Live-in care helps support privacy for older people in ways that other care models aren’t able to; find out how this manifests and why privacy is so important.
One of the unique and highly beneficial aspects of live-in care is its ability to provide a greater degree of privacy for older people.
Today, we’ll explore some of the ways live-in care helps support privacy, and why this is so important for enabling older people to maintain the best possible quality of life.
How live-in care reinforces privacy for older people
These are some of the most significant ways that live-in care helps support privacy:
1. Personal hygiene and administration
Live-in care ensures only a limited number of trusted individuals will assist with your loved one’s sensitive tasks surrounding hygiene and administration.
A small, dedicated care team of two will support your loved one around the clock on an ongoing basis, assisting with personal matters such as washing, toileting, medication management and correspondence.
This approach helps build trust between the carer and care receiver in a way that residential care (which typically relies on cyclical rota patterns) cannot.
2. Home and possessions
Live-in care also means your loved one’s home and personal possessions will only be accessible to a few trusted individuals.
Moving into residential care often requires a significant cut-back of items owned. As such, this process could involve family members or close friends helping older people sort through personal possessions in order to decide what can stay.
Live-in care keeps your loved one in their own home, where it’s likely that only minor lifestyle changes will be required. And, unlike residential care, only two care professionals will visit their space over the course of a typical day.
3. Receiving visitors
Live-in care helps your loved one maintain a personal space that they’re able to make their own decisions about, e.g. which visitors to receive and when.
Care home visiting rights are protected under both UK and EU law. However, visitors may be encouraged to stop by within certain windows of time in order to adapt to the facility’s schedule.
Live-in care also enables older people to host visitors in a private living space. In residential care, the choice is often between a public living space and a private bedroom.
4. Avoiding scammers
It’s a sad fact that older people are at greater risk of scams and fraudulent financial requests. However, live-in care helps provide an additional layer of protection against this.
Your loved one’s live-in care team will keep an eye on the day-to-day situation and speak either directly to them or to a trusted individual about any third-party activity that might look suspicious.
This helps to make sure their personal data and finances stay shielded.
5. Monitoring devices
Many modern assistive devices involve technology that tracks people in some way. While these devices can be highly beneficial, they justifiably raise concerns surrounding privacy for older people.
With live-in care, your loved one is less likely to require devices like these (e.g. bed sensors/fall detection systems) as there will be someone on hand to monitor their safety.
Privacy for older people is immensely important, as it should be for all of us. In these ways and many more, live-in care helps support a degree of privacy that’s unmatched by other care models.
If you’d like to find out more about how live-in care supports privacy for older people, speak to the friendly team at The Good Care Group.
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