Have you had problems with agency caregivers not showing for shifts?

Do you know for a fact that the 2 good workers aren't aware of the no shows?  Or that the 2 good workers plan to stay with this particular agency?

I'm sure the agency's contract is so tight that you'd have to pay a penalty to hire the good workers directly, and that would also create other issues to deal with such as your being an employer.  

Countrymouse always gives insightful advice from experience.    I would also consider another agency, and/or ask the good workers if they have any suggestions on the problems you're having with the agency, and what appears to be a lack of consideration for you as a client.   You might even find out that the good workers aren't satisfied and are looking for employment elsewhere.  

Just be circumspect in your actions.

It’s a shame that the pay is so low. It’s a tough job and caregivers make a very low salary.

It’s not an excuse for poor work. Low wages certainly don’t motivate anyone to do their best work.

Or, you could look for another agency, compare notes on customer satisfaction with other services users locally, and then fire the current agency. You could even - I can't see any immediate problem with this? - give the dependable caregivers a heads-up about which agency you are taking your parents' business to.

I don't suppose it will ever solve the problem 100% but it's better than driving yourself slowly round the bend!

PS Our service missed a morning call yesterday. A computer mouse slip turned a client from purple (no call) to yellow (pending confirmation) instead of from purple to white (live) on our round spreadsheet. The only reason I suspected an error was that I'd been told the day before that this client was out at an appointment and I couldn't see how she'd be pending anything, so I queried it; but my co-worker on the morning round couldn't possibly have known that - she just didn't go, following her instructions correctly.

I've often told clients that although sadly we are often late, being rather too thin on the ground, we NEVER just don't turn up. I will now have to amend that to *almost* never just don't turn up. Fortunately the client was fine this time.

SwampOphelia, with the covid-19 virus, I wouldn't be surprised that a lot of the agencies are now short handed.

You can keep using the current agency for the two caregivers who are excellent with your parents.... and call another agency to see if you can get a caregiver for another shift. It's worth a try.

My coworker had this issues constantly years before Covid. The agency doesn't care when you complain. They know you need them more than they need you. You might have better luck with a person not connected to an agency. I hired a woman for a one a week visit with my father for 3 hours (she'd help him with his laundry or run him on errands) and she was very reliable.

I've had experience for over 5 years with one agency in our area in MD. I found a flier advertising their services in a waiting room in a hospital. I researched the service through the internet, and saw positive reviews. When I needed to set up home care for my relative shortly after that, I contacted them and was able to have caregivers start the next day! They send out a nurse and a staff person to assess the patient's and family's needs, as well as evaluating the home for safety. Then, working with me, a care plan is put in writing and reviewed with me.

I have now worked with this agency and several caregivers for over 5 years. It's been a good situation for all of us. For almost 2 1/2 years, I had 24/7 care for a close family member (I was POA). It was very expensive, but was partially offset by long term insurance that my family member had the foresight to purchase. She also wanted to stay in her family home until death, and passed peacefully with several of us there with her. We also had hospice care at home for her for most of that time. The caregivers, hospice team and I worked together really well.

Now, I have a caregiver from the same service working with my mom at her home. She does not have the same financial benefits as her sibling had, so we have coordinated a routine between the caregiver and family members to meet her needs. She has other health issues including Alzheimers, mobility issues and her age, 93.

As far as not having a caregiver show up or not accurately reporting their hours, it has happened a few times. That is a liability problem for both the care provider service and our family.
I didn't see the liability side of this until recently. It was resolved by having a different caregiver from the same service.
I have recommended this service to anyone looking for care for family members. I think this may be a franchised service ("Help at Home Services"), but very professionally run. They are responsive and often suggest ways to help handle coverage more effectively.

I know that many people have challengers with health care aides, so I do recommended going through a health care service. They handle payroll, taxes, scheduling, screening of health care aides and much more. Most of the caregivers that we have had are from other countries, but this has not been a problem, rather an opportunity for cultural interaction in a positive way.

This is the only way I will get caregivers. I hope you may have similar positive experiences. Blessings to all!

It is a no-win situation when there's agency caregivers. Caregivers call out sick from work or need a day off just like everyone else working a job. It's the agency's responsibility to send a fill-in to cover for a worker if they're going to be out. That's why they collect the big bucks and the caregiver gets minimum wage or just above. It's definitely a no-win situation for you. It's very hard to find a per diem caregiver to be back up to fill in if one of your regulars is out. Aide pay isn't high enough for a person to make themselves available like that for the possibility of having to take over a client at a moment's notice. I'd recommend you advertise for a private per diem caregiver who can cover the shift hours of your regulars if you need them to. I've done per diem work. How it works is that they go into agreement with you that they will leave certain hours free and will be available to you. Those hours can be the time the regular workers come in or the time you'd prefer. It will cost you though. The going rate for this is normally three times what the agency worker gets per hour. So if your regulars are getting $15 an hour, then assume $45 an hour for your per diem aide to come in. If you hire one privately, they can be depended on.

Imho, yes, I had a similar situation. Before I left my state and moved in with my late elderly mother 7 states away, my mother had hired a cleaning girl through her town's Council on Aging. As it turned out, this "cleaning girl" caused numerous problems, e.g. left clothes in my mother's dryer for a week, almost caused a fire in the dryer because she was leaving dryer sheets that built up on the air vent, clogged up my mother's vacuum cleaner because she was not emptying it and was cheating on hours worked - what she submitted to her boss for payment was 4 hours shy of her actual hours (actually 40 minutes) at my mother's home. Once I arrived at my mother's to be her caregiver, the supervisor of the cleaning girl came to my mother's house. I informed her of all of her staffer's faulty work, including her pay that never should have been given to her. This supervisor was appalled and the cleaning girl was to never return. My mother would have never said anything as long as the cleaning girl socialized.
So yes, it can happen. Good luck to you.

There were so many things the agency wouldn't guarantee, that we opted out.

We had horrible, horrible problems with an agency. Sometimes my mom was even left alone, and she is totally immobile. They didn't even bother to call my brother or I!! We had no choice but to fire them and hire individuals. That was long before COVID19.