New Age UK figures show support for older carers is more important than ever; find out how live-in care can provide support in your own home.
Finding ways to offer support for older carers should be of paramount importance, especially in light of recent research from Age UK.
In this article, we’ll introduce this new research and discuss how live-in care can help provide support for older carers while keeping them together in the family home.
Age UK research into elderly carers
This Age UK research casts light on the number of older carers in the country, their age groups and the extent of their carer responsibilities. According to the research:
- There are over 2m older carers in the country today (equivalent to almost half of all unpaid carers)
- The total number of older carers has increased by almost 500,000 over the last five years
- More than 400,000 older carers are 80+ years of age
- 90% of carers aged 85+ provide care for someone aged 75+
- One-third of carers aged 80+ provide more than 35 hours of care per week
- Over one-third of carers aged 65+ provide more than 50 hours of care per week
- Around 12% of carers aged 65+ provide 100 or more hours of care per week
- Advice Line enquiries from older carers have almost doubled over the last two years
These statistics show that care responsibilities are increasingly falling on older people, who may experience the effects of administering care more keenly.
How live-in care provides support for older carers
In our experience, providing care in old age often stems from a combination of a desire to look after a loved one, difficulty accessing care and concerns about changing living patterns.
Live-in care is a different kind of care model that can be adapted to suit individuals’ needs in ways other care models can’t. These are some of the ways live-in care provides this type of support for older carers:
- Stay at home: Older carers can stay in their own homes alongside their loved ones and cherished possessions, and even beloved pets.
- Keep couples together: Older couples are kept together, with a care plan specially adapted for one or both of the people involved.
- Social interaction: Staying together provides a vital social outlet that can stave off loneliness and depression, while the dedicated care teams will also become close companions.
- Reduce risks: Experienced oversight from trained carers helps reduce risks of illness, injury or potential mistakes with medication.
- Self-determination: Live-in care puts the needs and preferences of older couples at the centre of the equation, including in terms of daily schedules, social visits and meal times.
- Quality time: Adopting a live-in care arrangement helps older couples focus on spending quality time together, and with their loved ones, rather than focusing on care provision.
As the Age UK figures show, support for older carers has never been more important. At The Good Care Group, we strive to ensure older carers receive the support and sense of self-determination needed to lead a happy, independent life.
Learn more about how live-in care can help provide support for elderly carers by speaking to our friendly team.
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