Home care vs care home – it can be a tricky choice. If you’re looking for elderly home care, you might be deliberating between paying for home care (i.e. a carer to come into your home on a regular basis) or a carehome (a residential facility staffed by carers), and this can be a tricky choice. On the one hand, you want to maintain your independence for as long as possible; on the other hand you want to feel secure in the knowledge that your needs will be met. We take a look at home care vs care home – to help you decide what’s right for you, as an individual.
Elderly home care and your needs
The first of the factors to consider: what are your specific needs? What do you need to allow you to have a happy, safe and healthy life? If your needs include help with the chores, companionship, assistance with shopping and medical appointments, night-time sits or medication help; home care would be right for you. If, however, you feel your needs are more in-depth and would require constant care, you may wish to consider a care home or facility.
The main question comes down to this: would your life be made easier and happier by daily/weekly visits, or would it only be made better by having constant care on hand?
Care and your finances
Another important aspect to consider is your financial situation. Care homes can be extremely expensive. For example, Which’s Elderly Care 2016/17 study found that carehomes costs an average of £31,200 per person, per year. With this figure in mind, it’s a good idea to tot up the cost of the required number of visits per year from a carer vs the equivalent fee for a care facility.
If your needs could be met by either option (daily visits at home, or entering into a carehome or facility), the financial aspect might be the key to your decision.
Elderly care and your social life
Socialising is incredibly important for one’s mental health; loneliness is one of the biggest factors in the decision-making process for older people. On the one hand, living in our own homes means its easier for friends and family to come and see us, with no rules or restrictions on visiting times. On the other hand, living in a care home means you’ll be sharing your days with numerous other residents, allowing you to make new friends.
Take a look at what’s most important to you. If you feel you would benefit from companionship visits, own home care could be the way to go! However, if you feel that you’d prefer to be sharing a space with more people of a similar age- the carehome option might benefit you and your social life.
Respite care
Are the customer’s needs permanent or temporary? If you’re looking for some respite care, perhaps for a loved one whilst you are away, then it is certainly preferable and simpler to have local carers come in on a daily/nightly basis, rather than trying to arrange temporary residence in a care home.
Carers2u can provide carers (Wolverhampton area) whenever you need – whether that’s just a 30 minute daytime visit or a full overnight sit.
If you’d like to talk over your decision of home care vs care home with the professionals, don’t hesitate to get in touch, for a free, no-obligation discussion. Alternatively, take a look at the MoneyHelper Website for more information.
