When it comes to home care for the elderly, the general consensus is that it is preferable to being cared for in a residential home or hospital. Aside from the fact that an older person is going to be much more comfortable in their own familiar surroundings, where friends and family can visit whenever they like, studies have shown that recovery times from illness or injury is greatly reduced, as well as there being a lower risk of depression or feelings of isolation.

Perhaps either yourself or a loved one need some support at home, but aren’t sure what help is available; which is why Care In Kent have put together this guide to help you decide if home care support could benefit you…

So, first thing’s first – what exactly is home care?

What Is Home Care?

Also known as ‘domiciliary care’, home care is when trained care workers visit the homes of those who need assistance – typically the elderly, disabled, or those living with an illness. This type of care is ideal for those who want to stay living in their own homes, but need help with day-to-day living. It could be that relatives or friends who could normally be called upon for help live far away, or have work and family commitments; or it could be that professional help is needed with personal care or to help with medications.

Home care workers are always properly trained and a DBS check carried out (formerly known as a CRB check), to ensure that the individual is competent and suitable to work with vulnerable people. With these measures in place you can have complete peace of mind that the needs of yourself or a loved will be met by someone compassionate and skilled in the areas of care that is required.

Find out more about our home care services Click Here

How Often Are Visits?

Care visits can be as frequent as you like. Daily visits can last from half an hour to an hour, and can occur more than once a day if needed, depending on what tasks need to be completed. If longer visits are needed because a client needs assistance with cooking meals or grocery shopping, then these can last for several hours at a time. Your healthcare worker will know you and your care plan in great details, allowing bonds of friendship and trust to be built.

So, what types of home care might you need?


Personal Care

Personal care involves receiving support with daily personal tasks that might now be a bit of a struggle due to becoming older. This could be things like helping you to wash or get dressed, shaving, or going to the toilet. If you or a loved one who needs to receive in-home personal care has limited mobility, trained care workers can use hoists or sliders to help make the task as easy as possible. Personal care is always carried out with the utmost respect and in a discreet manner to make sure that a client’s dignity remains of paramount importance. 


Companionship Care

Loneliness is a huge issue in this country, affecting hundreds of elderly people across the UK. Companionship care is ideal for older people who are feeling the effects of loneliness but are still healthy enough to live independently rather than move into a retirement village or home, where they could socialise with other people. Having someone to talk to and go on outings with can play a huge part in keeping someone happy and mentally healthy, as well as helping with confidence and avoid or ease depression.

Further reading: How to deal with loneliness as we get older

Dementia Care

In the UK alone there are currently around 850,000 people living with Dementia; an illness that comes in many different forms such as Alzheimer’s, alcohol-induced dementia and early on-set dementia. Specially trained care workers can be on hand to help someone living with dementia to maintain their routine and social life so that they can carry on living independently for as long as possible. Care workers who specialise in the care of those with dementia are skilled at dealing with challenging behaviour and work hard to get to know the client as an individual so as to tailor the care to their specific needs. 

Further reading: How music can help dementia

Respite Home Care

Respite home care is a service which helps support those who are caring full-time for a loved one. It could involve providing a small amount of daily or weekly care, allowing the carer to manage other commitments that they may have, or just to take a break. Caring for a loved one is a huge responsibility and can lead to the carer feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or simply forgetting to take care of themselves as well! Respite care delivered by trained and experienced care workers can be an invaluable resource, especially for those starting to feel too frustrated or exhausted to carry out their caring role to the best of their ability. 

Find out more about our home care services Click Here


Live-in Care 

Live-in care is pretty self-explanatory – a care worker lives in the home with the client. This is a great option for an elderly person who needs daily or round-the-clock- care and has the space at home to accommodate a full-time carer. This type of care has advantages and disadvantages…


Advantages 

  • You can stay in your own home and there is always someone there to maintain the house.
  • You can keep the lifestyle you are used to, such as your social life, any pets, and standards of living – but have extra help on hand as your needs change


Disadvantages

  • You will inevitably have less privacy than you did before
  • You’ll have to give up a room so that your carer has somewhere to stay
  • It can be an expensive type of care as there are certain necessities you will need to supply such as internet access – and if you have to renovate a room then you are looking at further costs

Nursing CareAnother fairly self-explanatory one; nursing care involves visits from a carer who is a registered nurse and is therefore trained and experienced in carrying out medical tasks such as administering medications, treating wounds, managing skin problems such as pressure sores, and providing care for surgical procedures such as tracheostomies, stomas and catheters. This type of care means that elderly people living with conditions that need to be monitored can have that treatment in their own homes rather than have to go to a hospital or their GP.

Find out more about our home care services Click Here