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Monday, 6 October 2014

Live-in Care: the Alternative to Residential Care

Introduction
In one of his many letters to his wife, Clementine, Winston Churchill wrote “As usual I did not leave Chartwell without a pang”. Chartwell, located in Westerham, Kent, was the property that Churchill purchased in 1922 which remained his family home for the rest of his long life. It was the home that he cared for, where he loved to stay and where he longed to return when absent.

In the opinion of many commentators, Winston Churchill is the greatest prime minister The United Kingdom has had; in the opinion of many people, Winston Churchill is one of the world’s greatest statesmen, and in the opinion of many he is one of the world’s greatest writers – he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values. And yet this this almost super-human, over-achiever was very much just the same as you and me: his heart was where his home was.

If you are thinking about live-in care for yourself or someone you love or care for, one of the most important reasons, perhaps the single most important reason, for choosing to have a live-in carer is the simple one that it allows you to remain living in your home. Our homes are part of us. They are our havens of stability in our often chaotic lives. They are places where we may have lived for years; places with which our memories are intimately connected; places where, quite simply, we are most comfortable. 

A live-in carer can help you maintain your independence, which in turn will allow you to remain living in the place you love. Undoubtedly – to repeat the point - for many people, this is the single most compelling reason why they choose live-in care. There are, though, a number of other reasons why live-in care is often chosen over residential care. These reasons may not have quite the persuasive force that remaining in their home has, but they are, nonetheless, extremely important for many people who choose live-in care  Here are just four of those reasons, there are many others.

Live-in Care Can Be Tailored to Your Needs
We are all different. Some of us are early risers; some of us like to lie in. Some of us like cornflakes; some like croissants. Some like to go to the theatre; some like to go to the cinema. A live-in care service allows you to put together a care package that will assist you to live the life you want to live. Your carer is there to help you with whatever it is you require help with whenever you require help with it.

Live-in Care Brings Peace of Mind…
…for you and your family. This peace of mind comes from knowing that there is always someone with you who can be called upon to help you. In turn, this can help you feel safer, less vulnerable and more confident. 

One of the great things about live-in care, and one of the things that helps enormously in promoting peace of mind, is that your care is consistent throughout the week. It is the same person or persons providing care to you and only to you each day. 

Live-in Care Provides Companionship
Live-in care provides constant companionship. You and your family will build up a relationship of trust with your carer. Your carer, of course, is there to do all those those things that you need a little bit of help with. However, it not all hard work. Your carer is also there to do all the enjoyable things with you that you might want to do. This could be sitting in and watching TV, chatting or doing the crossword together. It could be going out for the day, shopping for the morning or eating out in the evening. There is no standard live-in care service: the service you receive is the service you need.

Live-in Care Provides Flexibility
If there is one certainty in life it is that nothing stays the same. One of the great things about live-in care is that what is provided for you can change as you need it to change. Let’s face it; none of us can foresee the future. What seems like a good idea today looks very different tomorrow. Live-in care has to be flexible. Just because you usually have breakfast at 8.00 doesn’t mean that you can’t have it at 9.00, or 7.00. You might like to go and visit a friend every Tuesday, but there is no reason why you shouldn’t change this to a Wednesday, or a Friday.

On the other hand, you might like to keep things as steady as an ocean liner in a calm sea. If you say 8.00 for breakfast then 8.00 it is, not 7.55 or 8.05. If Tuesday is your day for visiting friends and that never varies no matter what, then Tuesdays are written in the diary with indelible ink as the day for visiting friends.

Live-in care is a practicable, attractive and welcome alternative to residential care. Like Winston Churchill, many of us will have felt that pang he spoke about when we leave our homes. But if it wasn’t for that pang, we wouldn’t know the pleasure of living in our homes when we are there.  

Caremark Thanet provides live-in care services. If you would like to chat without obligation about our live-in care services, call Caremark Thanet on 01843 235910 or email us at thanet@caremark.co.uk.




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