What Are the Different Types of Home Care?

Together with your elderly loved one, you have decided to arrange home care. The question is now, which form of home care should you choose? There are many types to choose from.

The answer is that the best home care services to go for are the ones that suit your older relatives’ needs. Consider what they require from a home care service as we go through the different types and what they can offer an elderly person needing care in their own home.

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How Does Home Care Differ From Care Homes?

Firstly, let’s outline the main difference between home care and other forms of care services. Home care is administered in the home of the elderly person, whereas care homes require them to relocate to a care home facility. 

Many older people would rather remain in their own homes as long as possible, and this is why home care is a popular choice. There are times when a care home environment is a more suitable option. For example, if the older person doesn’t have their own home and is living with family, or if they require constant medical supervision.

The Different Types of Home Care

Within the category of home care, there are various types to choose from, depending on your loved one’s needs. Here are the most common types of home care and who they are suitable for.

24 Hour Home Care

When an elderly person needs more than a bit of support around the house, it may be time to consider a round-the-clock care service. If, from the moment your loved one wakes up, they require help with getting out of bed, dressing, toileting, preparing food and so on, these are signs that they need constant supervision throughout the day.

24-hour home care goes one step further and provides an older person with a carer through the nighttime hours, too. If wakefulness and forgetfulness are problems, then a carer on nighttime duty can help get your loved one settled and reassure them. 

Typically, two or more carers in shifts will carry out the 24-hour home care. So, your loved one will always have supervision throughout the day and night. 

Respite Care

If you are a family caregiver, you will know how tiring caring for a loved one can be, no matter how much you want to be there for them. However, there will be times when your own needs should come first. Perhaps you have your own appointments to attend, or other dependants to care for? How can you balance your responsibilities as a family caregiver?

Well, the good news is that respite care can help step in when you are not available. Respite care can be arranged to cover periods of the day when you are not around, or even give you the time to take a well-earned break. It’s a useful form of care that family caregivers can rely on when they have other commitments to see to.

Hospital to Home Care

It’s not just the general aging process that can lead to a person becoming unable to care for themselves, but also a stay in the hospital could mean that an individual needs extra support once they are ready to go home. 

Hospital-to-home care ensures that the transition from medical supervision to being back at home goes smoothly. Carers can help during this period by assisting with medication administration, bathing, and toileting if movement is a short-term issue. 

Importantly, this type of care is essential in avoiding the risk of a return to the hospital due to accidents and poor medication management. The recovery at home stage can require constant supervision by a trained professional who knows what signs to look out for. 

Visiting Care

Not everyone needs the same levels of care. Some just require a few hours of help a day or week. In this situation, visiting care is a superb service to opt for. 

Maybe your elderly relative only needs someone to go with them to appointments, offering moral support and providing transport? A visiting carer can be booked in to attend to an older person on specific days or times of the week. This form of care offers your family the peace of mind that a loved one is being taken care of, whilst allowing them their independence.

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