Home Instead (Dartford)

St Fidelis House, St Fidelis Road, Dartford DA8 1AT
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9.9 47 Reviews
  • Home Instead (Dartford), Dartford
If you want to stay living comfortably at home, Home Instead Dartford can help you make that choice an informed one.

Your home is where you feel the most comfortable and the happiest. It’s the place you know the best. Why would you move away from the place you love if you are faced with needing some extra care and support as you age?

Whether you are looking for someone to help just a few hours a week, or need comprehensive 24-hour assistance, Home Instead provides Care professionals who are: thoroughly screened, extensively trained, insured and bonded, matched to your preference, professional, reliable and dependable.

Home Instead offer support ranging from companionship to home help services and personal care through to specialised dementia care. Home Instead Senior Care is recognised for the quality of Alzheimer's and dementia care and even has a City and Guilds accredited training programme that provides staff with the tools to provide the best care possible.

Services are tailored to each individual and are delivered by carefully recruited, vetted and trained ‘Care Professionals’, who are chosen for their empathy, compassion and reliability.

Our Care Pro are matched to clients so that a long-lasting bond and friendship can form, and the same Care Pro visit the client on an ongoing basis.

Care Provided by Home Instead (Dartford)

  • Type of Service
  • Home Care Provider
  • Privately Owned
  • Specialist Care Categories
  • Companionship
  • Dementia
  • Domestic Services / Home Help
  • Food Preparation & Serving
  • Laundry Service
  • Medication Assistance
  • Older Person Care
  • Personal Hygiene Care
  • Respite cover
  • Shopping Service / Errands
  • Sit in Service
  • Other Care Provided
  • 24 Hour Care
  • Hospital Discharge
  • Live in Carer
  • Personal Care (on a contracted hours basis)
  • Risk Assessments in the Home

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Christina Uppenkamp (Director)

Funding & Fees Guide for Home Instead (Dartford)

  • Prices
  • Available on request


Home Instead (Dartford) Reviews (47)

Total of 47, showing 41-47
9.9

Home Instead (Dartford) has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.921) out of 10, based on 15 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Home Instead (Dartford) has 47 reviews.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Having had some unpleasant experiences during her previous care with other companies (rated "Good" by the CQC), my elderly Aunt who suffers from dementia was resistant to having any carers in whatsoever to look after her, despite this becoming an absolute necessity.
So I chose Home Instead Senior
Care, hoping to improve on the care my Aunt had received to date.
From her first meetings with representatives of Home Instead Senior Care (Dartford), she was listened to and treated with patience and respect, and she has now progressed from being suspicious and wary of all carers, to truly looking forward to their visits, relaxed in the knowledge that she can rely and trust her carers to fulfil her needs and provide companionship.
Home Instead Senior Care (Dartford) have not only fulfilled both mine and my Aunt's expectations, they have exceeded this, with staff and management often going beyond the call of duty to help. I cannot recommend them enough.

Reply from Christina Uppenkamp, Owner/ Director at Home Instead (Dartford)

It's humbling to read these words and we thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback. It is an absolute pleasure for all of us to help your aunt - especially during this time. She is such a sweet lady. Thank you for choosing us to look after her.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Following a fall mum went from fully independent to needing care twice a day. I contacted a number of agencies and was initially most impressed with the immediate response from Home Instead (Dartford). They visited mum to discuss her needs and likes. Care started a couple of days later. I have to
say that mum was a little concerned before the service started, as she had never needed care before. However, soon after mum rang me to say what a wonderful set of carers were looking after her. We are now a few months in and Mum is very happy as am I.
I will say that this service was set up just before the Covid-19 situation, and I have been very impressed with the way the carers have coped with and worked through at this difficult time. The management team have also been great in keeping me informed and letting me know when an issue arises along with their solutions where appropriate.

