What is nursing care?

Explore the benefits of nursing care for older adults at home

Nursing care may become an important part of home care for older adults as their health changes, however this is different from general home care and requires a tailored approach according to an individual’s health needs. Here, we are looking at what nursing care entails, the different types of nursing care available, the benefits of receiving this type of care at home, what to know before you hire a home nurse, and how this differs from the complex care support that a normal home carer can offer. 

At Home Instead, our aim is to help people age positively and in place by bringing expert care to their home. For nearly 20 years, we have been providing the highest standard of care, and creating industry-leading training programmes for our Care Professionals that are accredited by nursing and medical professionals. Today, we are the world’s largest global domiciliary care network, supporting over 100,000 older adults with personalised, tailored care at home. So whatever questions you have about nursing care, we can help.

What different types of nursing care are available?

Depending on the needs of the individual, different types of nursing care may be required to fulfil necessary care needs. These might include: 

General Nursing Care

This type of nursing care offers support with daily activities, medication management, monitoring overall health, mobility support for arthritis, and more. As an example, this may be useful for those with a disability or a chronic health issue they need to manage. 

Specialist Nursing Care

For things like cardiac issues or post-operative recovery, specialist nursing care often involves a professional nurse with specific experience, qualifications and training in the condition being treated. 

Dementia Care 

Dementia conditions sometimes require help from a nurse specifically trained in dementia care who understands the compassionate and dignified care required, and who can adapt as the condition progresses. You can learn more in our guide to caring for someone with dementia at home.

Neurological Care

For neurological conditions like Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Muscular Dystrophy (MD), Huntington’s Disease, Cerebral Palsy or Parkinson’s, having a dedicated, trained nurse delivering comprehensive care can help to ease the physical and mental challenges of life with these conditions. 

Palliative Care

For those with a serious or terminal illness, palliative care is often needed to manage pain and provide comfort and quality of life for individuals who want to remain in their own home, which studies have found can reduce hospitalisations compared to hospice stays. Nurses trained in palliative care can provide necessary healthcare and understand the sensitivity required for these situations, particularly if end-of-life care is needed. You can learn more about this type of care in our guide to what palliative care is, or learn the difference between both types of care in our guide to end of life vs palliative care.

Complex Care

Nursing care is a type of complex care, and may be offered as part of a larger complex care package. Complex care is bespoke care for people with chronic or long-term health conditions who need assistance with symptom management in order to live more independently. This might include services like vital signs monitoring, feeding tube management, catheter care, stoma care, ventilator care and more. It is designed to offer a combination of treatments and support to tailor care to the individual’s needs, and sometimes elements of nursing care are required to meet these needs. For clarity, the difference between the two is that complex care is broader and manages medical conditions as well as mental health and physical needs, while nursing care is more focused on monitoring health conditions and specific medical interventions.

What should be taken into consideration when hiring a nurse? 

Choosing to hire a private nurse to provide care at home for yourself or a loved one is usually a big decision with many considerations, particularly if you require specialised care. Ensuring the nurse has the skills, training, experience and understanding to provide the services needed is not easy, so there are a few things to keep in mind when doing so:

1. Cost – What are their fees? The cost may be higher than going through an agency or choosing a different route such as a nursing home. You may find more useful information and comparisons in our guide to the cost of home care.
2. Availability – Can they provide the level of care needed? Do they have the time to make all necessary visits, or to live in the home if this arrangement is required?
3. Community Connections – Can they liaise with other medical professionals involved in the care plan, like doctors, existing nurses or other local practitioners? 
4. Expertise – Do they have the training, qualifications and experience to manage a particular health condition? 
5. Compatibility – Do you (or does your loved one) get along with them? A carer does not need to be a best friend, but older adults should enjoy their company enough that they are comfortable having them visit the home on a regular basis or live in it. 
6. Flexibility – Are they reliable and flexible if needs change over time? 

Hiring a private nurse may be the best option for things like recovering from surgery, where an individual may need to be monitored regularly or have medications administered. However keep in mind, when hiring a nurse independently, you will be responsible for performing your own background checks, collecting references, ensuring they are DBS checked (if you live in England) or PVG checked (if you live in Scotland), conducting interviews and assessments to ensure they are qualified and able to deliver the necessary care, paying salaries, and more. 

In some cases, it may be more useful to use a home care agency who will take on these checks for you, create the bespoke package of care you need, and provide respite care if your regular carer is unavailable. At Home Instead, we provide all of these services while matching you with a Care Professional based on your own needs and personality. 

How does complex care at home differ from hiring a nurse?

To help with the difficult decisions involved in deciding which type of care is right for you, the below pros and cons could illuminate the best options based on your needs or the needs of your loved one. 

• Cost – Home care is often more affordable than a care home, and family members may be able to take on some caring responsibilities to reduce the hours of home care needed. On the other hand, hiring a nurse usually means paying a higher salary. 
• Convenience – Many home care agencies offer more flexibility, which allows you to adapt care as needs change and easily cover any carer time off with respite care. Nurses may be able to adapt to schedule changes but this will be at their discretion, and you may be required to step in or find respite care yourself if needed. 
• Expertise – Depending on the health condition requiring management, often nursing care provides professional qualifications and advanced care in specific treatments and care needs, offering a higher level of expertise than more general carers can. However, it is always worth checking if a complex care arrangement from a home care agency could cover your requirements, as often they can provide a number of specialised services such as catheter care, stoma care, ventilator care and more. 
• Comfort and Personalisation – Both complex care from a home care agency and private nursing care are likely to offer the personalisation you need, and can both provide comfortable care at home. However, complex care can be a more holistic approach meaning you can design a care package that incorporates elements likely to enhance your quality of life, or that of your loved one. This might be companionship to attend local events, or housekeeping to maintain the home. Nursing care typically does not offer this. 

At Home Instead, our Care Professionals undergo specialist training to ensure they are equipped to help with complex needs. With up-to-date care training and workshops covering things like general medication guidance, manual handling, safeguarding, basic life support and specialist training in the likes of Parkinson’s, diabetes, dementia care and end-of-life care, in many cases we can provide the exact combination of care you need. Our matching service also ensures all clients are paired with the ideal Care Professional for them, with the specialist training required to provide effective care.

If you are unsure what kind of care services you or your loved one needs, you can learn more in our other guides:

• How To Choose and Arrange Home Care Services
• The Care Needs Assessment
• The Benefits Of Home Care vs A Care Home

Our highly trained Care Professionals are experienced in providing everything from general companionship and mobility care to more specialised, complex care needs and respite care for families. Arranging care for yourself or your loved one shouldn’t be stressful, so whatever questions you would like answered, feel free to reach out to the Home Instead team to discuss your needs.