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For many people, elderly care is a necessity they have to consider. Whether it be ageing parents, or other loved ones, the burdens of growing old need to be met with special arrangements. The most typical solutions people resort to are residential care homes and live-in care service. 

On the surface, both options aim to provide care for an elderly individual, who can no longer address life challenges on their own. However, there are major differences between the two services and it is only by knowing more about them that people can make an informed decision of which one is better for them. Following is a quick rundown of what both services are all about. 

Residential care homes 

In essence, care homes are a place where elderly individuals can receive round-the-clock care by professionals. A care home is a secure place where the caregivers can monitor the elderly and respond to any emergencies they have. While it is true that care homes often provide medical attention, they are not always specialised in treating certain conditions. Typically, elderly individuals share the common areas of the place – dining rooms, lounge, bathrooms, gardens, etc. Sometimes, care homes are equipped with individual bedrooms, while in other cases these areas are common as well and facilitate more than one person. The staff in the care facility provides meals, housekeeping services and any assistance with daily tasks – dressing, personal hygiene and mobility. Because the number of people varies, while the staff mostly remains the same, the level of care an elderly individual too can vary. 

The benefits of a care home: 

• The staff is available 24/7 
• The environment is secure 
• Meals are prepared for every resident 
• Socialising opportunities 
• Staff provides supervision of medication and healthcare 
• No maintenance costs and household bills
  
  

The disadvantages of a care home:

• Requires the elderly to leave their home and move to the care facility 
• Less independence 
• The focus is on practical, rather than emotional needs 
  
  

Live-in care services 

Live-in care service enables the elderly to stay in their home and relies on a professional caregiver moving in with them. The caregiver provides support and help to the person, allowing friends and family some freedom to visit less often. The elderly don’t have to leave the familiar and safe environment of their home. The place needs to have a separate bedroom for the caregiver, however, since they will be staying in the home for a prolonged period. The caregivers for this job are well-qualified and trained to support low and mid-level needs. This means they can help the person get about, as well as aid them in tasks like toileting, dressing, washing, etc. They can also prepare meals to match the nutritional and diet needs of the elderly, as well as do some housekeeping. 

The benefits of live-in care service:

• 24/7 support by a caregiver 
• There is no need to move to a care facility 
• Great for elderly families, who can remain together
• Companionship 
• Housekeeping service 
• Continued independence
  
  

The disadvantages of live-in care service:

• The home of the service recipient may need some modifications 
• Needs a spare room for the caregiver 
• Mostly suitable for low and mid-level needs 
  
  

When people gain a better understanding of what makes both the live-in care service and the residential care home service, they can make better decisions about themselves or their elderly loved ones. The most important thing is to consider all aspects of the service and choose in the best interest of the recipient of the service. 

© Home Care Preferred Barnet

Live-in care is a service that can help many seniors feel comfortable and safe within their own homes. It is especially useful to consider it when said senior individuals are no longer able to cope with the challenges of daily life on their own. Oftentimes, it is their relatives who need to arrange the service. 

If you are about to do so, you need to remember that it includes more steps than just contacting a live-in care agency. In this guide, we will go over what you need to do, to ensure the best service possible: 

• You have to talk about live-in care with the senior – this one is an absolute must. Many people just go on and book live-in care service for their relatives and loved ones, expecting that they will just accept the service and even be thankful for it. But the reality is that seniors often don’t see live-in care as a good thing, especially if they don’t know much about it in the first place. You need to carefully explain the idea behind live-in care: that the senior won’t need to leave their home and that they will get a professional caregiver for companionship and help. Many seniors believe that they will lose their independence and simply oppose the idea because they are scared. When you calmly explain what the service is all about, you will be able to get on the same page and ensure that they make the most of the service. 
  
  
• You need to discuss the needs of the senior – when you are first arranging the live-in care service, you have to consider the needs of the senior individual. That way you can ensure the proper care plan is devised and that the person with suitable experience is assigned to the position. Consider carefully what the senior person needs help with and share these observations with the agency. That way they will be able to provide the right person. It is important to know that live-in care can change over time, especially if the senior has changing symptoms and some form of progressive condition. Yet, setting the standard from the start will allow the caregiver to know how to expand on it. 
  