Reply from Christina Uppenkamp, Owner/ Director at Home Instead (Dartford)

Especially in unprecedented times like these, it is wonderful to receive such feedback and recognition of the work our amazing CAREGivers are doing daily - thank you for taking the time to write it. I will share your kind words with the team and I'm sure they will be very happy too. It is our absolute pleasure to look after your mum.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Very satisfied with the care delivered to my mother. There has been excellent communication from the beginning and the Carers have all been attentive to my mother’s need. Her main Carer has been exceptional and I cannot praise her enough.
I have also recommended Home Instead to a friend.

Reply from Christina Uppenkamp, Owner/ Director at Home Instead (Dartford)

Thank you very much for these lovely words, which we will share with the team. They love what they do and we are proud that they chose us to work with us. And thank you for recommending us to your friend.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am very content with the service. It has enabled my mother to remain at home, where she wants to be, at a time she would have otherwise been unable to. They were able to put arrangements in place quickly when needed and have been flexible in adapting to her changing needs. Inputting together the care
plan they made every effort to find out about personals interest and character as well as her medical requirements. They have been very good at communicating issues with her and the family. They were also very quick to put together and share action plan at the start of the Covid crisis to reassure us they were putting in place all practical measures possible to keep the risks to the client to the minimum possible.

Reply from Ram Chandra Thapa, Owner/ Director at Home Instead (Dartford)

Thank you so much for these kind words. Especially in times like this, it is nice and reassuring to know that we can play our part to keep clients safe and happy at home. We have shared your feedback with our lovely CAREGivers as well, who are delighted.
Thank you again and stay safe.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Great efficient care providers who help you through the process and are happy to make helpful suggestions to make caring for your loved ones as easy as possible. Very supportive of the client and the family. Am very happy with the service provided so far.

Reply from Ram Chandra Thapa, Owner/ Director at Home Instead (Dartford)

Thank you for taking the time to leave us such a nice review.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I'm not sure how we would have managed without Home Instead once my father's health had declined. The carers were kind, efficient and friendly. It was lovely to hear Dad chatting to them.

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The care manager and carers were all very kind and supportive. They treated my husband with efficiency and consideration.

Reply from Ram Chandra Thapa, Owner/Director at Home Instead (Dartford)

Thank you very much for your kind words. It has been our pleasure. With our very best wishes for you both, the team at Home Instead Dartford.


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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.921)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.921) out of 10 for Home Instead (Dartford) is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 15 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 15 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Home Care Provider is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.921 for Home Instead (Dartford) is calculated as follows: ( (82 Excellents x 5) + (7 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 89 Ratings = 4.921

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows: 3 points for the first Positive Review, 2 points in total for each of the next 9 Positive Reviews (1st = 3, 2nd = 0.5, 3rd = 0.5, 4th = 0.25, 5th = 0.25, 6th = 0.1, 7th = 0.1, 8th = 0.1, 9th = 0.1, 10th = 0.1)

    The 5 points relating to the number of Positive Reviews for Home Instead (Dartford) is based on 15 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as follows: 3 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.25 + 0.25 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 5

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Home Care Provider does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Performance

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Rating

Date: 11 Feb 2022

Overall
Good

  • Caring

    Good
  • Effective

    Good
  • Responsive

    Good
  • Safe

    Good
  • Well-led

    Good

Care Quality Commission is responsible for the registration and inspection of social care services in England.

View Latest Report

Awards / Recognitions (15)

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Meet the Team (3)

Ram Chandra

Ram Chandra Thapa

Job Title: Registered Manager/Director

Joined: 2019

"I am the proud father of our twin boys and husband to my life and business partner, Christina.


I was born in Nepal and did my studies in India, mostly in the northern part of India. As my father was in the army, we often moved around to different places.


After my studies, I worked in various roles in the hospitality sector for almost 17 years. Some of the famous Chefs I have worked with are Gordon Ramsay, Chris Galvin, and Alex Chow, as well as with international brands like One & Only, Taj Hotels and others.


