Care at home
What is care at home?
Care at home is when a professional carer comes to your home to provide you with care, companionship and support so you can live a better quality of life, in the comfort and familiarity of your own home.
When families are faced with the realisation that their loved one or family member needs increasing levels of care and support, many feel the only option is to move into a care or nursing home. Care at home for the elderly is fast becoming the preferred choice for those who wish to continue to live in their own home, whilst receiving the care and support they need to live a fulfilled life.
It might be that your loved one is living with a condition, like dementia, Parkinson’s or Multiple Sclerosis or requires stroke care, cancer care or palliative care.
A care at home service provided by a trained and expert carer can ensure your care and support needs are met whilst promoting self-esteem and improving overall health and wellbeing for those needing specialist care of conditions.
According to a survey conducted by the live-in care hub, 97% of us given the choice would prefer to carry on living at home. Care at home enables you to get the care and support you need without leaving your much-loved home and is focused on helping you maintain independence, choice and dignity and live a purposeful and meaningful life. All of which are vital to health and happiness.
Live-in care at home
24-hour 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 well with as much independence, dignity and choice all the comfort and familiarity of your own home, around all the things you love.
A compassionate and professional care team
An expert, professional and compassionate carer will move into your home to provide you with one-to-one 24-hour home care, giving you peace of mind and reassurance that you are receiving the highest quality care.
A perfectly matched care team
A care at home arrangement usually involves two carers providing care working on a two-week rota pattern. They will be carefully matched working with you and your family to ensure they are able to meet not just your care and support needs, but are closely aligned with how you wish to live your life, sharing common interests, personalities and backgrounds.
A personalised plan of care and support
The carer who comes and lives in your home will be provided with a highly personalised plan of care created by your dedicated care manager.
The comprehensive care plan will be created with input from not just the person receiving care, but with vital input from family members and other healthcare professionals involved in your care.
It will cover not just your care needs, but your choices on how you live your life, your preferences and social and emotional support required. It is a holistic approach that is focused on enhancing health and wellbeing, whilst improving overall quality of life.
What are the different types of care at home?
Care at home can be provided in the following ways:
Hourly care or domiciliary care
Hourly care (sometimes referred to as domiciliary care or visiting care) is when a carer will visit you at home once or twice a day (sometimes more depending on your needs) to provide specific support to complete day to day tasks, like getting up, washing and dressing and preparing meals.
Generally these visits are short, anything from 20 minutes to a maximum of an hour so for someone needing greater levels of care, or for those living with a specialist condition like dementia or Parkinson’s or with more complex medical needs, this level of support is not enough to ensure you get high quality care that improves your quality of life. It is just impossible to achieve in the time the carers are afforded to spend with you. If you do require specialist support, then hourly care can become expensive as you will be charged for the extra support you need on top of the fee for the actual visit.
Day care
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.
For those living with complex medical needs or specialist conditions, 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. Day care can prove costly as care needs increase and makes live-in care at home a much more cost effective option.
Hourly care or domiciliary care
Hourly care (sometimes referred to as domiciliary care or visiting care) is when a carer will visit you at home once or twice a day (sometimes more depending on your needs) to provide specific support to complete day to day tasks, like getting up, washing and dressing and preparing meals.
Generally these visits are short, anything from 20 minutes to a maximum of an hour so for someone needing greater levels of care, or for those living with a specialist condition like dementia or Parkinson’s or with more complex medical needs, this level of support is not enough to ensure you get high quality care that improves your quality of life.
It is just impossible to achieve in the time the carers are afforded to spend with you. If you do require specialist support, then hourly care can become expensive as you will be charged for the extra support you need on top of the fee for the actual visit.
What does care in the home provide?
A carer will provide a range of care and support in your home:
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
A perfectly matched care team is there to provide all the companionship you need – a listening ear, a friendly chat over a cup of tea, reassurance when you need it. The carer will be on hand when you need but will also use discretion and be aware when you need your own space.
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.
Specialist support for conditions
If you are living with a condition such as dementia, Parkinson’s or Multiple Sclerosis (MS) a professional carer will be trained to provide you with the specialist care you need whilst focusing on improving your quality of life.
Complex care
If you are living with an on-going medical condition, or have been discharged from hospital following treatment and need complex care, a carer can provide nurse-led care that is supported by clinical experts to ensure the care provided is to the very highest standard.
Medications administration and management
The carer is trained to proactively and efficiently administer medications to ensure your optimum health and wellbeing.
Meal planning and cooking
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.
What is care in your own home used for?
There are several different situations when care at home can be used to support your on-going care needs, including:
- 24-hour live-in care for when round the clock care is needed to ensure a person can continue to live well in their own home.
- Respite care can provide a family carer with a much-needed break from caring for a loved one, or can be used as an opportunity to see how live-in care works and whether it is right for you and your family.
- Short term care following hospital discharge or for those needing post-operative rehabilitation or stroke care.
- Complex care of medical and specialist conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s or Multiple Sclerosis can be supported with 24 hour home care – there is no need to go into a care home to receive this level of care.
- End-of-life palliative care which ensures a person’s needs and preferences are met until the very end of their life.
Benefits of care at home for the elderly
There are many compelling benefits of 24-hour care in your own home as opposed to enduring the stress, upheaval and uncertainty of moving into a care home setting:
One-to-one care - something even the very best care home simply cannot provide.
A uniquely developed, highly personalised plan of care will be designed to meet your care needs whilst addressing how you wish to live your life - none of the rigid timetables or set routines experienced in a
care home.
Specialist and complex care provided by highly trained carers delivered in the comfort of your own home. Familiar surroundings and routines are paramount in helping those living with specialist conditions, like dementia.
No need to move out of your much-loved home, with all the upset and disruption that brings. The family home can then be kept in the family, instead of being sold to fund care home fees. Staying at home means you can keep control of your life, with all your treasured memories and possessions around you.
If you have an adored pet, you will not be able to take this into a care home. With care at home you can keep your pet and the carer will support looking after it, and if you have a dog will be happy to walk it for you.
Considerable and proven benefits to overall health and wellbeing, with much needed peace of mind and reassurance for family members.
The cost of care is comparable to that of a care home and considerably is cheaper for couples, who would be charged double for two rooms in a care home.
Elderly couples who require care can stay together as a loving couple, as opposed to being split up to be cared for in different areas of a care home.
Continuing to be part of the local community you have loved, for what might have been many years.
Costs of care at home
The cost of care for people wishing to receive a live-in care at home service is often cheaper than the total cost of domiciliary care at home. When a person is receiving hourly care, provided by a domiciliary care provider it is likely that you will be charged extras for additional services to support the person’s specific care needs, for example dementia or Parkinson’s, on top of the cost of a carer visiting. These extras add up and can become costly over time. The total cost to provide hourly care to someone living with high or complex mobility needs will be likely to exceed the price of an inclusive live-in
care service.
Care at home is typically in line with – and sometimes less than – what you would pay for residential care, with the added benefit of receiving one-to-one tailored care, something that cannot be achieved in a care home.
For couples, the cost of care at home is cheaper than moving into residential care where you would be expected to pay for two bedrooms and packages of care. With live-in care there is only a nominal charge for couples’ care.
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.
How to arrange care at home services near me?
If you get in touch with us, you can speak to a dedicated care advisor who will answer any questions you may have and provide any information you need to make the right decision. We will then arrange a no-obligation home meeting with you and your loved one to discuss their needs and how we will match the perfect professional carer for you so we can then ensure we get the right team and care package in place.
Talk to us about your care at home needs
We are experts in providing a fully managed, high-quality care at home 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.