If you’ve made the sound decision to hire at-home help for your elderly parent or loved one, you’re well on your way to experiencing more peace of mind regarding their welfare, safety and well-being. At home help for seniors is quickly becoming the go-to option for many families who are looking for home help services for the elderly. But once you’ve made this important decision, do you know what to expect from your home helper? If you aren’t sure of the service offerings available, take a look at our brief guide below to help ensure you choose the right kind of home help in the UK for your loved one.
Different types of home help services
The world of home help for the elderly in the UK is quite broad and you have quite a few options to choose from when it comes to the service provision that will best suit your loved one’s needs. Most home care services, however, consist of the following individual services or a combination of them:
Getting in and out of bed: as one ages, basic tasks like getting in and out of bed can become cumbersome, difficult and frustrating. But having help on hand and help when required can assist with this important daily need.
Bathing, washing and dressing: getting enough sleep is important, but so is looking after your loved one’s hygiene needs. This is why you can rely on our caregivers to bathe, wash and dress your loved one in addition to taking care of their toileting needs.
Housework and cleaning: it is true that daily housekeeping tasks can become more difficult for your loved one. Yet they still need to live in a clean and hygienic environment. Our helpers can therefore help with housework such as cleaning and laundry as part of our home help cleaning services.
Preparing meals/meal delivery: making meals as one ages can actually be a dangerous activity. Whether an accidental cut or a spill from a hot stove top – these scenarios are best avoided. This is why our helpers can also assist with meal preparation or delivery, according to your needs.
Companionship: companionship is a crucial aspect for seniors because loneliness can set in, especially if they’ve lost a spouse, and they may face depression or anxiety due to their restrained abilities to carry out normal everyday tasks. A home helper can provide a lot of comfort and support through our companionship care services.
Running errands: another limitation that many seniors face is the running of errands. Whether it’s to collect prescriptions or to go shopping, our carers are well-equipped to handle daily errands that ensure the normal functioning of daily life.
Fitting equipment and adaptations to your home: these include fittings such as stairlifts and bath seats and they play an important role in ensuring your loved one’s physical safety. Bath slips are very common as are falls down the stairs. These should be prevented from occurring as far as possible.
Administering medication: your loved one may also need assistance with their daily medication. It is often easy to get confused about which pills one has taken or how many. To avoid any accidents with overmedicating or undermedicating oneself, a home carer can assist with medication administration as well.
Transportation and support: your loved one’s social needs are just as important as their physical needs and this means that they need support when they go to day centres, social events or appointments. Our carers can help with transportation and ensure that your loved one always has a helping hand to lean on.
Round the clock support (live-in care): apart from some of the normal daily activities that our carers can help your loved one with, we also offer 24-hour live-in care, which means that your loved one will have round-the-clock support as a carer will literally be living in their home with them.
Specific healthcare needs: the ageing process can sometimes come with complicated conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and dementia. Our carers are perfectly positioned to cater to the unique needs of these patients as they’re thoroughly trained and experienced to do so.
Respite care for family members: if you are a family member who is taking care of a senior loved one, we deeply understand the challenges you may be facing on a daily basis. It can happen that you reach a point of burning out, which is neither good for you nor for your loved one. As a result, we offer respite care to families looking after seniors so that they can rest, recoup and recharge their batteries to be able to return to the task at hand with vigour.
Contact a professional in-home caregiver today!
If you are unsure of what elderly home care consists of, we hope that you now have a clearer idea that this is a multifaceted approach that can range from a quick 30-minute visit that offers companionship to live-in care for patients who suffer from more serious conditions. Whichever option you require for your loved one, our services and carers are perfectly positioned to help. All that’s needed is for you to reach out and get in touch with us. We’ll take care of the rest.
