package, it will usually be arranged through a scheme called Home First (you may also hear it called AMG). It is designed to get you home quickly with carers visiting, free of charge, for a short period, typically three to six weeks, while your longer-term needs are assessed.

Why it can be a difficult experience

The idea is good. In practice, families often tell us:

• They are not given a time for when visits will happen, so the whole day is spent waiting in.
• They get no say over which carers come, and a different face each time.
• The care itself is very limited.
• Making a complaint is hard, or people feel they cannot complain because the service is free.

What happens when the free weeks end?

This is the question we are asked most often, and the one nobody seems to explain at discharge. At the end of the period you will be reassessed. Depending on your circumstances, your ongoing care may be funded by the local authority, by the NHS, or you may need to arrange and pay for it yourself. In every one of those cases you have a choice about who provides your care, including through Direct Payments.

How we can help

If you answer yes to any of these, please ring us:

• You are coming out of hospital with a care package and do not understand the process.
• You are not sure what will happen when the free weeks end.
• You are already home with Home First or AMG and are not happy with the care.

We will happily talk you through your options, at no cost and with no obligation. That is a genuine offer: sometimes the right answer is not us, and we will tell you so.