Fast forward to 2019, I decided with my wife to do something in the community due to some personal experiences with family and friends. More importantly, I wanted to teach our kids how to contribute and make a positive difference in society. We met the Home Instead National Office team and connected very quickly; our Home Instead Dartford office was set up in the same year.


Our mantra for work is very simple: we look after our clients the way we would expect the service for our loved ones to be. We only hire new team members if they pass our ‘mom test’ (Will I happily send this person to look after my loved ones?). Of course, everything we do is within professional boundaries and all our team members are professionally trained.


We are very proud to have built a very diverse team from all backgrounds and beliefs.


Our office has been rated 'Good' in all areas by CQC, but our ambition and services are ‘Outstanding’. We feel privileged that so many clients and family members trust us for their care.


All our current and past Care Professionals and key players have played a big role in our journey; I can’t thank them enough for their positive contribution towards Home Instead Dartford.


So far, we have won several awards, but we are especially proud of being awarded a 5* employer award three years running.


I also volunteer as a ‘Dementia Friend Ambassador’ and run Dementia Friend information sessions regularly in our local community. Additionally, I run free hands-on CPR sessions for the local community.


Besides budgeting, strategy, marketing, forecasting etc. I also enjoy running the training in our office, as I am a certified trainer for various topics such as Basic Life Support, Manual Handling, Dementia, End of Life and many others.


And to continue enhancing my knowledge further, I am also doing my NVQ L5 in leadership.


In my (little) free time I enjoy spending time with my family or listening to music."


Christina

Christina Uppenkamp

Job Title: Director

Joined: 2019

"Hi, I am Christina, mom of amazing twin boys, Ram’s wife and one of the owners of Home Instead Dartford.


I have been passionate about looking after others since a fairly young age, from spending a school summer holiday in Guatemala to help build a school, working in an SOS Children’s Village in Africa for three months after I finished school and then spending the next 20+ years looking after guests in hotels all over the world.


It was, however, the experience with my grandmother, a friend of ours and a family member of Ram’s that were the main contributors for us to starting Home Instead Dartford.


Having the option to remain in your own home, with great care and by giving you as much independence as possible, should be the norm for anyone needing support, rather than being moved into residential care straight away.


Our slogan ‘To us, it’s personal’ is very much summarizing what Ram and I want to achieve with the support our team provides. From in-depth consultations to get to know the client, to the creation of a bespoke care plan and then regular service reviews and quality assurance checks once a client receives our support – everything we do is person-centred and created for that individual.


At the same time, we support our team in any way possible and ensure they have the right training, tools and supervision to do what they do best: look after our clients with passion and empathy.


Home Instead Dartford is not just a business for us – we want to enhance the lives of everyone we encounter and help ageing adults to enjoy longer, happy times in their own homes."


Dan

Dan

Job Title: Client Experience Manager

Joined: 2021

"My name is Daniel.


I’ve worked in the care sector for over 15 years and gained a lot of experience and knowledge.


I’ve worked my way up in different positions within the industry. I started as a carer; I’ve been a Supervisor, Care Coordinator, Compliance & Quality Coordinator and worked up to the position I’m in now, which is Deputy Care Manager.


I previously worked for Home Instead for over 1.5 years and left to follow a different pathway within the care industry which I didn’t enjoy and wasn’t for me. I also missed everyone at Home Instead and the fulfilment I got from working here. I spoke to Ram and Christina after 3 months of leaving about returning, they welcomed me back with open arms along with the office team and Care Pros.


My goals are to succeed in my new role as Deputy Care Manager and to move the business forward to ensure our clients are receiving the best possible care they deserve and to support/mentor the office team, so they work to a good standard and are confident within their roles. Also, the Care Pros are working to a high standard and they gain confidence and knowledge in their professional role and receive a lot of job satisfaction from supporting their clients. Also, for me to gain even more knowledge within my new role and complete any training within it.


Home Instead is a great company to work for, they have high values on how people should be looked after and ethos. Ram and Christina have supported me in every way they can through thick and thin within my professional career and anything else.


I’m hoping to remain with Home Instead for many years to come."