We have created a helpful guide as to what the difference between having care in your own home and being in a care home is.
It’s a very difficult decision to make when picking a care package for a loved one, we decided to make this short bit of text to help in explaining the difference between home care and a care home.
Home care is when a carer will come and provide a care service to you in the comfort of your own home. Home care doesn’t have to be someone coming in and helping you wash, it can also be a carer coming in to take you out to a garden centre for coffee or coming in to provide you with a home cooked meal. Home care has a very personal touch, as you get the full attention of the carer for the time, they are allocated to you. During this time the carer is there to help you with what you need, this can be anything from personal care to sitting and having a cup of tea with you.
Sometimes with in home care if your regular carer is unwell or unable to make the call, someone who might be unfamiliar may have to step in but you will never not have your care call. Due to the travelling aspect of home care as well on occasion the care staff may be late but you would be informed of what is happening and approximately how long until they will reach you.
Care homes are communal based living where a group of carers will look after all the residents for that suite. With a care home the carers have more than one person to look after so have to ensure their time is spread out equally across everyone. In most care homes they have regular activities on, which can be used to fill time up in the day or continue a hobby or even start a new one.
In the care home setting however care staff have a lot of residents to look after so they may not be able to spend one on one quality time with you. Due to the amount of service users staff look after a flow tends to set in such as being washed by a certain and having meals at a set time, this helps with ensuring things are monitored in a care home setting.
Care staff are incredible hard working and fully trained in this career they also undertake a care certificate to ensure they have a good understanding of this job role. Esteemed Life Care also offer on their website a list of benefits for home care, they are happy to answer any and all questions you may have.
By Jess Kitchen