  
• You should do thorough research of the providers – not all live-in care agencies are the same. You should do a thorough research of the ones that are available to you before you sign any contract with them. The idea is that you will be able to gauge their ability to help the senior better and also match your expectations. After all, it is also important to consider their expertise. Some agencies do not provide caregivers with a medical background, while that may be the exact thing you are looking for. 
  
  
• You should introduce the caregiver to the senior – one more thing you should always see is to introduce the senior to the caregiver. The idea is that this will break the ice and give them a chance to know each other. Since the live-in caregiver will be spending a lot of time with the person in question, they need to be familiar with them. For this service to work, both of them should establish a certain level of rapport. If there is tension, things are not going to work out. 
  
  

All of these are important considerations to make in regards to live-in care service. Always remember to address them as you arrange the service for a senior loved one or relative, to be able to make the most of the service. 

© Home Care Preferred Barnet

If there is ageing loved one in your family, who can no longer take care of themselves alone, it is time to consider the options to provide help to them. Home care stands out as a fine alternative to moving them to a nursery home. There are plenty of benefits to resorting to such service and it is important to consider them all. In this guide, we will list the most obvious ones: 

• Highly-personalised service – perhaps the top reason people pick home care over moving the elderly individual to a nursery home is the fact that the service they receive is highly-personalised. What this means is that the caregiver an agency will provide will mostly look after the person and address their specific needs. For example, they can make sure that some of the household tasks are in order and that the person takes their medications. They can also be there for companionship and support, should the person need someone to talk to and interact with. It is all a matter of what they need the most. The service is also adaptable, meaning should the person’s needs change, the service can be tailored to meet these changes. 

• The person remains in their own home – another top benefit of home care service lies with the fact that the elderly person doesn’t need to leave their home. This can be a true blessing for them. Many elderly individuals dread the thought of moving to a nursery home, and will even oppose the idea. It is quite stressful for them to move to such an unfamiliar environment. By having them keep their familiar surroundings, home care caters to their comfort like no other service. 

• Relatives can visit easily – most nursing homes have some restrictions on visiting hours by relatives. What this means is that normally they cannot just go there and visit the elderly individual. But with home care service, relatives and friends can come as they please. The caregiver can be there or not, depending on the preference. 

• The elderly receive personal attention – in nursery homes, several people on the staff look after a certain number of elderly individuals. There is hardly a need to point out that the staff cannot pay personal attention to everyone, which is not the case with home care. Since a single caregiver is looking after one person, they can entirely focus on them to ensure they are comfortable. The caregiver will be doing all they can to meet the needs of the person. 

• Pets can continue to live with the elderly – if the elderly person has any pets, they can keep them around. It is well-documented that pets improve the wellbeing of ageing individuals and provide some much-needed comfort to them. With a home care service, the person that comes to visit the elderly can help them look after the pet and ensure that it is around to provide more joy to their owner. 

• Relatives can have peace of mind – for all those that have ageing parents, it is important to know that they are safe. That is exactly the case with the home care service. Since a professional caregiver is going to visit the person on a prearranged schedule, people will be sure that the ageing person receives adequate attention and help when they need it the most. 

There are many benefits to home care service and it is important to consider them all when thinking whether to resort to it. 

© Home Care Preferred Barnet

If you are a person with a passion for helping others, then a career in live in care is probably one that you have considered. It usually involves support for an elderly individual in their home, at a sustained and personalised level. It comes with a quality of service that is often different from what hourly care and home care settings provide. It gives you a chance to make a difference in the life of this person. 

To face the challenges of the job, you need to possess certain characteristics. If the following is something you have, then live-in care is an option for you. 

