Family is possibly the most important factor in staving off loneliness among older people; a condition that can have pronounced effects on a person’s physical health and overall wellbeing.
Family is possibly the most important factor in staving off loneliness among older people; a condition that can have pronounced effects on a person’s physical health and overall wellbeing. By choosing live-in care, your loved one can be given independence and dignity in their own home, and stay close to their valued support network.
Our recent report on how loneliness can affect older people found that this issue is much more pronounced than many people realise. The report indicated:
- 49% of over 75s live alone
- 12% of older people state they never spend time with family
- 46% of over 65s confirmed they spent time with their family on most or all days, compared to 65 – 76% for other age groups
- 49% of over 65s cite television or pets as their main source of company
Live-in care lets you focus on spending quality time with one another
For people who have been independent and capable for the entirety of their adult lives, it can be difficult to admit when a regular routine has become too much to handle.
Many people with older relatives will recognise subtle changes around the home on successive visits. It could be something small, like not mowing the grass at the weekend or forgetting to take out the rubbish. This can often be an indication that a person is moving towards a stage where some extra help would be beneficial.
Often, there is a justifiable sense of duty to provide practical assistance and help a loved one maintain a standard of living that they have achieved effortlessly for decades. However, this can reduce the quality of time spent together, with relatives focusing on tasks such as cleaning, shopping, administration or DIY instead of discussing cherished memories, visiting the park or taking a day trip together.
Live-in care can help you overcome this situation, and give you back your quality time together. A live-in carer will ensure that both domestic and personal hygiene are always maintained. They will plan and deliver three nutritious meals per day, and assist with any of the cooking-related tasks that the person is no longer able to do themselves.
Their role is to help maintain independence and dignity by encouraging older people to continue playing an active role in their own lives, but will also help to fill in the gaps to make sure that they can continue to enjoy the highest standard of living possible.
Live-in care enables older people to access their community support network
Among older generations, it’s much more common for people to continue living within the same locality for extended periods of their life. They’re likely to live close to family (but may no longer have the means to visit), as well as friends, neighbours, community groups and local health professionals.
Whether by choice or necessity, taking someone away from this support network can have dramatic effects. As noted in our comprehensive ‘Improving Wellbeing through Care at Home’ study: “Institutionalisation is overwhelmingly not by the patient’s choice, but under force of circumstances, leading to feelings of loneliness and marginalisation, and even to a more severe emotional state described as ‘move trauma’… After 6 months, the MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination) and ADL (Activities of Daily Living) scores of the majority of patients declined.” Live-in care enables people to stay within this familiar support network, helping to avoid loneliness and the related effects.
At The Good Care Group, we take care to match our carers to the needs and personality of our clients. Not only will they provide assistance around the home; as we deploy small teams of two carers to look after each client on a long-term basis, our carers will become familiar enough to become trusted companions for your loved one.
Find out how The Good Care Group could help give you back your valuable family time.
