Dementia care at home
Outstanding dementia care at home
We know how worrying and stressful it can be when faced with the reality that a loved one is living with dementia or increasing memory loss and are struggling to cope alone. Watching someone close whose life is impacted by the varying symptoms presented by dementia can be upsetting. Many family carers will feel guilty that they themselves are struggling to cope and provide the care and support their loved one needs. Where can I get the best care? How can my loved one continue to enjoy life? How can I better manage their changing needs? These are some of the questions you may have asked yourself.
Familiar surroundings provide much needed comfort and reassurance
At The Good Care Group, we know receiving care in the comfort, safety and familiarity of your own home has far reaching benefits in improving overall health and wellbeing for a person living with dementia.
Moving at any stage in life can be disruptive and stressful. When an individual is living with dementia the process of moving to a care home, away from their much-loved home full if its treasured possessions and memories can be really heart-wrenching and daunting, affecting their ability to live well with dementia.
We know that staying at home and receiving compassionate, one-to-one care from a highly trained and well-matched professional carer improves quality of life and health outcomes for an individual living with dementia.
Our personalised approach to providing high quality dementia care, with a fully managed and flexible service that families can rely on is setting the standards in dementia care at home.
Benefits of 24-hour dementia care at home vs. care home
- One-to-one care and support around the clock– one-to-one care simply cannot be achieved in any care home.
- A uniquely developed, highly personalised plan of care 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 live-in care 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 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.
Caring for someone with dementia at home
We have been innovating dementia care at home for over 10 years. All our professional carers are trained in how to care with someone living with dementia and use a range of best practice techniques proven to provide reassurance, reduce anxiety and calm behaviours, whilst reducing the need to use anti-psychotic drugs used widely in many care home settings.
This means the person with dementia can live well, despite the challenges dementia can present with the gentle encouragement and compassionate care provided by our dementia carers. The high-quality care provided by our dementia carers has seen a 66% reduction in the use of antipsychotic medications compared with the average care home.
Our collaborative approach to working with leading medical experts, academic bodies and leading charities ensure our care is of the very highest standards. This helps us to understand and discover what is important to the person living with dementia, enabling us to develop a meaningful programme of care that bridges the gap between the present and the past.
We recognise that feelings become increasingly significant to the person living with dementia, and that intact memories from the past become increasingly useful as a replacement for recent lost facts.
We use the SPECAL approach to:
- Bridge the gap between the person’s past and their activities of daily life in the present.
- Develop communication strategies that enable the person with dementia to communicate in ways which make sense to everyone who has contact with them.
- Promote emotional well-being and protect from anxiety and worry.
We adopt a blended approach to delivery of dementia care at home, led and supported by our own Consultant Admiral Nurse. The support from an Admiral Nurse, working with leading dementia charity, Dementia UK means we can offer unrivalled levels of emotional and practical support based on best practice dementia care to those living with dementia and their families.
All of our professional carers are trained in how to care for those living with dementia and our management team complete a higher-level dementia care training programme. It does not stop there. Our care teams receive on-going coaching, mentoring and support based on latest thinking and research that ensure they have the knowledge, skills and aptitude to deliver positive dementia care.
Meet our experts
Our approach to dementia care at home is developed and led by our in-house team of clinical experts. Working closely with leading dementia charity Dementia UK, uniquely we have our very own full-time Consultant Admiral Nurse, Dr Jane Pritchard. With our in-house Occupational Therapist, Jackie Cooper they both offer practical and emotional support to our clients and their families at what can be a very difficult time. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach to our dementia care service working alongside healthcare professionals to ensure positive outcomes for all our clients. This means they can stay safely and happily at home with the right support and equipment to get the most out of their life.
What does our dementia care at home include?
Specialist nurse-led care
Importantly for those living with dementia, we are able to provide nurse-led care if and when it is needed. Our professional carers are trained to monitor and identify any changes in your health, responding appropriately and avoiding any unnecessary hospital admissions. As part of our commitment to delivering a high-quality home care service, we monitor and measure health outcomes to ensure we continually improve the care we provide.
