Benefits of Live in Care
Live In Care has grown to become a popular alternative to sending the elderly or ill to a home.
With this option, the caregivers will come to the patient’s house and offer their care from the patient’s place of residence.
There are many reasons why people have been going for Live In Care as opposed to sending people to a home. In this article, we will cover the benefits of Live In Care. But before we do that, let’s take a look at the meaning of Live In Care.
What Is Live In Care?
People can get sick or old to the extent that they are unable to handle their daily needs on their own. Some will have problems with mobility while others may have limited cognitive abilities.
Whatever the case, these people will require part-time or full-time care from other people. If a family member or friend is unable to care for such a patient, it will be necessary to employ a professional to take care of them.
Currently, you can choose to send the patient to a residential facility, or you can just invite a live in caregiver to take care of them from home.
Live In Care refers to the second option where the caregivers will take care of the patients from the patient’s home. You can choose to get a volunteer or a professional caregiver from an agency.
Professional carers are preferred for patients who are suffering from developed illnesses. If necessary, you can apply for NHS care and enjoy massive discounts on the fees charged by the live in caregivers.
Before we get in to the detail, here is a short video on the advantages of Live in Care.
Benefits of Live In Care
Here we set out 9 key pros of live-in care.
1 – Familiar Setting and Surroundings
Almost everyone would rather live in their own home rather than a residential facility. There is a warmth and sense of comfort and safety that comes with a familiar surrounding.
Living at home is especially important for people suffering from dementia since foreign surroundings can confuse them profoundly.
Patients can also get a sense of isolation and loneliness when they no longer have their loved ones around them continuously. With Live In Care, only one or two new faces will have been added to the home, and that will not affect the patient’s sense of familiarity.
Even if a residential facility has great facilities, you should consider letting your loved ones work with live in carers
There are many reasons why people have been going for Live In Care as opposed to sending people to a home
2 – It Is Cost Effective
Live In Care is significantly cheaper than staying in a home. You will not need to spend large sums of money on a bed and space, and you will also get the chance to provide your own meals.
In a home, you may be obligated to eat the foods provided in the institution, and that will usually be charged a premium.
With Live In Care, you will only be paying for the carer’s time and expertise. All other costs can be covered independently.
3 – Flexibility
Everyone loves a little flexibility in life.
You should consider offering your loved ones a live in carer as this arrangement will allow them to carry on with their lives as usual.
They will not have to deal with the restricting terms and conditions you would find in a home. Just like regular people, they will sleep in their own beds, whether as a couple or as individuals. Also, they can go for outings and eat whatever foods they desire.
In short, Live In Care allows patients to enjoy flexible routines.
4 – One-on-One Attention
This is one of the most important benefits of Live In Care. With this form of care, your loved ones will be able to enjoy personal attention from the caregivers.
This way, the patient and the caregiver will end up developing a special bond which will eventually make the patient a lot more comfortable.
Everyone feels good being around people who know them well and understand their needs. Since the caregiver will not be serving many people at once, they will get the chance to understand the special needs of your loved one.
In essence, they will end up becoming a secondary family of the patient.
5 – Companionship
Elderly people and those suffering from various illnesses will usually feel more comfortable around people they know and trust.
Live In Care offers very high levels of companionship since the patients will have the chance to live with their own families and loved ones.
If the patients are an elderly couple, they will be able to live together and sleep in the same bed every day. This means they will get to enjoy each other’s company. If they have pets in the house, they will enjoy living with dogs or cats and seeing them every day.
Patients working with live in caregivers will also enjoy the close care offered to them by the caregivers.
These professionals will offer specialised assistance to seniors and will end up understanding them on a personal level. This means the patients will end up loving and trusting the carers just like their own families.
That means everyone in the patients home, including the carers and any pets, will be essential companions to the patients. They will all help the patients avoid any feelings of solitude and abandonment.
6 – Peace of Mind
As a relative or friend of a sick or elderly person, you might be worried about your friend’s condition and their health state.
Are they suffering from any pain?
Have they had an accident?
Are they emotionally deprived?
With a live in caregiver, you will get to enjoy some peace of mind since they will offer the highest levels of care to your friends and family.
If the patient has a health condition like dementia, make sure you hire a professional caregiver from a trusted and reliable agency.
If you get an untrained carer, you may never be sure whether or not they are handling the problem appropriately.
For example, an inexperienced person could try to get a dementia patient to remember events or messages you gave them from the past. This could all be in an effort to help the patient, but it would only make the patient more suspicious of the carer.
The result would be a deterioration of the relationship between the carer and the patient.
Working with an untrained person can even frustrate the caregiver and could worsen their ability to provide high levels of care to the patient.
If you choose to work with experienced and trained people, you will enjoy peace of mind and could rest easy knowing that your friend is in good hands.
In many cases, the carers will even be capable of providing better care to your friend than you would.
Live In Care offers very high levels of companionship since the patients will have the chance to live with their own families and loved ones.
7 – Consistency
A constant change in the people who take care of your loved ones can affect their comfort levels. Elderly people especially need consistent carers as they don’t like change. A good way to ensure consistency is by hiring a live in carer.
With Live In Care, you will not necessarily need to hire a single caregiver. You can get a team of nurses, just as long as you don’t switch the teams every now and then.
The patients should be able to see the same faces every day so that they feel relaxed and at home.
It is essential to enlist the services of an agency that rewards loyalty and hard work from the caregivers. Such carers will be dedicated to their work and will ensure that the patient enjoys higher levels of consistency in their lives.
8 – 24/7 Managed Service
Most professional Live In Care agencies offer round-the-clock managed services, where they can respond to calls even in the middle of the night.
If your loved one is suffering from an illness, you can use such services since they will be able to guide you when the professional carers are unavailable.
In severe cases, the Live In Care agency will liaise with many qualified medical professionals and give you the best advice they have. The result of this managed service is an increase in your peace of mind. At all times, you will be sure that you handled the situation properly and did not worsen your patient’s condition.
9 – Caring for Pets
It could be hard for a sick or senior person to take proper care of their pets. Many professional Live In Care agencies will make sure their employees take care of the pets.
It would be highly unfortunate if your pets suffer from illnesses or a lack of basic needs just because the patients are unable to provide the necessary levels of care. For this reason, you should consider hiring a live in carer.
Conclusion
Live In Care is highly beneficial, both to the patients and their loved ones. It allows patients to live together with their families and friends.
Also, patients working with live in caregivers are able to enjoy flexibility in their schedules. They can go to eat at their favourite restaurants and even take walks in the middle of the day.
If you have a sick or elderly family member, you should consider hiring a live in carer instead of sending them to a residential home.
