Elderly day care

How elderly day care can help

Elderly day care provided by a professional carer in the comfort and familiarity of your own home can provide care and support to those who are finding it increasingly difficult to complete day-to-day tasks and activities during the day, but are able to remain independent during twilight hours. Maybe a family member has been supporting you to live well in your own home, but they are finding it more challenging to provide the levels of care and support you require during the day. If you are a couple who both require care and support, in home elderly day care could be just the answer.

HOW ELDERLY DAY CARE CAN HELP

Elderly day care

Elderly day care as the name suggests is care provided in your own home for a specific set of hours during the daytime and is generally provided by a domiciliary care provider and charged by the hour. Day care can be taken on specific days of the week, to give a family carer a break from caring for a loved one or every day of the week for someone who requires greater levels of support.

If you are growing increasingly concerned about an elderly loved one and are considering elderly day care, the answers to the following questions will inform you as to how urgent it is that you put an elderly day care package in place:

  • Do you worry about the safety of your loved one and their ability to mobilise around their home without falling?
  • Are you concerned they are not taking their medications as and when they should?
  • Is your loved one feeling lonely and increasingly more isolated due to increasing needs that prevent them from
    being independent?
  • Do you need more help to ensure you loved one gets the continuity of care that meets their needs?
  • Does your loved one seem depressed?
  • Are you concerned about your loved one’s health
    and wellbeing?
  • Is your loved one eating properly at regular intervals during the day – is the food they can prepare themselves healthy
    and nutritious?

Whilst elderly day care is suitable to some, it is worth noting that for those living with complex medical needs or specialist conditions, like dementiaParkinson’s or Multiple Sclerosis or for those who need stroke carecancer care or palliative care, in home elderly day care may not be able to provide the cover you require. If you need overnight care for example to provide support at night you would be left exposed with a day care arrangement. If you need 24-hour care, live-in care has far reaching benefits in terms of a consistent and continuous approach to ensuring your loved one is safe and well at home – at all times of the day, and night. Elderly day care can prove costly as care needs increase and makes live-in care at home a much more cost-effective option.

What elderly day care provides?

A carer will provide a range of care and support in your home during the day:

Personal care

Personal care is a broad term used for several tasks to help you maintain your personal hygiene and appearance, including washing, dressing, grooming and toileting.

Companionship

With in home elderly care, the carers are there to provide all the companionship you need – a listening ear, a friendly chat over a cup of tea, reassurance when you need it.

Social and emotional support

A care plan will outline all your social interests and preferences and the carer will help you to maintain all your activities and hobbies, both in and out of your home. The carer will support you to continue to feel connected to your family, friends and local community facilitating any social events or gatherings you wish to have or attend.

Medications administration and management

The carer will be able to administer medications as and when you require to ensure your optimum health and wellbeing.

Meal planning and cooking

With elderly day care, carers will help you to plan your meals according to your dietary requirements, nutritional needs and personal preferences, including cooking your favourite meals and shopping for your groceries.

Domestic and household support

A professional carer will ensure your cleaning regime and domestic household tasks are maintained, so you can live in your home the way you always have. The carer will help with household administration and will be happy to run errands out of the home.

Live-in care vs. elderly day care

High quality live-in care in the comfort of your own home

Most people who receive elderly day care in their own home, will inevitably need increasing levels of support as overall health worsens due to age, increasing levels of frailty or the impact of living with conditions that affect older people.

It may be that you need complex care, or overnight care and a carer who is only there during the day will be unable to safely or effectively meet your overall needs. Maybe you are living with a condition, like dementia or Parkinson’s which requires specialist support and consistency of care, which cannot easily be provided by an elderly day care carer. For families it can mean that they are required to provide increasing levels of care during the night which may not be practical.

Live-in care is when a professional carer comes and lives with you in your home to provide you with around the clock care, companionship and support so you can live a better quality of life, in the comfort and familiarity of your own home, whilst receiving consistency and continuity of care – something that cannot easily be achieved with in home elderly care.

Benefits of live-in care

There are many compelling benefits of 24 hour care at home as opposed to receiving elderly day care:

24-hour care and support around the clock – something that cannot be achieved with in home elderly care.

A highly personalised plan of care is provided to meet care needs 24 hours a day, whilst addressing how you wish to live your life.

Specialist and complex care provided by highly trained carers delivered in the comfort of your own home around the clock. A dedicated carer can provide one-to-one support of specialist conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s or Multiple Sclerosis and for those who need nurse-led care, all of which require a continuous and dedicated approach to care during the day, and night.

Companionship is so important for those who live alone in later life to avoid feelings of isolation. With 24 hour live-in care, your professional carer is there day and night to be your companion and is afforded quality time to spend with you – sharing social moments, a listening ear over a cup of tea, time spent enjoying activities together. This cannot be achieved with visiting care from a domiciliary carer who will need to focus on achieving the core care tasks in the short visits they make to your home.

Specialist, expert palliative care and support can be provided to ensure a person is able to stay in the comfort of their own home, whilst receiving compassionate and sensitive end of life support around the clock. Professional carers trained in providing end of life care can be there day and night to manage symptoms and ensure a person’s choices and wishes are carried out, right to the very end. An elderly day care service simply does not meet the needs of someone requiring specialist palliative end-of-life care, as it leaves a person alone at night or needing more support from their family.

Unlike elderly day care, live-in care provides families with much needed peace of mind and reassurance knowing that their loved one is supported and cared for around the clock.

“My mother had very complex needs so I took time to find the right provider. From the first call, to the care manager and the carers, I have been very impressed. They also all made me feel at ease and nothing was too much trouble.”

B Forbs

Choosing a care at home provider

Once you have understood what live-in carer’s do and decided that care at home is the right choice for you and your family, you will need to do some research into choosing a live-in care provider. You will also need to decide whether you use an introduction agency, whereby a carer is introduced to you but you employ and manage them directly, or you use a fully managed service provider who is regulated and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure the highest standards of care are provided. The UKHCA (the United Kingdom’s Home Care Association) is a membership body of care at home providers, and is a good place to get information on high quality care at home providers you could consider when making your decision.

Talk to us about your care at home needs

We are experts in providing a fully managed, high-quality live-in care service rated ‘Outstanding’ in all areas by CQC. Call our friendly and approachable team today to see how we can help you and your family.

0203 728 7577

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