Live-in Care Meaning
Live-in carers are trained and compassionate professionals who move into people’s homes to assist with complex care needs. Live-in care supports individuals to live independently in their own home, and often, live-in care services are cost-effective and more practical than residential care homes.
Also, live-in carers provide CQC-regulated services. This may include support with household chores such as preparing meals, cleaning, personal care tasks, medication management, and mobility assistance. One of the biggest aspects of live-in carers is the opportunity to provide emotional companionship as well.
Many people choose live-in care, as it offers humanised care and person-centred support for people with complex care needs in a familiar setting. Care providers include people’s preferences, needs and boundaries in a specifically designed care plan so that people can receive support in a dignified environment. At Unique Community Services, we personalise our care plans and provide tailored support, prioritising the human rights of the people we serve.
Key Duties and Responsibilities of a Live-in Carer
Live-in carers are full-time professionals who move into people’s homes to support a wide range of care needs. Working in this role involves providing bespoke support for all people with complex care needs while they remain in familiar surrounding at home.
Some of the key duties and live-in carer responsibilities include:
- Mobility support
- Complex support with medical aids like a catheter and stoma
- Support with leisure activities
- Personal care support
- Administering medication
- Dementia care
- Incontinence care
- One-to-one care
- Providing emotional support
What a Live-in Carer Can’t Help With
Although live-in carers reside in people’s homes to provide round-the-clock assistance, there are some duties they need help with.
Live-in carers can monitor people’s medication routines, which entails making sure people take their medication at the right time. However, they cannot prescribe medication and must bring people to their health appointments and keep relevant medical professionals informed.
Live-in Carer Qualifications
Becoming a live-in carer or a healthcare professional is demanding, and people who want a career in the care sector should possess certain natural qualities, skills and knowledge gained through comprehensive training.
There are no formal requirements for carers, as many individuals are trained by a provider. However, most live-in care providers prefer individuals to receive a Level 2 Health and Social Care Qualification, such as a Diploma in Health and Social Care.
There are some training programs that help carers provide the best quality of care and assure families they can be prepared to handle any emergency situation.
Some of the qualifications include:
- First Aid certification
- Safeguarding
- Moving and Handling
- Food Hygiene
- Basic Life Support
- Medication administration
- Effective Communication
- Fire Safety
- Risk Management
- Nutrition and Hydration
- Catheter training
- Diabetes awareness and management
At Unique Community Services, we provide all of our clinicians and live-in carers with outstanding training and are dedicated to supporting the career growth of our team.
Working Hours of Live-in Carers
A live-in carer usually works 6-10 hours per day, but this timeline can vary. The most significant benefit of a live-in carer is the ability to always be “on call” when needs arise.
However, beyond work hours, live-in carers don’t usually remain awake at night, but are able to provide assistance when needed. One of the best solutions for this challenge is to hire a waking night carer, who stays awake all night to provide support.
Care at Night
Live-in carers can provide support during the night for challenging situations and occasional wake-ups, but are unable to stay awake to support people throughout the night. If your loved one, for example, needs a high level of support overnight, other arrangements like waking night carers may be needed.
Additionally, other personalised care options are available to ensure people have the safest and most comfortable environments and care planned for.
Benefits of Working as a Live-in Carer
Becoming a carer is an amazing opportunity and an excellent life experience, as it is one of the most rewarding careers.
Carers have the chance to get to know the people they serve and learn more about their experiences by listening to their stories. There’s so much to be enjoyed by helping others and getting to know them. It involves building trust for a thriving career and relationship with people.
Live-in care makes a difference in people’s lives. Becoming a live-in carer means you provide someone with all the care and support they need to live a dignified life, and it also means you are contributing to people living a fulfilling and happy life.
Who Can Benefit from a Live-in Carer?
The specialist care that live-in carers offer is tailored to people’s complex care needs, such as dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer.
With fully regulated care at home, people with complex care needs can live close to their family members and focus on improving and maintaining as much independence as possible. Live-in care enables people to get the proper assistance they need in comfort and familiarity.
A professional live-in carer offers multidisciplinary services that help individuals with different levels of care needs. Depending on their needs, carers may provide long-term companionship or short-term care during a recovery period after injury or surgery.
Find Your Ideal Live-in Carer with Unique Community Services
Knowing that your loved one is receiving proper support can offer peace of mind for your entire family.
At Unique Community Services, our goal is to transform healthcare for the better and improve outcomes for people receiving care. Our team imprints kindness and patience daily and is dedicated to removing all barriers imposed on people with complex care needs.
Our experienced nurse-led clinicians at Unique Community Services are trained to handle challenging situations, complex care needs, and behaviours of distress.
To learn more about how we can support you, contact us today.
