Care home vs Care at home. What are the pros and cons?

PROS: Care at Home Support

One-to-one care: Care at home services normally offers one-to-one care with the same carer. This means you can build up a friendship.

Flexible care: With Care at home support, you will have a care plan tailored to your needs, if your circumstances change the amount of care can change to ensure you are still living as independently as possible.

Stay at home near friends and family: Staying in your own home and community, surrounded by your memories, objects, home comforts and friends nearby can be a lifeline for some.

Cost can be cheaper: Depending on the amount of support you need, starting with care at home with set hours for carers to visit may be the most cost-effective option.

Furry friends: Care at home support means staying at home with your beloved pets, carers can often help with pet duties too, meaning you can enjoy your furry friend with less stress.

Cons: Care at Home Support

No 24-hour support: Carers will only come at set times which might leave you vulnerable at other times depending on your condition. An alarm system, fall detectors, and a bed sensor might help but you may feel you need 24-hour support.

It could get more expensive: Depending on your needs the costs can add up as you juggle your own care with household costs – will you need a cleaner, a gardener, a mobile hairdresser. If your condition worsens and carers need to come for more hours, then costs will increase.

Lack of company: Some elderly people don’t have family and friends around and as the carer only comes for a certain amount of time a day can feel lonely and vulnerable.

Quality of care might vary: There are two types of home care agencies, one that employs their own staff and one that has a network and recommends self-employed carers who will charge a fee. The latter is not regulated by the Care Quality Commission – the body that ensures that agreed standards of care are met.

Care homes for the elderly can be a place in which a person who has become unsafe at home, possibly due to lack of mobility, falling or erratic behaviour will be safe. For example, if someone is a danger to themselves and may need consistent supervision from a number of carers at once, at this point of their care, a care home would be more suited than a single carer who may not be able to cope with their specific needs.

PROS: Care Home Support

Care homes can be more sociable: There can be good opportunities for companionship in care homes for the elderly, with many staff who can be excellent at engaging with their clients. In addition, there is also an opportunity for clients to socialise with one another or take part in activities such as sing-alongs or games.

Specialised care homes may be more suitable for specialised needs: Many residential care homes provide specialised care for those with particular needs and specific nurse training. Homes may specialise in dementia, anxiety and depression, alcohol dependency, palliative care or physical disability, which means that expertise is likely to be increased and centralised.

Cons: Care Home Support

Care homes can be expensive: Care homes for the elderly can be expensive depending on the location within the UK, the quality of accommodation offered, and the level of care needed.

Lack of flexibility and control: A new resident of a care home may be surprised by the lack of choice in some areas. For example, you will no longer have the freedom to decide what you eat and when.  You may not be able to decide when you would like to go to bed, or if you would prefer to stay up later.