Everyone at some point will be affected and faced with either a personal decision on his own care, or one for a family member. At first, it may look like minefield with many different considerations and cost factors playing into the right decision. 

  For each individual case however, careful consideration needs to be given and discussed with family members and professionals like GP or Adult Social Workers. Each person in the consideration will have their own unique set of challenges and strengths which may need to be considered.

 Attention should also be given to the fact that requirements can often change over time – either slowly or rapidly, and the long-term planning will need to be changed. The good news is that there are a multiple number of options available in now days - each can be tailored to the individual needs of the person requiring care. 

 The end goal is to create a safe, happy, and healthy environment either at home or in a suitable care facility.

Types of Care Solutions

 There are many different types of Care Solutions to meet needs of different people and situation, this can include Care Homes/Nursing Homes, Domiciliary Care, Live in Care and Home Help.

 A good starting point is a list of requirements as well as a needs assessment for yourself or the person needing help. Once these requirements are fully understood they can be matched to the variety of types of care and home help options available. Unfortunately, this process can be very difficult especially if you are organising it for a loved one who does not believe that the care or help is needed – so it requires time, patience and understanding.

Below are some care options to consider:

Home Help:

 Home help service does not provide personal care or medication care but will deliver home help services that support you or your family in the home to enable continued independent living. Home help services generally include companionship, light cleaning, washing up and laundry, preparing meals, shopping, companionship, advice and information, and other daily tasks a person may be battling with, as well as trips out or hospital, plus many more. Many elderly benefit from the extra support at home especially when they lose mobility or due to a health condition. Caring Haven Home Service provide home help services like this to the local community where the Home Helpers are selected from local community and thoroughly vetted through interviews, references, and DBS checks, and completing trainings ensuring that you have peace of mind.

Difference between a Home Helper and a carer

 The main difference between a Home Helper and a Carer is that Home Helpers do not carry out any personal care tasks or medical care (administering medication).

Hourly rates for Home Help services are much more affordable than for a traditional Domiciliary Care service where are high hourly premium rates, and customers most of the time have the same Home Helper so they can build strong friendships.

Care Home:

   Care homes may be necessary for someone who is struggling to live alone, with family or has paid carer support - or for someone who requires specialist medical attention. There are two types of care homes which can either be Residential Home or one which provides daily nursing assistance which would be a Nursing Home. 

The option of a care home is a big decision as it is a costly investment, however there are many upsides to the option.

Domiciliary Care:

 Domiciliary care which is also called Home Care is when a carer will visit the person at home either on a daily or weekly basis for period of time. The main role of home care is to provide personal care such as bathing, showering, washing, supervise the taking of medication or administering, preparing meals, shopping, companionship, advice and information, and other daily tasks a person may need.

Live in Care:

  A live-in carer will provide full time care in your or your family members home, the carer will move into the home and permanently live there for a certain period of time what can be weeks or months. As with domiciliary care, the care will include personal care such as bathing, administering and supervise the taking of medication, preparing meals, shopping, companionship, advice and information, and other daily tasks. In finding a suitable live-in carer, one must ensure that there are high levels of trust and compatibility for it to work as an ongoing solution. 

Putting together the right care and help solutions:

 Whether you or your loved one are recovering from an illness, surgery or finding that mobility is becoming increasingly challenging, the result will be that daily tasks will be more challenging and struggle increase. In some cases, this may lead to increased isolation, loneliness and depression which will be detrimental to maintaining a positive mindset. In many instances elderly people wish to remain at home where they are surrounded by the things they love and the memories that have been created over the years. It’s important that as much as possible your and their wishes are supported by the putting in place the right level of care.