Find out some of the benefits of live-in care, a truly life-enhancing form of care offering quality of life alongside professional care.

With a population that is predicted to comprise 25 per cent of people over 65 by 2045, excellent senior care options are needed more than ever before here in the UK. Live-in care or home care is becoming the preferred option for later life care, because there are so many benefits to it.

Here are just some of the many reasons there is a live-in care revolution starting to take place:

More Than Just Care

Live-in care is more than help with simple tasks. Home care provides the opportunity to develop a wonderful client to carer relationship because the client receives completely focused support, they receive help going out to attend clubs or community groups, or just to meet up with friends. The live-in care revolution is about whole-life care.

Statistics from our Better At Home report showed that the vast majority of older people do not want to move in to residential care if they became unwell or less able to care from themselves. Live-in care is the preferred option because of its many benefits:

Companionship

One of the most worrying aspects of going into care is leaving behind companions. At the very least a person may have to be parted from their pet, and at worst from their spouse or partner. This can be traumatic for anyone let alone a frail older person, and with live-in care this doesn’t need to happen.

Specialist Care

Clients can often receive specialist care from their carer with conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, MS, MND (Motor Neurone Disease) and end of life care. Or specialist care can be provided alongside regular home care.

A Sense Of Control

There are no timetables set by the carers as happens in a residential care home. Instead the client has all the control and is able to choose when they want to have breakfast, when they want to go out and when they would like to get up or go to bed. The client can even choose to enjoy a snack late at night while watching their favourite TV programme if they want.

Getting Out And About

A third of people in residential care and over half in nursing homes never leave their homes according to our research. With live-in care, a huge part of the carers job is enabling their client to get out and about and maintain their social life whenever possible.

Staying Healthy

Our research also shows that one third fewer falls occur with live-in care compared to residential care. Hip fractures are very serious as they not only cost the NHS hundreds of pounds in callouts and in-hospital care (which amounts to billions of pounds a year), but they also place the patient at a higher risk of long-term illness. Carers also work hard to keep the client as active as possible which contributes to their overall health.

These are just a few reasons that live-in care is becoming the most desirable care option for elderly people in the UK. With the NHS over capacity and the elderly population growing rapidly many people are taking more control over the later stages of their life so they can enjoy themselves for as long as possible. The live-in care revolution provides many solutions to many problems.

Carers Can Have A Truly Positive Impact

Our population is ageing as we all know, and with that comes increasing pressure on the care industry to provide adequate care for the elderly. The NHS is struggling as it is, and yet they have to fill in the gaps that elderly care currently cannot fulfil.

There are also statistics showing that many carers in residential care home positions are leaving their jobs, 928 a day to be precise in 2017. This means even fewer carers for those in need, and fewer good options.

However, there is one very important part of the care industry that could be an answer to many of the issues facing the country’s elderly care crisis, and that is live-in care, or in home care.

Live-in care is where a trained carer lives in the home of the person needing care, and they provide full-time care for that person (sometimes on a rota basis with another carer, for example 2 weeks on 2 weeks off).

This type of care can also be provided to couples and the costs compare favourably with residential care (because you are not paying twice); it isn’t a care option limited to the very wealthy. It is also a more rewarding role for the carer than working in a care home with the rigid time restrictions often preventing carers from providing the level of care and social interaction and support they would like.

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Here are some of the ways live-in carers can have a positive impact:

The Country

The NHS is struggling in many areas, but one issue is the elderly coming in for treatment, and having to remain in the hospital once they are well again because adequate care cannot be found for them in a residential home. Live-in carers enable those beds to be freed up for somebody else in more need of medical treatment, because the patient can come home and be cared for often achieving better outcomes through the dedicated one to one support the professional carer is able to provide. Trained carers can provide support like personal care, companionship and cleaning and cooking; and the patient can receive additional support at home from NHS nurses if needed.

The Client

In a residential nursing home or a care home, a client may well be happy. However, most people wouldn’t choose to go into residential care, according to our research here at the Live In Care Hub. Most people would not choose to leave their partner, pets, neighbours, house, hobbies and whole life behind to move into one room within a facility, where someone else decides when you get up and go to bed, what you eat and generally how you live your life.

Live-in carers enable a person to live the best possible independent life at home. They enable them to have a high quality of life with social outings, hobbies, conversations, individual care and exercise. The kind of later life most of us would wish for. A trained live- in carer is there to help an elderly person live the most fulfilling life possible.

The Carers

Working in a place where there is no time to properly care for people will inevitably take its toll. Unfortunately, there is a lot of pressure on carers in care homes who sometimes have mere minutes to provide personal care to a person. Sometimes there simply isn’t time for a chat. For someone with a big heart, who wants to do the best for their clients – that just isn’t the type of caring they want to provide. Live-in care, however, enables a carer to be the best carer they can be. They have time to chat, tend to nutritional needs and to make their client happy in any number of small ways.

