When might Visiting Care Help?
At some stage your loved one might require assistance to live independently at home. The need may be a short-term one, for instance during an illness or after an accident or hospital stay. Or it could be a long-term need as advancing age, poor health or other limitations prevent your loved one coping as well as they might. There are many benefits to Visiting Care, which could enable them to continue to live the way they want.
What is Visiting Care?
Visiting care – also referred to as domiciliary care, hourly care, or simply home help – is support provided by professional carers who call by your loved one’s home at pre-arranged intervals. They check on your loved one’s welfare and provide assistance so they can continue to live independently. Visiting care covers most of the same areas of support as live-in care, from household tasks to personal care and from mobility support to help with medication. The frequency and duration of visits is tailored to fit your loved one’s needs, and they can be arranged to take place in the evening, or even to include an overnight stay.
Visiting care can be arranged on a temporary or a long-term basis, as required.
Benefits of Visiting Care:
Autonomy at Home
Visiting care allows your loved one to continue to live their life largely as normal. It is minimally intrusive, and they can continue to feel independent in their own home with little disruption to their normal routine.
Flexible for Just the Right Amount of Support
Visiting care can be arranged to start very quickly, and the frequency and duration of carer visits can be tailored to provide just the amount of support your loved one needs. Starting from as little as 30 minutes, they can extend to several hours at a time, and several visits per day. If your loved one’s needs change, the schedule of visits and their duration can be adjusted to suit.
An Introduction to Care Services
Everyone wants to stay independent, and at first your loved one may not embrace the idea of support at home, even when it is needed. Visiting care can introduce your family member to the benefits of care services, allowing them to develop confidence that accepting help at home does not mean losing their freedom to live the way they want to.
Local Carers
Visiting carers are normally locals of the areas they serve. Over time, they will learn your family member’s preferences and routines, but right from the start your loved one will have the comfort of support from someone who is familiar with the local community and amenities and understands the local way of life.
Relief of Loneliness
Isolation can become a problem for those with care needs, especially if they have trouble getting out and about. If loneliness is a problem, a visiting carer can provide a valuable spell of companionship and the reassurance that it will never be too long until a friendly face is back again.
Preventing Small Problems from Becoming Large Frustrations
The most minor of irritations can escalate into a big issue if it remains unresolved. It can be something as simple as lost spectacles, an incorrect button pressed on the TV remote or something which has been knocked to the floor and is out of reach. A visiting carer can help to resolve these issues before they become a cause of stress for your loved one.
Help with Mobility
If your family member simply needs assistance to get out of bed, shower, move around their house or get out and about, a visiting carer can help them stay mobile by providing practical assistance and reassurance both inside and outside the home.
Risk Prevention
Regular visits from a carer may prevent your family member from attempting such risky activities as climbing on steps to reach a high cupboard or carrying a heavy item between rooms, as they know their carer will be along shortly and can do it safely for them.
Welfare Checks
A visiting carer provides more than just practical assistance. They are also there to check that your loved one is happy and safe. And you are saved the worry that your loved one might have problems which go unattended while you are at work or out of contact.
Meal Preparation and Eating Checks
If your loved one has problems planning or preparing food, or you simply want to be assured that they are eating properly and regularly, their visiting carer can prepare balanced meals and check that they have been eaten.
Final Thoughts
Visiting care is an ideal solution to provide just a little extra help for those who wish to live independently at home but need some support to achieve that goal. Because of its flexible nature, it can be started with fewer, shorter visits then adjusted to fit an increasing need for support, as necessary. It is a great way to bridge the gap between life without support needs and the time when a greater level of support must be provided by live-in care.
