The Benefits of Home Care

Moving into a care home can be a stressful experience for your loved one and often comes with a tremendous financial burden. A report published by the Live-In Care Hub contains research and evidence that proves one-to-one care provided by qualified carers in a patient's own home is often far more effective and much less costly than a move to a residential care home.

The Financial Benefits of Home Care

The average yearly cost of residential home care in the UK is £29,270, however, this can increase substantially depending on the needs of the patient and the location of the care home. Patients who require dementia or nursing care face average yearly costs of over £39,300 and it's important to consider that whilst someone might not require nursing care initially it may be required in the future and the average yearly cost of residential home care will increase accordingly. 

When given a choice the majority of people would choose to stay in their own home for as long as possible. The costs of receiving home care vary but are significantly less expensive than the cost of staying in a residential care home. Home care can be tailor-made to suit the needs of an individual and whether they require a short visit once or twice a week or a full-time live-in carer St Judes Care will be able to provide them with the type of care they need. For further information please visit https://www.stjudescare.co.uk/types-of-home-care-at-st-judes-care.

The Overall Health Benefits of Home Care & The Decreased Risk of Hospitilisation

Home care provides numerous health benefits over a residential care home and this contributes to an increased quality of life. The risk of incidents such as falls and trips is significantly lower with live-in care than it is at a residential care home or other institutional care settings. Falls and their associated injuries are a serious issue for people over the age of 65 and 50% of people over 80 suffer from a fall at least once a year. Research has shown that the number of falls suffered by people receiving live-in care is almost one-third less than those in residential or nursing homes. 

This results in a decreased risk of hospitalisation and significant savings to the NHS. Live-in care also means that even if someone has been in hospital they will be discharged quickly and be able to undergo any required rehabilitation in the comfort of their own home. This is less traumatic than an elongated hospital stay and also reduces the chance of a hospital acquired infection. 

Independence, Dignity and Way of Life

Live-in care provides the least restrictive care environment for people as they age and as no-one is the same home care is personalised to the individual to increase their quality of life. Studies have shown that simple things such as food and drink, favourite activities and a sense of independence become increasingly more important as people get older. Each day is planned around the client and carers truly get to know the people they are looking after and adapt to their client's routines and preferences. 

One-to-one care can have a tremendous effect on someone's life and people receiving live-in care often retain a strong sense of independence and dignity with minimal disruption to their way of life. The Live-In Care hub conducted research into their client's happiness and the results showed that clients who received live-in care were much happier than those in residential and nursing homes. 99% of clients said the live-in care they receive allows them to have a better quality of life and 81% of clients said they get the food and drink they want. In comparison, only 52% of those in nursing homes said they received the food they liked and 53.5% of nursing home residents also said that they never leave their home, compared to just 21% of live-in care clients. 

The personalised nature of live-in home care provides clients with a higher quality of life, increased happiness and increased levels of care that often result in a better standard of overall health. Live-in care clients keep their independence and dignity and receive their care in a comfortable and familiar environment with dedicated carers that provide healthcare, friendship and peace of mind. 

Sources:

Live-In Care Hub Better at Home Report

Laing & Buisson Care of Older People UK Market Report 2014/15 

St Judes Care – http://www.stjudescare.co.uk