Managing and administering medications
Our professional carers are trained in medications management and use an electronic medications system to ensure all medications are managed proactively and effectively. They will also collect prescriptions from the pharmacy.
Ensuring safe mobility in and around the home
Our in-house Occupational Therapist, Jackie Cooper will review of a person’s overall ‘function’ to address how they can safely navigate around their home. She will then provide expert guidance and advice as to what equipment can improve safe movement and mobility around the home, whilst minimising falls. Jackie is well placed to provide advice and recommendations as to any home adaptations that may make life easier. She will continue to review a person’s on-going function to keep them well and safe at home as their cognitive function deteriorates as the condition progresses.
Companionship as and when you need it
Our carers will provide companionship whilst ensuring your privacy is respected. We ensure that a perfectly matched carer shares similar values and interests as you to make life interesting, stimulating and enjoyable, whilst being there for you to support your emotional and psychological needs.
Providing discreet and sensitive personal care
This can include the task-orientated aspects of caring for someone, like bathing and getting dressed, but also those that promote self-esteem, like having your nails maintained, or your hair styled.
Planning and cooking meals
Meals will be planned and cooked according to your choice, preferences and nutritional needs, all served at a time that suits you.
Facilitating social arrangements in the home
Your carer will ensure you can invite friends over for socialisation and celebrations, providing the support you need to enjoy yourself and not worry about organising anything.
Trips and visits out of the home in your local community
Our carers know how important it is to ensure you can continue to do as much you wish and that you remain connected to your local community – whether that is a stroll round the local park or attending clubs or groups in the local area or visiting friends, or those shops you always have.
Domestic tasks
This includes cleaning of all rooms and vacuuming throughout to keep your house to the standards of cleanliness and tidiness you always have.
Caring for your much-loved pet
Carers will happily support looking after your pet, including taking dogs for regular walks.
Dementia live-in care, short term care or respite care
We provide specialist dementia care at home as either 24 hour live-in care, as a short term care arrangement or as respite care.
With a full time, live-in care arrangement a professional carer will live with you in your home providing around the clock care and support, focused on improving your health and wellbeing, whilst enhancing the quality of your life. There are many benefits of 24 hour care, not least that the carer will truly get to know you as a person, not just your care needs but they will be on hand to support you to live life the way you wish, with as much independence as possible.
Respite care or a short term arrangement provide an opportunity for a family carer to take a much needed break from caring for someone living with dementia or for you to try live-in care for the first time to see how live-in care works and whether it is the right choice for you in the future.
Costs of our dementia care at home
The cost of care for people living with dementia 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 for the person living with dementia, which cannot be achieved in a care home. There is even greater value if you are a couple and one or both of you are living with dementia. A care home would charge double for two packages of care, whereas there is only a nominal extra cost if you both receive care at home at the same address. Devastatingly for couples, where one of you is living with dementia and the other is not, most care homes would have to separate you to give you the care you need.
The cost of receiving dementia care at home is typically higher for those living with dementia and other neurological conditions as it is a specialist care at home service. It is worth considering however that live-in care is often cheaper than the total cost of domiciliary care for people living with dementia. 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 dementia needs 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 needs can sometimes exceed the price of an inclusive live-in care service.
Why choose The Good Care Group?
We have been providing high quality, live-in care to families in England and Scotland for over 10 years. At the heart of our award-winning service is enabling people to live independently in their own home with an improved quality of life. Our approach to care at home means our clients can achieve improved health and well-being. For families they benefit from peace of mind and reassurance that their loved on is receiving the very best care and support.
A perfectly matched care team
A live-in care service usually involves two carers working a two-week rotation. They will be carefully matched working with you and your family. We make sure they are skilled and equipped to meet all your care and support needs. Our focus on matching means the care team chosen share common interests and backgrounds. We know this means life is enjoyable for everyone. Your care team really get to know you and your needs, which means you get consistency of care.
Expertly trained carers
All our professional carers are required to complete our leading training programme before they care for our clients. Our programme has been created with leading charities and clinical experts. It goes beyond mandatory requirements in the care sector. Carers are then equipped to provide high-quality care and support for those living with specialist conditions. Our carers never stop learning new skills to further enhance the care they provide.
