What are the Benefits of Home Care for Elderly Couples?
It is well-established that the UK’s ageing population has led to a rise in instances of dementia and other complex, long-term health conditions. This, in turn, has increased hospital admissions and placed pressure on NHS resources. It has also meant that a growing number of families have had to consider turning to care homes.
However, a majority of people would prefer spending their final years in their own homes. Data from the office of national statistics shows that 81% of people would prefer spending their final years at home. It is no surprise that elderly people would prefer to spend their final years with their partner in their own familiar and loving homes.
What does home care for elderly couples involve?
Elderly home care can be tailored exactly to each couple’s needs. Home care can involve anything from practical tasks (such as cleaning and cooking) to personal care (such as bathing or physical support to navigate your home). Home carers also offer a friendly face for general socialising and support.
Home care can help take the weight off your shoulders, either between you and your partner, of the couple you are looking after. With visiting care, overnight care and live-in care available – there is a wealth of support available to help keep elderly couples independent and living their best life at home.
Benefits of Home Care for Elderly Couples
Whilst care homes are the choice of preference for some people, there are several key benefits that home care services can offer that help to keep elderly couples together at home in later life.
Avoiding Separation
When home care from professional adult care providers is a viable option, it is usually a preferable one; especially when dealing with elderly couples. Home care services help enable elderly couples, who have built their lives together, to enjoy the later stages of their life with each other. This also minimises the potential emotional distress which could be caused by separation into different care facilities.
A high-profile example of this, which made the news in 2017, occurred when an elderly couple – who had been married for 69 years – were sent to different care homes. This happened after one of the pair underwent a health assessment and it was determined that he needed to be moved to a different facility to treat his dementia.
“I read with personal outrage reports of cases where the results of the operation of the system is that people [who] have been together for 30, 40 or maybe 50 years are separated in their final years,” a senior judge said that same year, ruling that such decisions to separate couples were often inhumane and risked causing unnecessary deaths.”
It is important to state that there are certain instances where care homes can be a necessary option. After all, home care cannot usually be provided around the clock, which means those with the most complex needs may otherwise find themselves lacking the support and care they need at certain times of the day.
Minimising Disruption
Another advantage of home care services for elderly couples from professional care agencies, such as Abbots Care, is that it minimises disruptions to their daily lives and routines.
As the Money Advice Service points out, a major benefit of home care is the ability for an elderly couple to retain their social links and continue to enjoy active relationships with their friends and family. This is good for their overall happiness and quality of life, but also beneficial for their mental health and well-being.
Maintaining independence
There are also benefits in terms of personal independence, autonomy and overall dignity. With home care, elderly couples and their loved ones are able to retain control over the amount of care they receive, when they receive it, how often they receive it, and which adult care providers they actually turn to for that care.
It also allows the elderly couples to remain in comfortable, familiar surroundings. This can reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, which can be hugely beneficial, especially with dementia patients.
Cost effectiveness
Finally, there are some financial considerations, which can also make home care a more appealing option for elderly couples. Home care can be particularly cost effective compared to residential care homes, especially if couples only require part time care ro support.
In particular, unlike with support from a care home, the value of an elderly couple’s home and personal assets will not be taken into account when calculating how much they will need to contribute towards the cost of their home care.
What’s better for elderly couples: home care or care homes?
As people are living longer, the rise in the number of elderly couples with complex health conditions requiring care has also increased. This often leads to a choice needing to be made between residential care home services or at home care.
Whilst it is sometimes necessary to move people into a care home, so they can receive specialist, round-the-clock care, wherever there is a genuine choice, the home care option tends to be preferable for elderly couples. This eliminates the risk of life-long partners being separated, which risks emotional damage, and also minimises disruption more generally.
You can take a look at our elderly care services today, or contact us to find out more about how we can support you and your partner at home.
Abbots Care is a home care provider, serving residents of the Buckinghamshire, Dorset and Hertfordshire regions. We are accredited by the Care Quality Commission and the UK Home Care Association, and are able to offer both adult and respite care, as well as physical or learning disabilities care, and specialist dementia care.