Ageing is a problem of life that everyone will to face no matter who you are. It is a fact of life that is unalterable and unavoidable. Ageing comes with many problems that are physiological, psychological, social, emotional, and financial.
There are only a few things we can do to help old age people, we can either send them to a senior citizen care facility or we can let them be in their homes and appoint a caregiver for 24 hour home care. In a 24 hour care, two caregivers are booked for 12-hour shift or sometimes, 3 caregivers are booked for 8-hour shift. During the shift, a caregiver is not allowed to take a nap or sleep. However, allowing them to sleep or not is totally up to the client’s discretion. Let us see what are the advantages and disadvantages of 24-hour care are:
Advantage: The caregiver will be with the client the whole time and will ensure that the client is safe and is given medication whenever need be. The caregiver performs the household duties, cleaning, and the laundry for the client. These things are very important since, keeping things neat and tidy will ensure good hygiene, thereby creating a good healthy environment for the elderly. An elderly may not be able to do these things because their body have gone weak with time. The caregiver also helps the elderly by cooking them food that they feel like eating. One other thing in which they need some help is transportation and shopping stuff for day-to-day needs.
Disadvantages: The only major disadvantage of 24-hour care is the cost. This service is generally more expensive than the other care facilities available for the old age people. Many organized caregiver services charge hourly which makes this very expensive.
Who should choose a 24 Hour Care Service?
A client who doesn’t want to live in a nursing home or other accommodation for the elderly and wants to live in one’s own house should choose this service. The other types of facilities also do not ensure the one on one care that you get in a 24-hour service. This is also an excellent option in the instances where the primary caregivers i.e. their family is on vacation or temporarily have to leave them alone for any reason. Also, if the family of the client is not local and have moved someplace else, this becomes their only option.
Being in one’s own home has many advantages. The elderly is familiar with people living around their house. They do not need to adjust with other people that are living in other elderly accommodation facilities. Psychologically too, they feel dignified only if they live in a place they own.
There are other people too who are suffering from some kind of medical condition. Even they can opt for the 24-hour care at home. These are the people suffering from:
- Alzheimer’s
- Dementia
- Terminally ill
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Oxygen-Dependent
- Other major diseases or disorders that require round the clock personal care
It is important to understand the needs of the elderly without having them to say it explicitly. Sometimes they need special care and someone to talk to, as they may feel alone and unwanted. It is also good for their safety if they live in their own home as they can easily get help from their friends and family who live in the neighborhood.
Taking care of your elderly family is not a part-time job. You can assume that it is easy, but sometimes, a professional caretaker knows better because he/she is properly trained in this.