Does Your Loved One Need Residential or Domiciliary Care?
When a loved one is struggling to carry out day-to-day tasks by themselves, the decision to arrange professional care is a difficult one. It can be even more challenging to decide what type of care your loved one needs.
Here, we explain the difference between residential and domiciliary care and which level of care would be best suited for your loved one’s needs.
What’s the difference between residential and domiciliary care?
Residential care is when a vulnerable adult moves into a care home or centre to benefit from 24/7 support from care staff. With domiciliary care, carers visit the home of a vulnerable adult to support them with daily tasks like personal care, taking medications and mealtimes to help them live independently for as long as possible.
When is domiciliary care suitable?
Domiciliary care is suitable for vulnerable adults who require some additional support with everyday tasks to maintain their quality of life. Domiciliary care workers can carry out a range of tasks to help your loved one live in the comfort of their own home. This can include personal care tasks like washing, dressing and going to the toilet, and household tasks like cleaning, doing laundry and food shopping.
Carers can also provide support at mealtimes, whether it’s assisting with eating or preparing meals. If your loved one takes medication, their carer can remind them to take it and supervise administration if necessary.
Domiciliary carers can visit once or multiple times a day as required. Many people find that domiciliary care visits provide more than just psychical assistance – conversation and company is often another benefit of home care visits for vulnerable adults.
When is residential care suitable?
When domiciliary care is not sufficient to meet an individual’s needs, residential care might be a better option. Key indicators that residential care is needed is when a vulnerable adult cannot be left alone. This might be because they require regular assistance, they are anxious when alone or it is unsafe for them to be left by themselves. If the person does not live alone, their needs might be too complex or frequent for family members to carry out.
Residential care provides peace of mind for everyone involved. Residents are reassured that professional help is on hand 24 hours a day for their every need, and family members can rest assured that their loved one is in a homely, safe and secure location specially designed to meet their requirements.
Wessex Care provide quality domiciliary care and residential care in Salisbury. If you’re not sure which type of care your loved one needs, get in touch with our helpful team today to discuss your options.
