Bridgit Care is more than a direct payment facilitator. We are a social enterprise who care for carers all over the UK with whatever complex needs they may have. We help carers to find carer support resources within their local communities, as well as nationally.

We are a technological innovator, helping people live as independently as possible in their own homes.

We give carers the facilities to become trained and supported in their role and help our clients who need care, get the best care they can from their loved ones.

Yes!  Just provide them with a link to this page and when they sign up they can include their council as a referring organisation

Or if you want to find out more, you can contact us to learn more using our email address: contact@bridgit.care or via telephone 0345 528 0008.

Bridgit Care is similar to other direct payment facilitators you refer to, however we uniquely facilitate a person with a personal budget to be able to use this to pay a member of their family or a friend to provide their care services.

‘Personal budget’ is the term used to describe the overall cost of the care and support services the local authority arranges or provides to meet your needs. It is usually worked out on a weekly basis. Your personal budget amount is an important part of getting help from the local authority. The higher your personal budget, the more the local authority might pay towards the cost of your care. This can make a crucial difference to how your care needs are met.

A direct payment means you receive the money to arrange your care, rather than having it arranged for you by the local authority. The amount you receive relates to your personal budget. You may have some, or all, of your needs met via a direct payment.

Payment to the assistant is paid for by the client using a direct payment out of their personal budget.

The amount an assistant gets paid depends upon the area your Local Authority and the amount allocated within the personal budget.

As an example if a rate of £16 (the UK Average) is allocated in the budget for an hour of home care support.  The assistant would receive an hourly rate of £14 per hour (taking of the 12.5%).

Yes! All assistants can complete our basic training courses in order to have a basic understanding of providing care.

Assistants can then use the program to access any further training they may need or want to do through local courses, online learning or the Bridgit Care Support Tool.

Bridgit Care provides optional accountancy support to assistants to make sure tax is correctly calculated and paid.

• Personal care coach with monthly checkpoint
• Care technology and products
• Community group support
• Access to an insurer with option to expense
• Access to online support

Yes! As part of the Bridgit Care approach, assistants can purchase insurance through our parner SureWise Insurance and include this an an expense in our system through the personal budget.  To find out more about this insurance click here.

The insurance is activated by the approval of a service agreement and payment of the first care shifts invoice.

Assistants get paid on a regular basis (e.g. weekly, fortnighly or monthly) based on their agreement with the client.

The payment process is fully managed by Bridgit Care.

The assistant submits time sheets and an expense report (products, mileage, insurance etc) via the Bridgit Care platform and submits an invoice to the Client.

Once the invoice is paid by the client, the assistant instantly receives their payment.

If you want to work as a personal assistant you will need to take a statutory DBS check to confirm you are suitable for the role. Personal assistants work extremely closely with their clients and occupy a position of trust so a DBS check is an essential part of recruitment.

Basic DBS checks last 3 years and are available to complete here: https://www.gov.uk/request-copy-criminal-record

Within 30 days of receiving your DBS you can join the update service. Where you pay £13 per year for your DBS to be updated.

https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

If you complete a basic DBS and it shows convictions, you will be asked to complete a enhanced DBS check.

Bridgit Care believes that the safety of the carer and the client is of the utmost importance.

Bridgit Care protects its assistants and clients by providing safeguarding training, holding monthly check in sessions with the carer, meeting both the carer and client, having a dedicated telephone support line and ensuring all carers are DBS checked.

We take all reports of unacceptable behaviour by carers and clients extremely seriously. If we receive a formal complaint we will remove them from the platform immediately, service agreements will be terminated and reported to appropriate authorities.

People’s needs vary, so discuss with your carer which tasks you would like them to do. They will be noted on the service agreement between you and your carer.

Some of the tasks that your carer might carry out are:

Personal care, including: preparing, serving and feeding food or drink, bathing, dressing, moving and handling

Prompting clients to take prescribed medicines

Administering first aid

General domestic duties including: shopping, basic maintenance and gardening tasks

Accompanying clients on any social, domestic or recreational trips outside of their home

Any specialist care that you may require

You can have a carer for as short or as long a period as you require. The length of service is decided between yourself and the carer and clearly stated on the service agreement that you draw up together. A notice period of 48 hours is required from both parties if you wish to cancel the agreement.

Bridgit Care charges 12.5% + VAT each month for its services provided to the client and carer. Typical care agencies often take up to 50% of their carers’ wages in fees. Since we are a platform for self-employed assistans, we have far fewer overheads and are able to pass that saving on to you as clients.

If the client or carer changes their mind about the agreement, a notice period of 48 hours is required from both parties.

All fees with the carer and Bridgit Care will need to be finalised.

There needs to be a decision if the agreement is to be terminated or if there is to be a potential replacement carer. In which case, a new application, agreement and DBS check would need to be carried out.

If it is due to Bridgit Care, the carer or client should speak to a member of the Bridgit Care Team.

If the carer is not fulfilling their duties, the client needs to discuss this with their carer and inform Bridgit Care as soon as possible.

The local authority should ensure it has planned how your care needs can be met in the event that your PA, or other staff you employ, are absent, due to sickness or holiday leave, for example. The local authority still has a duty to ensure your care needs are met, even if you have chosen to make your own arrangements through a direct payment.

In the future Bridgit Care aims to provide a service of carers available to hire in case of sickness or leave.

We are a national service and available to support anyone, anywhere.

Bridgit Care connects clients with self-employed carers, who then contract with each other through Bridgit Care- therefore we are not required to be registered with the Care Quality Commission, the Care Inspectorate or the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA).

However, we aspire to, and expect carers to aspire to, the CQC, the Care Inspectorate and the RQIA codes of conduct. If we hear that any of our carers or clients have acted in breach of these codes, we will investigate immediately.

You can contract a asistant separately, however they will not be able to access our support. Contact us at contact@bridgit.care if you have any further questions on this matter.

Of course! Call us between 0900 and 1700 Monday -Friday on 0345 528 0008 or email contact@bridgit.care

A personal health budget is for your NHS healthcare and support needs.
A personal budget is for your social care and support needs.
An integrated personal budget is for both your healthcare and support needs and social care needs.
A direct payment is one way of managing these budgets. It’s when you get the money directly to buy the agreed care and support you need rather than the council arranging it for you.