Family Members

The distress involved in taking somebody to a residential home can be heart wrenching for clients’ families, and yet, that is preferable to their family member being unsafe at home. But there is another option – by providing live-in care, the family know their relative is happy, healthy and safe in the comfort of their own home.

Live-in Care has a positive impact on everyone. Read our reports “Better at Home” and “No Place Like Home” for more information or contact us for impartial advice, either by email at hello@liveincarehub.co.uk or by phone on 0330 311 2906.

The perfect alternative to residential care

The concept of having a carer live with a loved one in their own home as an alternative to residential care is not new. In fact, many of the Live In Care Hub members have been providing such a service for decades. The concept though is still not considered main stream and it is surprising how many people are unaware of this option, thinking that a move to a care home and leaving their own home is inevitable.

There is another option. The option is ‘Live In Care‘ – where, with the help of a specialist provider, like the Hub members, you can arrange for a professional, qualified and vetted carer to come and temporarily reside in your loved ones property, providing the care and support they need to live life the way they choose. The carer is then seamlessly rotated with another providing continuity of care. Rotational patterns are individual to differing provider working practices and dependent on client choice.

More information can be found in our article “What Is Live-in Care?“

This article looks at ways ‘live in care’ differs from choosing a care home.

The main and most obvious difference is that live in care enables a relative to remain living in their own home; there is no upheaval, no move to new and unfamiliar surroundings. They can keep much loved pets whereas many care homes are unable to accommodate them. Links to your their community are maintained and life, for all intents and purposes can continue as normal.

A live in carer will provide one-to-one care whereas in a residential home many carers work on rotation system to share responsibility. Being supported by one person promotes a depth of professional relationship that enables a carer to instantly respond as necessary. They can recognise signs of possible decline in condition, changes in mood, rapid onset health concerns as well as fully understand what makes a difference in their client’s day, what makes them laugh and smile, relaxes and soothes them, eases discomfort and generally makes life as good as it can be.

There is funding available for both options. Live in care is comparable in cost to residential homes and compared to some of the more elite homes, is a much more cost effective option. In many instances one live in carer can provide care for a couple, which is a far more viable financial option than the cost of two beds in a residential care home.

For more information on alternatives to residential care please contact hello@liveincarehub.co.uk, for funding please visit our dedicated cost of elderly care page.

The Difference it Makes at Christmas

For people who receive live-in care, the support they receive from their carer makes a huge difference to their life.

A study by the Live-in Care Hub reveals that the vast majority of people would prefer not to go into a residential care home if they become unwell or unable to care for themselves. So, having a service that enables you to stay in your own home as you age really is an incredible gift.

The respectful personal care, help with medication timetables, appointments, getting out shopping, attending social events and being able to keep pets and continue enjoying a garden that you may have spent years cultivating are just a few other benefits clients of live-in care experience all year round. At Christmas, there are special benefits to live-in care – here are just a few of them:

Company

Age UK estimates that there are currently 2.5 million older people in the UK who currently have nobody to turn to. Clients receiving live-in care fortunately do not fall into that category because they have a carer who is there to both help them and to keep them company. At Christmas this is even more important because Christmas can be extremely emotive, especially if you are alone.

Family Support

Although a client may have family at Christmas, they may still need help with personal care and support tasks, often things they don’t wish to burden their family with. A Live-In Carer enables the client to then enjoy the time they have with their family without worrying about being a burden.

Nutritional Help

According to Age UK, over a million elderly people aged over 65 in the UK are malnourished or at risk of it. In winter this becomes more of an issue as appetite can be lost because of low mood or loneliness, and it becomes easier for a person to reach for calorie dense treats instead of nutritionally rich foods. A live-in carer can help provide healthy meals, and help ensure nutritional needs are met as well as make their client their favourite foods and treats too.

Socialising

Lots of elderly people can feel alienated from Christmas. Maybe because of dementia or mobility issues they feel they can’t join in, or they don’t know how to take part because certain elements of Christmas are stressful. A live-in carer can find appropriate ways for their client to be part of Christmas and to socialise with people their age at a time of year that is for everyone.

Timetables

Scheduling in NHS nursing care, picking up medication, going to the shops during opening hours and sending off post in time are all things a live-in carer can help with at Christmas. When schedules change and everybody is very busy, a live-in carer will ensure you have everything you need at the right time.

Specialist Dementia Care

Christmas is known to be stressful for those with dementia but specialist dementia care can be provided by live-in carers who have training to support the issues that affect people living with this issue. This will ensure that a client with dementia is both protected from the stress of Christmas, whilst also being able to take part in it without feeling overwhelmed.

Look Into Live-in Care Today

If you think you, or a family member could benefit from home care or live-in care at Christmas, or any time of the year, take a look into it today. You will find the financial side compares favourably to residential care homes with the added peace of mind that your loved one is cared for in their own home.