Specialist Care at Home – What Are the Benefits?

Receiving specialist care at home helps you or your loved one to maintain independence and freedom to enjoy doing the things you like in familiar surroundings with the advantage of knowing that someone is there to take care of you. Let’s take a closer look at some of the specialist care available to older people at home…

Living with Dementia

Enabling a person to live in a familiar environment is one of the most significant benefits that live-in care offers, not just for surroundings but daily routines. A full-time live-in-carer will become a comforting friend that is always around when needed. Routines can flexible and adjusted to good and bad moments to meet your needs. Although dementia can be a frightening experience, consistent care from a carer gives a personal and familiar understanding. In a care home or with care visits, the priority is for practical elements of care, primarily with less time to support your emotional needs. Choosing a live-in-carer brings the comfort of a friend alongside their care.

Living with Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive condition that requires special knowledge to navigate as the stages advance. A live-in caregiver will provide and recognise these advancing stages and provide care and emotional support round the clock to enable you to live the best possible life you can. As a result, you will keep control of your life and care decisions in a way that care homes and care visits cannot, receiving medication at times you need, not to a schedule. Your support and care can be rebalanced as Parkinson’s progresses without unnecessary upheaval. An in-home carer will recognise and understand how to make necessary adjustments sensitively.

Living with Low Mobility

Day to day living can become problematic when your mobility reduces, yet you may not be ready or willing to use a care home. If you want to keep your freedom, your pets (they can take your dog for a walk), stay living with your partner, yet find moving around requires support, a live-in carer will be there to enable you. Live-in carers can help you keep up with friends, social engagements and life outside your home and provide support when you need it at home. You can keep control and as mobile, as you can or want to be, at times that suit you, not when you can schedule a visit.

Living with Poor Eyesight

Failing eyesight can be incredibly frightening and leave you unable to manage many of the daily routines that you enjoy. Moving to the unfamiliar environment of a care home may be unthinkable, as you may have an active social life and familiar home comforts that you are not ready to give up. Yet, it would help if you had support while you adjust or maybe on a longer-term basis. In such cases, choosing a live-in carer who can be on hand to support and facilitate your life your way and a friend to confide in when you worry could be the perfect solution. Live-in care can be a temporary solution that you need to navigate the necessary changes or learn to work an assistance dog and perhaps go on once again managing your life on your own.

Living with Poor Hearing

Hearing loss can cause stress and frustration over miscommunications and make some connections impossible. Having specialist care to provide assistance and to continue with routines without enlisting family help or waiting for a care visit will enable you to retain independence. In addition, a live-in carer can become an advocate in group situations so that you can maintain a social life and activities that you enjoy.

Financial benefits of care at home

When choosing live-in-care, your home’s value is not included in the financial assessment process. However, when being assessed for financial help towards the costs of care home fees, the value of your home may count towards your total capital. This may help protect inheritances and family properties for future generations.

The benefits of specialist care for those living with a partner

Live-in care will provide the help needed for you to remain at home with your loved ones. When partners or family can no longer meet your care needs, it can often feel like the only solution is a care home. Yet, separating life partners can be devastating and lead to a decline in mental and physical well-being for both.

When both partners have care needs, specialist care can also be a highly effective way of meeting individual needs, which otherwise may only be met by different care homes. Couples live-in care is also likely to cost less than two care home places. When only one person requires care, only the cared-for person’s income forms part of the financial assessment.

The benefits of care at home for those living with pets

Leaving a pet behind can be devastating if you move into a care home. For many, this can cause upset that triggers a decline in many conditions you live with and distress at the thought of rehoming a much-loved family member. However, a live-in carer can help you care for your pet. For example, they can assist with feeding or walking your dog when you find it difficult, letting your cat in at night and helping you shop for supplies or make vet visits.

The benefits of care at home for relatives of older people

There will always be worry when you have older family members requiring care, whether you are the one tasked with choosing the best care for them or not. Live-in care offers the minimum of disruption to loved one’s lives, allowing them more control of how they live. You are free to pop in and visit as freely as you wish or take your loved ones out on the spur of the moment. You are not subject to care home rules and restrictions.

You can be sure that your family member has the best specialist care available when they need it, allowing you more freedom on how much or how little you help without worrying they may find themselves in difficulty when you cannot attend. No matter how close or how far you live, you will know they have companionship and care when you are not with them.

Many older people can manage many aspects of their lives alone, only requiring support for specific areas, making a move into a care home seem excessive, yet help is still needed. You worry when they are alone or unsupported, yet they may resist moving. In such cases, choosing a care at home package that meets their needs and yours could allow you both to be happy.