Continuity of care
Unlike an agency we employ our carers. This means they are committed to us, as we are to them. Carers enjoy the security of being employed, which means they stay with us longer. Those who work for agencies move around more. For families this means that you get continuity and consistency of the same care team caring for your loved one. This means high-quality care can be achieved with improved outcomes and no disruption to your loved one’s life.
In-house clinical experts
We have a dedicated team of in-house clinical experts. This includes a specialist consultant nurse, who also provides Admiral Nurse services to those living with dementia. They guide our carers to provide safe and effective nurse-led care at home. We also have our own in-house Occupational Therapist (OT) who works closely with healthcare professionals and our care teams. Our OT provides guidance and advice that enables people to live well in their own home with any equipment they may need. These experts lead, monitor and support our care teams to delivery best practice nurse-led care at home.
Innovative care technology
Unlike any other live-in care provider, we have our own online care community. Families, healthcare professionals and carers can access up to date information about the care being provided. It enables more effective monitoring, which means issues can be responded to efficiently. For our families it provides a reassuring window into the care their loved one is receiving. Our carers also use the online community to share ideas and support each other. It provides a vital connection which is important when remote working. Carers will use the online community so their clients can enjoy time online. This includes video calls with family, so they feel connected. Clients can use it to shop online or browse the web.
Improving health outcomes
Every decision we make is driven by delivering improved health outcomes for our clients. Our digital technology allows us to predict risk and shape the care we provide. We measure health outcomes.
We want to know we are improving the quality of our clients’ lives every year.
Our health and well-being aim to reduce:
- Behaviours that may challenge
- Antipsychotic drugs in dementia care
- Falls in the home
- Hospital admissions
- Re-admission to hospital
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Chest infections
- Carer stress
- They aim to promote:
- Independence
- Well-being
- Excellent nutrition and hydration
- Enjoyment in life
Highest service rating from care regulators in England and Scotland
Unlike introduction agencies we are fully regulated in England and Scotland. This means the care and support we provide is regularly inspected. We are the only dedicated live-in care provider in England to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We have achieved this rating in all five measures – safe, effective, caring responsive and well-led. In Scotland, our service has been inspected by the Care Inspectorate (CI). It has achieved the highest rating of a 6 (Excellent) for quality of care and support and 5 (very good) for staffing, management and leadership. We know this provides families with peace of mind that their loved one is receiving the best possible care.
A fully managed service
Families benefit from our fully managed service delivered by care experts. This means you do not need to worry about supervising and managing the carer looking after your loved one. Our professional carers are supervised by an experienced care manager and supported by clinical experts. We provide this support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your dedicated care manager will be on hand to support you, your loved one and our carer teams. We invest in our care management team to ensure they have enough time to give the support everyone needs. With our fully managed service, families do not have the burden of managing the care arrangement themselves. We know this means families can have peace of mind, whilst enjoying quality time with their loved one. They do not have to worry about the tasks of caring.
Local teams with national coverage
We operate throughout England and Scotland with a local approach to management of our teams near you. Each dedicated care manager local to you has only a small number of clients to support. This means they can provide higher levels of monitoring and support than other home care providers. It also means a highly personalised approach to care can be delivered.
What is included in our dementia care at home service?
Our highly personalised dementia care service includes:
- Full assessment before care starts
- Bespoke and flexible care plan developed with input from the family and other healthcare professionals
- Matching of the most suitable care team to meet the holistic needs of our clients
- Dedicated care team led by an expert regional care manager
- Meal planning and household tasks
- Social activities and lifestyle enhancement
- Specialist support and expertise - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Access to clinical expertise and medical support when required
Useful resources
To support you and your family we have created a useful Dementia Care Guide which provides you with information and advice on how to provide person-centred dementia care following a diagnosis of dementia. There is also a number of dementia charities across the UK who provide families with help, advice and support when they need it most, including Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s Society.
Other conditions we care for
Talk to us about your dementia care needs
Our friendly and experienced team is here to help you and your family make sense of the options available to you. Call us today – we will help you every step of the way.