Live In Care with Home Instead

We have been providing Live In care support to people in our local area since early 2020. It was always a part of the care service we provide that we wanted to start, and at that point, after 6 years of hourly support, we considered we were experienced enough to start this new service.

Another reason for our start in that year is down to a lovely couple we had been supporting with hourly care for many years. In the spring of 2020, the wife’s condition had worsened and the family and husband had to make the decision as to whether they should move into a care home. They wanted to stay in their own home, surrounded by their precious memories, the neighbours who they were fond of and who also looked out for them, the surroundings that were familiar. This was especially important for the wife in this partnership, as she was living with dementia and staying in the home she had lived in for decades helped calm her anxiety. We were all so fond of the couple and their family members, that we spoke with them about how we had been considering starting live in care and would they like to be our very first clients. They jumped at the chance. Not only did this mean the couple could continue to live in their own home, but they would also continue to work with us at Home Instead – their same Client Services Manager would be in contact and visit regularly and they even still saw the same Care Professionals who had supported them for the past 3 years, who would come and cover the live in carers rest breaks. This continuity of care was so very important to them and enabled them to stay together, in their own home for close to another year before the wife passed away.

This experience strengthened our passion to provide care at home that not only supports on an hourly basis, but also can continue and support people as their needs change, yet enabling them to stay in the place they feel safest – their own home.

Live in care is many different things and like all our support, it is tailored to our clients individual, and often changing, needs. We offer our clients, one to one, personal attention from a dedicated Care Professional. We offer night care where your Care Professional will arrive in the evening and sleep in your home, so they are there if and when you need them. We also offer waking nights, when your Care Professionals stays up at night and can be there to support you or your loved one during the night. Respite care for a specific period of time, after an operation, to support you while you recover, enabling you to safely leave hospital sooner knowing you have care at home. Live in care is also an option on a short term basis providing support while a loved one takes a break or holiday. Live in care, when a Care Professional lives with you, staying all day and night, supporting you to live well in your own home is a perfect option for many, wishing to continue living in their own home rather than move to a care home yet still accessing that same support – in fact, live in care is one to one support.

Our live in Care Professionals have been trained the Home Instead way, so you know you will be supported by the very best people. They assist with personal care, specialist medical care, administering medication, cooking, housework and more. In the first instance, our Care Live In Care Manager, Jo O’Connor, will meet with you to discuss your needs and how we can help. She will pass on all the information you need and explain everything so you can then make an informed decision as to what support you would benefit from. Jo also takes the time in this meeting to get to know you, so she can them match you with a Care Professionals she knows you will get on with. This is very important when you are sharing a home with someone – you need to get on and we take the time to listen to your likes and dislikes to ensure we get that right.

Live in care can benefit those who require several different types of care throughout the day. Someone who may have ill health and like the reassurance of having someone in the house at all times with them, in case they have a fall or accident. Some may have complex care needs, or hearing or sight loss and struggle around the home. And finally, like our couple who we first started our live in care services with, those living with dementia may feel safer and more comfortable at home with a familiar face. When couples are together and one partner needs more support, yet the other isn’t ready to move into a care home, live in care is a brilliant option enabling them to remain together in the home they know and love while receiving the care they need.

And finally we are local. Many live in care companies are national, but we only support people living in Abingdon, Didcot & Newbury (and surrounding villages) from our office in Newbury as well as people in Maidenhead, Henley & Wallingford (and surrounding villages!) from our Ruscombe office – so we are never more than 40mins drive away, meaning we can reach you quickly and easily should we need to. Our support is ongoing, so our office team will become familiar faces too!

So if you would like to find out more about live in care with Home Instead, give us a call on 01635 017000 for a chat and we can also send through all our information so you can make an informed decision about the support and care you or your loved one receives in the comfort of home.