Carers have had a bit of a hard time recently what with high profile news stories about cost cutting in the care sector leading to poor standards of care. The truth of the matter couldn’t be further from the point. Carers – whether working on daily visits, in residential care homes or as live-in home care – are hard-working and conscientious people who simply want to make life a bit easier and pleasanter for their clients.
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Sharing The Load
Carers take some of the strain of day to day life off their clients as well as ensuring that they have companionship and that their needs are being met. Home care jobs are some of the most rewarding positions as you get to spend a lot of time with your client and their family so you can really get to know them.
By taking over day-to-day caring responsibilities you free up your client’s family’s time so that they no longer have to keep their lives on hold. At the very least you are there to ensure they never need worry about being stuck in traffic and to allow them to arrange to meet their own friends without needing to organise someone to sit with Mum.
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Enabling A Better Quality Of Life
Perhaps your client was a keen gardener but their gardening is now limited to watching someone else weed and mow once a week as they are now unable to manage the steps without assistance. A live in carer can take the time to help them down into their own garden so that, even if their gardening days are past, they can at least spend some time enjoying the fruits of their previous labours.
Your client may no longer be able to cook for themselves. Whilst there are meal delivery services they never quite match up to the freshness and taste of a home-cooked meal. Even a simple task such as making a cup of tea can become an epic struggle if your arthritis makes lifting the kettle difficult. Small things such as being able to ask for a hot drink when they’re thirsty instead of having to wait for someone to drop in for a visit can make all the difference to an elderly person who can see their independence being gradually eroded.
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Better Health
In Home Care has been shown to significantly improve quality of health. By having someone on hand elderly people are at less risk of falls, and should they take a tumble there is someone who can help them up and, if necessary, take them to hospital.
By remaining in their own home they are also less likely to fall prey to contagious illnesses of the sort that can spread rapidly through care homes and hospital wards. Skin conditions are also less prevalent in elderly people living at home.
And finally, being able to remain in familiar conditions, hugely improves the mental health of the elderly person. Which you’ll be able to see first-hand every time they smile and thank you for your help.
