It’s only natural that you have questions

Non-medical home care is a package of support for those who need a little extra help to remain safe and independent in their own home, regardless of any medical conditions which they may or may not live with. Examples of non-medical home care include support for vulnerable adults, companionship for the elderly, household help for families with children or relief for family carers.

All Somerset Care home care services are open to anyone who needs them, regardless of age or medical conditions.

Hospice home care is specialist care for those nearing the end of their life, and wishing to remain in their own home.

All of the care we provide is person-centred and tailored to your individual needs and wishes. We know that time spent with loved ones in familiar surroundings is precious, and our home care teams are dedicated to providing high-quality, reliable, consistent, and compassionate end-of-life care.

Yes, we love to have visitors in our home, and we love to see you spending time with your family and friends. Your visitors can come along when they wish, and do not need to book an appointment.

We are pleased to say that our homes all have safe visiting pods, should there be any incidents of Covid-19 or other virus outbreak in the home. These visiting pods allow your friends and family to spend time with you, in a safe way.

We take meal times very seriously in our homes and understand how important the meal time experience is for all of us. We have daily menus available in our homes, with locally and responsibly sourced produce with our trusted suppliers. Our menu is seasonal, and we have a variety of themed days, where we experience lots of different styles of foods. If you fancy something a little different, just speak to our passionate kitchen teams who will cater to your needs. 

You are welcome to invite your family to eat alongside you, especially on special occasions. We love nothing more than a party and look for any reason to have a celebration – food will always play a central part to these events.

Our talented teams are able to cater to all dietary requirements and soft diet requirements.

We would love for you to bring your own furniture and creature comforts, to make your new home feel as comfortable and familiar as possible. Our rooms are decorated to a high standard but our in-house maintenance team are also on hand to support with any reasonable requests that you have.

Yes, we can certainly connect your smart speaker to the free wifi in your care home so that you can use this in a way that suits you. This could be to control other smart devices, use it to check the time or the weather, or listen to music, for example.

Most smart speakers need to be connected to a personal device such as a mobile phone or tablet, as well as the home’s wifi network. Some may also require an online account to be set up to give you full access to all of the smart speaker’s functions. We are more than happy to arrange a visit from our Care Technologist, who will be able to help you set up and start using your smart speaker.

Yes, we support people living with dementia to enjoy technology of all sorts, from music to videos, and also to complete video calls. We also understand that what works for one person, may not work for another, so our care teams are on hand to provide you with as much or as little support as you need to stay connected, whether on your own device or using the computer and tablets already in the care home.

Yes, of course. Your care team will be able to support you to get the tablet set up, connected to our free wifi network, and help you to make and receive video calls. If you would like us to, we can also make a note in your care plan to check that your tablet is regularly charged up, and is near you whenever you are expecting a call.

Of course! All of our care homes have access to on-demand TV packages, so that you can keep up-to-speed with the programmes which matter to you. You can even bring your Smart TV with you if you like, and we will help you to get this set up in your room and connected to our wifi network.

If you are experiencing an issue with a particular device, such as a mobile phone or smart speaker, we have a three-stage technology support process to help you.

1. Care home support – the team in your care home will be able to carry out initial checks for you, for instance making sure that the device is successfully connected to wifi and the appropriate settings are in place.
2. Care Technologist support – if your care home team are unable to resolve the issue for you, then they will engage our dedicated Care Technologists to investigate the matter for you.
3. IT support – if for any reason our Care Technologists are unable to fix the problem, our centrally-located IT team will carry out further checks to determine the best solution.

If the problem with the device cannot be resolved, it may be necessary to replace it. If the item belongs to the care home, then we will replace it at no cost to you. If the item is your own personal property, for example your mobile phone, then the responsibility to replace it will fall to yourself or your loved ones. Whilst we cannot make specific recommendations on particular makes and models, we can support you with general advice on the purchasing of a new device, if you would like us to.

We all need a bit of technical support sometimes, whether it is troubleshooting a mobile phone, connecting to wifi, setting up a smart speaker, or getting to grips with on-demand TV. Our dedicated Care Technologists are on hand to support you with the set up and use of technology that supports your wellbeing, helps you to stay connected with loved ones, and makes you feel at home.

Residents in our care homes are welcome to connect their tablet or smartphone to our free, managed wifi network. Each device is limited to 5MB, which is more than fast enough to watch videos and make video calls, whilst still ensuring fair usage and making sure all of our residents can access the internet as and when they wish to.

Nothing. We believe that technology is a natural part of everyday life, and that when you move into a care home you should still have all the same creature comforts as you would in your own home. All of our care homes include free wifi as standard, which you will be able to access from all areas of the home, including communal areas and your own personal space.

Absolutely. All of our care homes have free wifi access throughout, covering not just indoor and outdoor communal areas, but also the private rooms of our residents. Once you have connected your tablet or smartphone to the free wifi network, you will be able to make video calls and access the internet from any area of the home.