• Some professional or personal care experience – although you can indeed receive some level of training, most of the time you will be alone on your placement. What this means is that there is less opportunity for shadow learning. Therefore, if you have some experience in the field, perhaps even if you have been tasked with caregiver duties for a family member or a loved one, then you know many of the fundamentals of the job. Having that base is a good start, upon which you can later expand to become even more proficient in medication management, manual handling and more. Don’t forget to highlight specialist training, since that can make you an even better candidate for such a job. 
  
  
• Flexibility and availability – one of the biggest factors for live-in carers come with their availability and flexibility. The nature of the job is such that they work unusual hours because the needs of the person they are caring for don’t have anything to do with business hours. That comes at a certain cost of activities you would otherwise do, as part of your lifestyle. You need to be able to commit yourself to such duties since the nature of them requires it. 
  
  
• To listen and communicate – among the unique aspects of live-in care is companionship alongside support related to various needs. You always need to acknowledge your client’s wishes and opinions and respect them. This is key for establishing a trusting relationship with them. You have to understand them well, to be able to respond to their needs. You may also need to be present during doctor’s appointments, which means you have to listen carefully. You will later need to follow these instructions. 
  
  
• Planning and organisation – a live-in carer is responsible for many tasks around the home of their clients. These range from cooking meals to cleaning and addressing various other household tasks. Without a doubt, being able to deal with all of these chores and still be able to provide all of the necessary care towards the person requires a lot of planning and good organisational skills. After all, ensuring that the home is clean and safe is a major aspect of caregiving. It is what allows people to remain independent and comfortable in their own home. All of the prior preparation, planning and scheduling to ensure this is the case is what the caregiver needs to be able to do. 
  
  
• To be caring in nature – to be a caregiver means a lot more than having the practical skills for the job. You have to be able to put the other person before you, and the personality traits associated with this are patience, empathy and resilience. All of them make for the right kind of mix for a caregiver job. 
  
  

Knowing what it takes to be a caregiver can help you decide whether you are a good candidate for such a task. 

© Home Care Preferred Barnet

Whether you have an elderly family member in need of help, or perhaps you are at an age where you feel you cannot manage alone, home care service is a fantastic thing to consider. Exploring the option of having a home carer close by is something that you should since it will provide an easy solution to the issue. 

It is a good thing to remember then that picking the home care provider should be a careful process, and not something you do on a whim. Researching all of the options is mandatory, as is avoiding the common mistakes that people in the process of hiring a home care agency. In this article we take a closer look at these mistakes and how you can prevent them: 

• Putting off the decision to get home care service – many people try not to think about the option of home care until it becomes evident that home care is the only option. But when it comes to choosing an agency to provide a carer last minute and doing full research to choose the best one with enough given time, it is evident that the latter option is the one to go for. It is a good idea to get a caregiver on the case as early as possible. Not only will this present enough time for them and the elderly person to get acquainted, but it also means saving the elderly a lot of stress later on. 

• You think that the most important factor is cost – cost is no small consideration, that is true. However, when it comes to home care, it is important to look at other factors as well – proper insurance of the care provider, experience and history of work with other elderly people. The best agency for the job will make you feel like you are spending your money on good quality service, and they will do their best to prove that is the case. 

• You don’t think of a care plan ahead of time – this was touched upon in the first point, but it bears repeating – having a care plan in place is very important. This allows you to be more specific when determining the kind of tasks the home carer will provide and what changes may occur in time with those tasks. Not only that but drawing up a care plan ahead will allow you to address all of the small details, which could turn the service into a great one. 

• You hire a home care agency without learning all about them – home care is a service that requires more research than others. After all, it involves a person coming at the home of the elderly frequently. Besides these factors, it is important to also consider what fees and what specifics their service features. That way you will know you have found the right one. 

• Not arranging one or multiple caregivers – some people prefer one caregiver, others are okay with several of them. While it is not possible to have the same person 24/7, there are some arrangements you can make in regards to that. There are vacations, sick leaves and such things to consider as well. So make sure you discuss this with the agency. 

Avoiding all of these mistakes is a matter of getting the most of your home care service. 

© Home Care Preferred Barnet