When choosing care for a loved one you will weigh up the care that would be best for them. Your loved one has a choice of care including live-in care or care home.
Live-in care is becoming a popular choice for a variety of reasons. This type of care allows your loved one to stay in their own home while receiving care specifically tailored to their needs. Live-in care also offers independence and flexibility as well as being a cost-effective option.
Better at Home Report – live-in care or care home? Institutionalised care in the UK is broken
Recent research published in 2021 by The Live-In Care Hub, an impartial information resource and non-profit organisation comprised of more than 20 providers of Live-in Care, reveals that institutionalised care in the UK is broken. The nationwide study surveyed more than a thousand care homes and nursing homes to offer a picture of what life in a care home looks like in comparison to alternative care options such as live-in care.
The report’s key findings look at the safety, dignity, happiness, and value for money of those in institutionalised care compared with those who enjoy the significant benefits of receiving care at home.
Live-in care or care home – key findings compared
Safety
With Covid 19 in our minds, safety is a serious consideration when choosing care for your loved one. Care homes have done their utmost to protect their residents and new practices have improved safety. However, the Live-In Care Hub’s research shows that live-in care offers greater safety and improved well-being in a pre, during and post-Covid world than institutional care. The rate that people have died of Covid-19 in Care and Nursing Homes is about 7,136 per 100,000. The rate for over-80s, in general, was 2376 per 100,000. For live-in care, the rate was significantly lower at 1,482 per 100,000.
With live-in care, the cared-for person is looked after in his or her own home, not in an institution. They can enjoy their lives whilst not mixing with others being discharged from hospital or who may have infectious illnesses.
In a care or nursing home, carers are working with dozens of residents. A live-in carer is working for one client, they have less travel and fewer chances to catch and pass on diseases.
The personalised and intensive care provided by a live-in carer also reduces the risk of injury. Previous research commissioned by The Live-in Care Hub shows that people are twice as likely to have a hip fracture in a nursing home than when receiving care in their own home. A further benefit of a live-in carer is that they have plenty of time to help with physiotherapy exercises and helping a loved one to stay active.
Dignity and happiness
When a person needs care, they want that care to allow them to have the freedom and dignity to live life as they wish, not as other people dictate. Live-in care enables this. A live-in carer is there to do the things a cared-for person cannot do anymore and help and support them to do the things they want to do.
By choosing a live-in carer, your loved one can remain at home, surrounded by their precious belongings and memories. They will not need to sell their home to pay for their care. Your loved one will remain in their home, with their beloved partner or relatives and friends and neighbours nearby. They can also keep a much-loved pet if they choose.
Care homes take care of all your loved ones needs from food, to medical care, socialising and personal care. Going into a home negates the need for your loved one to have to deal with paying bills, buying groceries or maintaining their home. A live-in carer can provide all of these in a more flexible and tailored way that supports a loved one’s independent living. They can build routines around your loved one’s preferences rather than sticking to a timetable. Live-in carers can also take care of chores such as grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, liaising with tradespeople and paying bills.
A live-in carer has the time to support your loved one with their emotional wellbeing needs. Just having someone to talk to at any time of the day or night can be hugely helpful.
While the best care homes have good staff retention and aim to provide continuity of care, they sometimes cannot offer the same personnel regularly. With live-in care, your loved one will have a choice of who cares for them. They often have a main carer who is supported by a relief carer. Additionally, an allocated a care manager ensures that care is adapted to any changing needs.
Value for money
Many people think live-in care is prohibitively expensive. However, live-in care can cost a similar amount to residential care. Yet the fees go on providing quality care and not paying for accommodation or food. If the live-in carer is looking after a couple, then the cost benefits are even greater.
In live-in care any incentives on cost-saving are to make the back-office support more efficient. This is the complete opposite of institutions, where the incentives are to make savings on all costs including staffing.
With one-to-one care at home, the carer has all the time in the world to concentrate on their client. Instead of doing tasks by the clock, they have the time to be flexible.
Your loved one gets to keep their home asset if they choose live-in care. They will however continue to pay their household bills and maintain their home. Sometimes when a care home is chosen, the family home needs to be sold to pay for the cost of care. When opting for a care home, your loved one’s home is included in the care funding means-testing, apart from in certain circumstances. Your home is not be included in the means test if you receive care at home.
How Mumby’s can help answer your questions about live-in care or care home
When you call Mumby’s live-in care team, you are welcomed by a truly caring approach. The friendly and knowledgeable team will listen and understand your or your loved one’s care needs. They will work with you to help find the right care solution. They will answer your questions including ‘live-in care or care home’, arrange to visit your loved one and assess their needs to help find the best carer for them. The team will endeavour to find a live-in carer who they will be comfortable with, who has similar interests and a personality that suits to allow a bond of trust and friendship to develop. Many of our clients consider their carers part of the family.
At Mumby’s, we pride ourselves on providing high-quality live-in care tailored to each individual’s needs. We believe that live-in care offers the best care as well as the freedom and independence many people want. Live-in care also provides good health outcomes as both care, nutrition and exercise can be tailored to the individual.
Contact us by calling freephone 0800 505 3511 or email info@mumbys.com. We’ll look forward to speaking with you.