There will come a time when your loved one or relative will need a helping hand with daily activities or more complex medical requirements. For many people, staying at home with the support of a domiciliary carer is the favourable scenario: staying in the comfort of familiar surroundings, keeping their normal routine, seeing friends and family, getting involved in local community activities.
There are two types of care you can receive at home: Live-in Care and hourly care. In this blog post, we talk about the difference between the two types of elderly care at home.
What is the difference between live-in care and hourly care?
Live-in Care and hourly care aim to improve the quality of life for those people who need assistance but wish to remain living in their own home. The main difference between these two types of elderly care at home is the amount of time you spend with your carer.
Hourly care (sometimes called domiciliary care) is when an at home Carer will visit you in your own home during the day for a few hours. They will help you with daily chores and personal hygiene, as well as some other tasks you may not be able to do alone. Hourly carers visit multiple Clients per day so must keep to a tight schedule to ensure all their appointments run on time, so they won't be able to stay as long as you need them to. You can arrange additional community care and support through your local authorities if hourly care isn't enough.
Live-in Care is when a home Carer lives with you in your own home, being able to provide 24hr care. A Live-in Carer can help with housekeeping, cooking, washing, shopping, hosting friends and family, looking after pets, going to local community events, personal hygiene, dressing, or more complex medical needs for your condition. Livein Carers aren't rushed to get to another Client so everything is done at your own pace, you can tailor your day how you wish - be this a lay in with a cup of tea in bed whilst watching the morning news, or getting up earlier than usual to pop our to the farmers market.
Having a living in Carer live with you can help prevent injury and falls, and if and accident does happen your carer is right there to respond appropriately.
What are the benefits of live-in care vs hourly care?
Flexibility & Freedom
It is said around 600,000 elderly people leave the house only once a week (or less) however if they were able to would go out alone they would be out and about more often. Many elderly people rely on the assistance of a home Carer or family members to support them during daily activities and tasks, and this is much more flexible with a Live-in Carer. Having a Carer be with you round-the-clock means you can leave the house whenever you want to, visit friends and relatives, pop to the shop, or go for a day out when the mood strikes you.
As a visiting Carer has a number of jobs to help with and has limited time, outings aren't always possible and you may not be able to join in impromptu community events.
Being Independent
As you get older, the feeling of losing your independence can be frustrating - after being able to do what you like, when you like, you're relying on the help of others. There may be feeling of losing control and freedom, which can lead to frustration and not wanting to arrange any type of care at all.
A Live-in Carer will be with you to help you remain independent for as long as possible, improving quality of life and keeping to the daily routines you are used to, but also on hand when you want to pop out. They will help you look after your home and beloved pets, and host friends and family.
An hourly Carer can be a convenient option for those people who need care but would like as little disruption as possible to their day - your Carer will simply pop in at an arranged time to help with assigned tasks and stay for a couple of hours before they leave to their next appointment.
Companion Care
More than 50% of 75+ people in the UK live alone, many of whom experience feeling of loneliness. Loneliness in the older generation shouldn't be ignored as it may lead to conditions like depression, as well as increased blood pressure, and even increased chance of stroke. Looking after a person's emotional needs is just as important as physical needs to improve quality of life.
Live-in Care can sometimes be all about companionship - your Carer spends the day with you and usually will have similar interests as you. They will help with housekeeping, cooking, and personal hygiene but will also be someone you can talk to, do activities with, watch films or listen to music together. A lot of our Clients see their Carers as friends, and by establishing trust a person is more comfortable when it comes to being cared for.
An hourly Carer may be limited to the time they have which means there isn't much room for friendly chatter - however a benefit of hourly care is you are likely to have a team of people who visit you which means you get to interact with a variety of Carers.
Costs of Care At Home
Both Live-in Care and hourly visiting care costs are dependent on the individuals needs, the difference is hourly care is charged at an hourly rate and Live-in Care is usually charged weekly. Unless your needs change drastically, Livein Care fees remain the same allowing the family to budget; hourly care fees are more flexible in terms of costs as you can scale up or down the amount of time you require care for.
Peace Of Mind For The Whole Family
Care at home can provide the whole family with peace of mind, knowing their relative is safe and looked after, happily living in their own home.
Hourly care supports families and allows caregivers to have a rest for a couple of hours whilst their Carer is visiting. Livein Care provides round-the-clock peace of mind knowing there is always someone to help your loved one, and raise the alarm should there be a need to. We can also help arrange Respite live-in Care should your regular Carer (or you) need to have a break.
If you would like to talk to our friendly Live-in Care specialist about live in care, please call us on 01264 319399 or email hello@access-care.co.uk