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Overnight care at home vs. care home
For many families realising their loved one needs increasing levels of care and support at night can be a very worrying and upsetting time. Whether a family carer is providing care for their loved one during the day or day care is being delivered by a care provider, many will feel their only option is for their loved one to move into a residential care home when overnight care is needed.
However, more and more families are choosing to receive care in the comfort and familiarity of their own home avoiding the upset and disruption that is experienced when having to move into a
residential setting.
There are many compelling benefits of receiving overnight care in your own home as opposed to enduring the stress and uncertainty of moving into a care home setting:
One-to-one care – something even the very best care home simply cannot achieve. In a care home setting an individual carer may be supporting up to eight residents during the night.
A uniquely developed, highly personalised plan of care will be designed to meet your care needs whilst addressing how you wish to live your life – none of the rigid timetables or set routines experienced in a care home.
Specialist and complex care provided by highly trained carers in the comfort and familiarity of your own home is paramount in helping those living with specialist conditions, like dementia, particularly during the night when dementia symptoms can be challenging.
With your overnight sleep in carer, there is no need to move out of your much-loved home, with all the upheaval and worry that brings. The family home can then be kept in the family, instead of being sold to fund care home fees. Staying at home means you can keep control of your life, with all your treasured memories and possessions around you.
If you have an adored pet, you will not be able to take this into a care home. With overnight home care you can keep your pet and the carer will support looking after it during the night.
Elderly couples who require care can stay together as a loving couple, as opposed to being split up to be cared for in different areas of a care home.
Unlike care homes, overnight home care for the elderly provides families with much needed peace of mind and reassurance knowing that their loved one is supported and cared on a one-to-one basis throughout the night.
What does our live-in overnight care package include?
Expert nurse-led care
Our senior professional carers are trained to monitor and identify any changes in your health, responding appropriately and avoiding any unnecessary hospital admissions. Our carers will not provide any nurse-led care without having completed our specialist training programme, which equips them with the skills they need to perform any nursing task usually delivered by a district nurse, including:
- Continence care, including bowel care and catheterisation
- Undertaking gastrostomy care, including PEG feeding, stoma care and urostomy care
- Blood sugar monitoring
- Wound management and dressing
- Delivering rehabilitation programmes with advice from an occupational therapist, ensuring the right equipment is in place as needed
- Working with physiotherapists to ensure exercise plans are completed
- End-of-life palliative care which ensures a person’s needs and preferences are met until the very end of their life
Specialist care of conditions
We are experts in providing high quality care of conditions that affect older people, including dementia, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis. All our professional carers are trained in how to support people to live well with these conditions, whilst positively enhancing their quality of life. For those living with dementia we know that the night-time can present challenges and greater levels of care and reassurance are required. Our carers are trained to understand and effectively respond to these challenges, providing a calming environment and all the comfort you need.
Ensuring safe mobility in and around the home
We work closely with an occupational therapist who provides expert guidance and advice on what equipment and home adaptations can help improve safe movement and mobility around your home, while minimising the risk of falls, which are common among older people.
Managing and administering medications
Our professional carers are trained in medications management and use an electronic medications system to ensure all medications are managed proactively and effectively.
Companionship as and when you need it
Our carers will provide companionship whilst ensuring your privacy is respected. We ensure that a perfectly matched carer shares similar values and interests to make life interesting, stimulating and enjoyable, whilst being there for you to support your emotional and
psychological needs.
Providing discreet and sensitive personal care
This can include the task-orientated aspects of caring for someone, like bathing and getting dressed, but also those that promote self-esteem.
Planning and cooking meals
Meals will be planned and cooked according to your choice, preferences and nutritional needs, all served at a time that suits you. If you need help to feed yourself our carer is on hand to support you with this.
How to care for an older relative overnight?
Some of the ways to care for an older relative during the night include :
- Placing motion sensor lights in their bedroom, bathroom and hallways
- Making sure their paths, especially the path to the toilet, are clutter-free
- Checking that the house is securely locked
- Putting a drink beside their bed
- Monitoring their caffeine intake in the afternoon and evening, as this will effect their quality of sleep
- Ensuring they’re receiving enough fresh air and exercise through the day
- Making sure they’re not taking any disorientating sleeping pills
- Providing adult incontinence underwear and waterproofing their mattress
Why would I need overnight carers?
