Home care services cover a very wide remit. From nursing care to companionship, there are services available for pretty much every type of requirement. Some people can live independently for a long time, only needing home care services for cleaning, gardening or some light cooking. Others need round-the-clock medical help and nursing care.
The good news is that there are several ways to access different types of home care services. You can book home care services for a temporary period, such as after a hospital stay. Or you can make more permanent or long-term arrangements to support older people, those living with disabilities or patients needing end-of-life care.
Home care services can broadly be divided into three categories. These are non-medical care, personal care and private nursing and home-based medical support. They are all designed to help people live in their own home for longer. They support people wanting to retain varying degrees of independence and control. Home care services are also a viable alternative to moving into residential care for many people.
Non-medical home care services
Non-medical personal home care services provide assistance with basic daily living tasks. These can include cooking, tidying, cleaning and gardening. People who provide this type of home care services are not usually medically trained. They can help with a wide range of tasks, however. It is common that people needing the services of non-medical personal home care services engage more than one provider. You might have a gardener come to provide regular services, perhaps, as well as a cleaner, housekeeper, admin assistant or DIY specialist.
Other people providing this type of services can help with tasks around personal grooming. Chiropodists and hairdressers fall into this category, for example. Other ways in which home care services can help vulnerable people in their own homes is through companionship and wellbeing checks. You can hire home care services to sit with you or your loved one, or help with getting out and about to run errands and enjoy social activities.
Personal home care services
This category covers home care services that provide more personal support, such as getting dressed, bathing, transferring into or out of a wheelchair, using a bed hoist and more. Personal home care services require more specialist training, but do not have to be prescribed over overseen by a doctor or hospital. They are chosen and sourced by the person who needs them and their family or friends.
It is very important that personal home care services are chosen with care and due diligence, as the provider could be assisting you or your loved one with intimate tasks requiring touch and close proximity. Mutual trust and respect are key. Carers should be aware of the heightened feelings that can accompany letting someone into your home to provide personal assistance. Often, their role goes beyond practical home care services and more towards offering companionship and moral support.
Private nursing and home-based medical support
This area of home care services requires specialist medical training. A private nurse can be engaged to come to the home to help an older or vulnerable person with medication, therapy, treatments and more. They are regularly used in cases where people are living with chronic illness or long-term disabilities. It can be extremely difficult for many people to get to a clinic or hospital for these types of services.
Home care services from a private nurse or other medical specialist can help people get access to medication, treatment and ongoing monitoring. Private nursing home care services can vary in their scope. Some people will need basic nursing support. Others will benefit from more advanced healthcare services, such as caring for a tracheostomy, catheter or colostomy. They may need to have wounds dressed frequently, or require help with administering prescribed pain relief.
Finally, home-based medical support can help people needing higher levels of medical care stay in their own homes and still receive the care they need. This requires a very high level of training and experience. Home care services in this category range from speech therapists and physiotherapists paying regular visits to physicians and specialists overseeing important medical decisions and regimes. This can help particularly if multiple medical specialists are needed. One person can co-ordinate everything for the patient. It is also useful for people unable to drive to multiple hospital appointments to welcome medical professionals into their own home.
