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Posts tagged as “Domiciliary Care”

What Is Domiciliary Care? How It Helps The Elderly

Useful information explaining what domiciliary care is and how it could help your relative in having an independent later life that they love.

In current times, there is a really big problem with care for the elderly. With the best will in the world, there are not enough residential places for those in need of care. The number of elderly people is increasing, and with that increase comes an increase in the demand for care.

The NHS is finding that bed blocking is a common problem with elderly patients, because there is a huge delay in finding them an appropriate place in a care home after they have recovered in hospital. Even worse is that even if there is a place in a care home, The Live-in Care Hub discovered that most people don’t want to go into residential care if they become unwell or unable to care for themselves. The financial side of residential care causes problems too, with high costs individually per annum.

So, what is the solution?

The solution for lots of issues within communities are often complex, but with care, there is a really simple alternative and solution that has a wealth of benefits. That solution, is home care or domiciliary care.

What Is Domiciliary Care?

Domiciliary care is a carer who visits your home and provides the care you need to stay in your home independently. A domiciliary carer may only visit, or they may come from home care providers and provide complete live-in care services. The point in domiciliary care is providing the services needed to keep your loved one safe, comfortable and independent at home. The support is built around the routines you already have in place. Your carer may be able to recommend improvements and suggestions, but the say on exactly how the clients day to day life looks lies with the client and their family.

How Does Domiciliary Care Help The Elderly?

Domiciliary care brings many benefits to the client and to their families including:

  • Companionship – Over 2 million elderly people live alone, and half of those state that they can spend an entire month without speaking to friends or family. Domiciliary care provided by a home care agency ensures that loneliness is combated with a friendly face in the form of a qualified carer.
  • Safety – Checking in on a vulnerable person daily, or supervised 24/7 means that they can be safe in their own home.
  • Remaining at home – Most people requiring care do not want to leave their home. Domiciliary care enables them to stay in the place they love the most.
  • Remaining independent – Independence is so precious when you get older. Care at home helps a person maintain their independence and dignity.
  • Peace of mind for the family – Knowing your loved one is safely cared for makes a huge difference in peace of mind day to day.
  • Temporary services – Respite care, preparation for residential care and help with stroke recovery and other temporary medical matters are all ways temporary domiciliary care can be helpful.
  • Nutrition – Over 1 million elderly people in the UK are malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. Carers can provide nutritious meals and snacks to a client who may struggle to feed themselves.
  • Socialising – As well as companionship from the carer, the carer will encourage their client to socialise with people of their own age at relevant social events such as coffee mornings.
  • Personal care – Carers are trained to provide personal care in a professional manner, enabling a person to maintain hygiene and appearance.
  • Keeping pets – Moving into residential homes can mean letting go of the pets you treasure which is traumatic. A domiciliary carer can help a person stay in their home and keep their pet. They may also be able to help with pet care.
  • Staying with their partner – Residential care places can often be so scarce a couple has to split up and reside in different places which can be unbelievably heartbreaking. Couples care from live-in carers enables couples to stay together and often ends up being more cost-effective than two seperate places in residential homes.

The Next Step

If you are interested in setting up domiciliary care for your loved one you should speak to your GP or social worker about getting a care assessment. This will help you understand how much care is needed and how much financial help you might be entitled to, to pay for care. Home care providers will also be more than willing to provide you with as much information as you need to make an informed decision. The more informed you are, the better able you will be to arrange the highest standard of care for your loved one.