We provide quality home care in Berkshire, Hampshire, and Surrey and surrounding areas.
As care providers, we understand that it can be worrying to see your elderly loved one unable to cope alone.
This can be due to a mental decline or physical problems that prevent them from looking after themselves.
The question that often comes up is whether to move your loved one.
Will they be better off in care?
Could they live with you?
Or are they better off staying in their own home, with home care?
We take a look at the options and things to consider.
Moving in with family
It may seem like the best solution is to move your loved one in with yourself, or another family member.
It’s easy to focus on the positives with this idea and sometimes hard to face up to the negatives.
One of the biggest things to consider is the impact this will have on your relationship with your loved one.
Initially, you might feel like it is going well, however, things may change.
When you live together and you find yourself taking on the role of full-time carer, your relationship may completely change.
Are you ready to take on the commitment of caring for your loved one?
They may be in fairly good health at the moment but that can change quickly.
Additionally, while you might be thinking of them as a live-in childminder to start with, that could easily flip around to them being a child-like person you need to care for.
Therefore, you need to take your own health into account too.
Do you have the extra physical, mental and emotional energy it takes to care for someone full-time?
Moving into full-time care
Sometimes, it seems moving your loved one into full-time care is the only option. You’re not able to offer enough care yourself and you feel they’re not safe alone at home.
However, uprooting your loved one from their home is not always the best option. The stress of moving can have a big impact on their health and mental state.
Imagine trying to reduce your most beloved possessions, that you’ve collected over the years and hold many memories, down to enough to fit into a small room. That act alone can be hugely distressing.
Does your loved one have any friends living nearby? If so, this is something to consider too. If they are unable to see their friends often when living in full-time care, they will start to feel isolated and may even become depressed.
You may think they’ll be able to meet lots of new people and make new friends, and this is sometimes the case, but many people end up feeling more alone in full-time care.
It’s not just friends that your loved one will miss if they move away from home. We all have little routines – a walk to the corner shop to buy a newspaper, regular visits from a hairdresser, coffee with a friend in a local cafe.
These routines are often what keep elderly people going. They rely on routine to keep their days busy and mind active. If you take those routines away by moving them into care, it can have a negative impact on their health.
Other things to consider
Your loved one’s health may well be in your mind when you think about moving them, but take a moment to really think about whether it’s a good idea to move them away from their regular doctor who knows all the ins and outs of their health.
What about hobbies? Does your loved one like to potter in the garden?
It may seem like they can’t do much out there anymore and maybe they rely on a gardener these days, but moving them away from that garden may cause great upset.
Does your loved one have a pet? It is rarely possible to take pets into full-time care and the wrench of parting with a pet can be hard to cope with.
There are lots of things to take into consideration so make sure you have an in-depth discussion with your loved one before making any decisions.
Home Care
There is another option you may not have considered – home care. You might think a couple of visits a day isn’t enough, or that it will be too expensive.
We offer various levels of home care in Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey though, from occasional visits to live-in, round-the-clock care.
There are many advantages to home care, not least the fact that your loved one gets to stay in their own home – or if you prefer, you can move them in with you and get a little extra help as well.
Your loved one can then stay in their routines, see their friends and keep up with their hobbies. In fact, our Care Givers can help with all these things and your loved one may find they get their independence back rather than losing it.
With Care Givers helping your loved one with the things they can no longer do alone, your relationship remains as it should be.
You can not only spend time together but your time will be of much greater quality!
Our Home care services in Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey
Home care is about much more than just helping with washing and dressing. Our Care Givers are matched to the person they are giving care to, with personalities and interests that complement each other where possible.
We offer companionship as well as care, someone to chat to and have a laugh with.
Our care givers can help your loved one with activities to keep them happy and fulfilled.
Moreover, the price of live-in home care in Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey is comparable to that of full-time care away from home.
Contact us to discuss your needs and we can arrange a free, no-obligation assessment.
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