Live in care at Home – Elderly home care blog

Is the cost of visiting care mounting up? Have you considered switching to live-in care?

With visiting care in many parts of England now costing £20 an hour during the week and £24 an hour at the weekend (and often up to £30 on Bank Holidays and at Christmas, New Year and Easter), then if a client is receiving an average of just 4.5 hours a day visiting care for 7 days a week, then the total weekly cost (£666 a week) is likely to be on a par with what they would typically be expected to pay for 24 hour live-in care.

If either you personally or a close relative is already receiving an average of 4 hours or more per day of visiting care, then you might like to consider the benefits of switching to 24 hour live-in care. The advantages of live-in care are many and varied and some of them are outlined below.

Support & Companionship

With a visiting care service, there is often a high turnover of care staff and a succession of regularly changing faces can be confusing for the person being looked after. By its very nature a live-in care service provides greater continuity of care and a good live-in carer will quickly gain an understanding of the person they are looking after and will be sensitive to their feelings and moods.

They will learn what to say and do to cheer them up if they are feeling low, but just as important, they will develop a sense of when they want company and when they want to be on their own for a time. A good carer will come to be valued as much for their companionship as for their care skills and many will find themselves treated almost like a member of the family.

Help with Personal Needs

Where an older person is suffering from painful arthritis or has other mobility problems, their carer will be able to help with their personal needs, such as dressing, washing and going to the toilet. A good carer will know how to offer their support in a sensitive and unobtrusive way, in order to preserve as far as possible the privacy and dignity of the person they are caring for.
Furthermore, in contrast to a visiting care service, where assistance is available at set times of the day, a live-in carer is 24 hours a day and can provide help and support as soon as it is needed.

Shopping & Cooking

As part of the care needs assessment which takes place before the start of a live-in care service, a person receiving care at home will be asked in detail about their likes and dislikes in terms of main meals, snacks and hot and cold drinks. Unless the family has made other arrangements, it will normally be the carer who does the shopping and buys in fresh food and then cooks it in the way the client likes it. If they are provided with meals they have chosen themselves and able to eat at a time which suits them, most older people will enjoy their food more and will tend to eat better than if presented with pre-prepared meals at set times by a visiting carer.

House-Keeping

A live-in carer will keep the house clean and tidy, clear up any accidents or spillages and make sure that food stored in the fridge or larder is not kept longer than it should be. A clean and tidy house is more pleasant for the person being cared for and more welcoming for family and friends who visit or come to stay.

Social Contact

When an older person still lives in their own home, it is much easier for family, friends and neighbours to drop in, even for a few minutes, than if they have moved into a care home, where visiting times are restricted and quiet facilities limited. Moreover, visiting someone in their own home is a much more pleasant experience for family and friends than visiting them in a care home, where there is little privacy and where they are just one patient among many.

Wherever practicable carers will encourage the person they are caring for to invite round and entertain family, friends and neighbours on a regular basis. The carer will help them plan and prepare morning coffee or afternoon tea and will then melt into the background, so that the client can enjoy their traditional role as host. In contrast, offering help with entertaining is not a service that visiting care agencies can reasonably offer their clients.

Health & Medication

Once an elderly person who has previously lived on their own starts receiving 24 hour live-in care, their health as well as their quality of life will generally start to improve. They will tend to feel happier and more secure, they will generally eat better and, with their carer’s assistance, they may take more exercise; even more significantly, they will start to take their medication more regularly, something which may fall by the wayside if calls are missed by a visiting care provider.

Protection from Accident or Harm

With the support of a 24 hour carer at their side to help them if need be with the more demanding physical tasks in life (getting dressed, bathing and/or showering, moving about the house, night-time visits to the toilet etc), people receiving care at home are less likely to suffer falls or other accidents and are also less vulnerable to burglars or intruders. They will feel safer, more relaxed, more confident and, in all likelihood, happier in themselves. Furthermore, the knowledge that an ageing parent, who was previously struggling to cope with living on their own, is at less risk of accident or harm can be a huge relief to their children, who may live too far away to be regularly on hand.

Trips and Outings

Where appropriate carers can be provided who drive and this will enable the person receiving care to go on trips and outings. They may want to attend church or be driven to see family and friends or visit a local beauty spot. Such outings can be important in helping maintain contact with the outside world and keep their spirits up. In contrast, time does not normally permit a visiting care service to take their clients on trips and outings.

Switching from Visiting Care to Live-In Care

Very few visiting care agencies offer live-in care, so if you are thinking of switching to live-in care, make sure you talk to a specialist provider of live-in care.

Care At Home are specialist providers of 24 hour care and operate across London, the South East and the Midlands. If you would like to explore the possibility of switching to live-in care, then please give us a call and ask us to arrange a free Care Needs Assessment Visit. You will then receive a visit from Diane Bowyer, our Nurse Risk Assessor or Sarah Vincent, our Care Manager, who will be able to advise you on the level of care required and the likely cost.