Some of the most common reasons why you or a loved one might need overnight care are:
Dementia
Dementia is progressive and affects brain functioning. There are many different types and stages of Dementia, but a common symptom for those living with Dementia is memory loss and confusion. This means if your loved one wakes in the night, they may forget where they are or become confused by their surroundings.
At times, those living with Dementia can experience broken sleep patterns or difficulties with their sleep-wake cycle. This means they can wake in the night multiple times, which can create confusion and moments of disorientation, or sleep through the day and be awake through the night. An overnight carer would be able to support your loved one during these times, ensuring they are safe and comfortable within their home.
Incontinence
As we grow older, urinary incontinence and overactive bladder function can become common. This means frequent trips to the toilet are needed, which can disrupt sleep patterns. A night carer would be able to support frequent trips to the toilet and help to ensure reduced trips and falls.
Mobility issues
As we age, we can experience mobility issues. These can cause difficulties in walking and moving around. This can make climbing stairs to go to bed or walking to the toilet difficult. A night carer would be able to assist with walking and climbing the stairs, ensuring supportive equipment is used correctly, whilst reducing the risks of falls. When we wake in the night, it can take time for our vision to adjust to the light and we may be disoriented by our surroundings. This can increase the risk of trips and falls. A night carer would be able to ensure your loved one moves around their home safely.
How does overnight home care differ from live-in care?
Overnight home care is when a carer is available throughout the night to support you in times of need. Overnight carers usually only visit during the nighttime hours and would not reside in your house on a full time basis and would live away from the property when not providing care. With a live-in carer, they reside in your home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on a rotation with another carer. A live-in carer does not usually provide waking night support, but will provide between 10 and 12 hours of care a day, depending on the care needs.
Why choose The Good Care Group?
We have been providing high quality, live-in care to families in England and Scotland for over 10 years. At the heart of our award-winning service is enabling people to live independently in their own home with an improved quality of life. Our approach to care at home means our clients can achieve improved health and well-being. For families they benefit from peace of mind and reassurance that their loved one is receiving the very best care and support.
A perfectly matched care team
A live-in care service usually involves two carers working a two-week rotation. They will be carefully matched working with you and your family. We make sure they are skilled and equipped to meet all your care and support needs. Our focus on matching means the care team chosen share common interests and backgrounds. We know this means life is enjoyable for everyone. Your care team really gets to know you and your needs, which means you get consistency of care.
Expertly trained carers
All our professional carers are required to complete our leading training programme before they care for our clients. Our programme has been created with leading charities and clinical experts. It goes beyond mandatory requirements in the care sector. Carers are then equipped to provide high-quality care and support for those living with specialist conditions. Our carers never stop learning new skills to further enhance the care they provide.
Continuity of care
Unlike an agency we employ our carers. This means they are committed to us, as we are to them. Carers enjoy the security of being employed, which means they stay with us longer. Those who work for agencies move around more. For families this means that you get continuity and consistency of the same care team caring for your loved one. This means high-quality care can be achieved with improved outcomes and no disruption to your loved one’s life.
In-house clinical experts
We have a dedicated team of in-house clinical experts. This includes a specialist consultant nurse, who also provides Admiral Nurse services to those living with dementia. Our management team consists of nursing professionals. They guide our carers to provide safe and effective nurse-led care at home. There is also an occupational therapist (OT) who works closely with healthcare professionals and our care teams. The OT provides guidance and advice that enables people to live well in their own home with any equipment they may need. These experts lead, monitor and support our care teams to deliver best practice nurse-led care at home.
Innovative care technology
Unlike any other live-in care provider, we have our own online care community. Families, healthcare professionals and carers can access up to date information about the care being provided. It enables more effective monitoring, which means issues can be responded to efficiently. For our families it provides a reassuring window into the care their loved one is receiving. Our carers also use the online community to share ideas and support each other. It provides a vital connection which is important when remote working. Carers will use the online community so their clients can enjoy time online. This includes video calls with family, so they feel connected. Clients can use it to shop online or browse the web.
