When you’re caring for a loved one it can be tough to know whether they will get better overall care in a full time care home, or at home tended to by family members and respite carers.
There is no one right answer, as what works for one family won’t work for another, but there are some factors that you can consider which may help you with the decision making process.
Benefits of full time care
The reason that a lot of families opt for care homes as the way to take care of their loved one is that they get peace of mind from the knowledge that their loved one is surrounded by qualified care professionals who are well placed to keep them safe and healthy.
A good care home will have been designed with the needs of its residents in mind, with everyday life designed in such a way that it promotes health and wellbeing.
For family members, care homes are a great benefit because it means that their loved one is cared for without anyone needing to give up work, which is often an impossible thing to do because people need their work in order to pay for their lives – there are some financial assistance programs available for carers, but they usually won’t compare to a full time wage.
Care homes are beneficial to the health and wellbeing of their residents through the sense of community and opportunities for socialization that they provide. When people are cared for in their own homes, it can be difficult for them to stay connected with the community around them because of issues with transport or mobility.
Care homes are usually designed to facilitate as much social connection as possible for residents, which has enormous mental health benefits for residents and helps them to feel as though they have a sense of purpose and meaning. This in turn benefits physical health.
Benefits of respite care
Respite care is the term used when a carer works temporarily to provide some relief to the primary caregiver who is providing care at home. Respite carers might come and take over caring responsibilities in the home for an agreed amount of time, or respite care can take place in care homes.
The main benefit of respite care is that the person being cared for can remain in their home for the majority of the time, which can be comforting to them.
There is also a lot of flexibility available through respite care because the primary care provider will organize exactly when and where the respite care occurs and will have a say in who provides it.
This type of care also means that the person being cared for is the sole focus of the care provider, rather than having their attention divided between multiple people. This does heighten the risk of burnout for the person providing care, however, because this way of working is quite intensive.
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