Nursing home or home care – how does assisted living compare?
Did you know that the number of older people aged 85 and over has increased by over a third during the last decade? As a growing older population, according to AGE UK by our late 80s, more than one in three of us will have difficulties undertaking five or more tasks of daily living unaided – this indicates a rising demand for care services in this country. However statistics show that nearly all of us want to receive care services at home when we get older instead of going into a care home. So how do you decide and how much is it going to cost?
What’s the difference between assisted living and a nursing home?
So, what is home care? How much do care homes cost per week in comparison to live-in care services? And what is it like living in a care home?
Receiving care at home is a very different experience to receiving care in a residential setting, where there’s no single carer dedicated to looking after your loved one. With a live-in carer you receive one-to-one, tailored support, without sharing your carer with other residents. Home care also enables you to continue living safely and independently in familiar surroundings, staying together with pets and having family and friends over to visit at any time.
And what’s more, is that live-in care is a cost-effective alternative. For the price of one care bed in a nursing home you can receive care solely to meet your needs.
Live-in care is a practical, affordable alternative to a residential care home. Let’s look at some of the key differences between care homes and live-in care at home.
| Live-in Care | Care Home | |
|---|---|---|
| Stay in your own home | v | Move to a new environment |
| Costs from £1095 per week | v | Average cost £1300 per week |
| One to one care in your own home | v | Shared carers |
| Continuity and choice of lifestyle | v | Change of lifestyle |
| Funding available | v | Funding available |
| Choice of menu and meal times | v | Set menus and meal times |
| Freedom to have family and pets at home | v | Communal areas and rules |
If you’re thinking about home care for a loved one and you’d like to know about how care services could support you and your family, contact us today. We offer a range of live-in carers on both a long term and short term basis, providing care you control to meet your needs. Alternatively, you can call us today on 0330 0535014 for an informal chat about how it works.