Improving health outcomes
Every decision we make is driven by delivering improved health outcomes for our clients. Our digital technology allows us to predict risk and shape the care we provide. We measure health outcomes.
We want to know we are improving the quality of our clients’ lives every year
Our health and well-being aim to reduce:
- Behaviours that challenge
- Antipsychotic drugs in dementia care
- Falls in the home
- Hospital admissions
- Readmission to hospital
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Chest infections
- Carer stress
- They aim to promote:
- Independence
- Well-being
- Excellent nutrition and hydration
- Enjoyment in life
Highest service rating from care regulators in England and Scotland
Unlike introduction agencies we are fully regulated in England and Scotland. This means the care and support we provide is regularly inspected. We are the only dedicated live-in care provider in England to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We have achieved this rating in all five measures – safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. In Scotland, our service has been inspected by the Care Inspectorate (CI). It has achieved the highest rating of a 6 (Excellent) for quality of care and support and 5 (very good) for staffing, management and leadership. We know this provides families with peace of mind that their loved one is receiving the best possible care.
A fully managed service
Families benefit from our fully managed service delivered by care experts. This means you do not need to worry about supervising and managing the carer looking after your loved one. Our professional carers are supervised by an experienced care manager and supported by clinical experts. We provide this support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your dedicated care manager will be on hand to support you, your loved one and our carer teams. We invest in our care management team to ensure they have enough time to give the support everyone needs. With our fully managed service, families do not have the burden of managing the care arrangement themselves. We know this means families can have peace of mind, whilst enjoying quality time with their loved one. They do not have to worry about the tasks of caring.
Local teams with national coverage
We operate throughout England and Scotland with a local approach to management of our teams near you. Each dedicated care manager local to you has only a small number of clients to support. This means they can provide higher levels of monitoring and support than other home care providers. It also means a highly personalised approach to care can be delivered.
Live-in overnight care
Our specialist overnight care for seniors is offered on a live-in basis and is flexible depending on your requirements, care needs and the support and involvement of the family in providing care to their loved one.
- Live-in care provides consistency and continuity of care from a trained professional carer who will live-in your home and provide you with care and support during the night. Our high-quality live-in care service allows for our carer to wake up and support your needs twice during the night. This will still mean they can continue to deliver the high standards of care during the day. If you are living with more complex needs that require more attention during the night, we can provide dedicated waking care during the night, however this would require an additional carer to support you during the day if your family are unable to manage your day
time needs. - Respite care can provide a family carer with a much-needed break from caring for a loved one either during the day or night, or can be used as an opportunity to see how live-in care works and whether overnight care is right for you.
- Short term care following hospital discharge or for those needing post-operative rehabilitation or stroke care.
- Complex care of medical and specialist conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s or Multiple Sclerosis can be supported with overnight care – there is no need to go into a care home to receive this level of care during the night.
- Palliative care for when your loved one has expressed a wish to die in their own home, overnight care can ensure you are peaceful and comfortable throughout the night with your choices and
wishes respected.
What is included in our service?
Our highly personalised live-in overnight care service includes:
- Access to clinical expertise and medical support
- Full consultation before care starts
- Bespoke and flexible care plan developed with input from the family and other healthcare professionals
- Matching of the most suitable care team to meet the holistic needs of our clients
- Dedicated care team led by an expert regional care manager
- Meal planning and household tasks
- Social and lifestyle enhancement.
- Specialist support and expertise – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Costs of overnight care
The cost of care for people wishing to receive a live-in home care service is typically in line with – and sometimes less than – what you would pay for residential care, with the added benefit of receiving one-to-one, personalised overnight care, something that cannot be achieved in even the very best care home.
For couples, the cost of live-in overnight care is cheaper than moving into residential care where you would be expected to pay for two bedrooms and packages of care. With live-in care there is only a nominal charge for couples’ care.
Overnight care FAQs
Talk to us about your overnight care needs
We are experts in providing a fully managed, high-quality care at home service rated ‘Outstanding’ in all areas by CQC – the only live-in care provider to achieve this. Call our friendly and approachable team today to see how we can help you and your family.