Live-in care is when the carer lives in the home with the person they are caring for and provide care whenever is required. This is what makes it the most comprehensive care. Live-in care gives our clients the advantage of full-time care and companionship within their home 24 hours a day. Live-in carers will work with the clients and their families if necessary to support them in their daily routines. Private live-in care, as any care enables people to stay in their home for as long as possible. As live-in care is the most comprehensive care option, many of our clients build up to it and live in care tends to be the step before going to a care residence. That being said, our live-in carers are able to come with clients to a retirement residence if they wish!
Live-in carers are able to assist with a wide range of duties but mostly focus on maintaining the health and wellbeing of their clients. So while they will help with household chores their main duties will include things like medication management, assisting with physiotherapy exercises, taking the client to appointments and liaising with doctors, mobility support, grooming and personal care. Live-in carers are also a source of emotional support and friendship, it can be frustrating and very emotional for the client to accept that they now are in the position they need care. Being a source of comfort and a friend to lean on when they are having a bad day is an essential part of being a carer.
Live-in care provides personalised, one on one care that is flexible to the client’s everyday requirements. Live-in care ensures people are able to remain within their home, their community and maintain their schedule for as long as they wish.
As a live-in carer you will be responsible to assist with almost everything such as:
While being a carer is an incredibly demanding, emotional and draining profession, it is also one of the most rewarding. Knowing that you are looking after someone so that they are able to stay in their home, within their community and surrounded by cherished positions and photographs that hold precious memories.
With your care and knowledge, you will be able to help guide your clients through adjustments within themselves that would be difficult to manage on their own. Whether they are dealing with the loss of a spouse, a decline in general health or navigating a recent diagnosis with more serious health issues.
Knowing they have had such a profound impact on their client’s lives is one of the main motivators with many of the carers that we work with.
Not only are you helping the client, but you are also helping the family. A live-in carer takes the pressure off family members to try and assist and support in situations that they do not feel comfortable in, for example, if their loved one has Alzheimer's or Parkinsons and requires more complex care than they can provide. Relationships can become strained, but with a live-in carer, they are able to maintain happy and healthy relationships with their loved ones.
In the majority of cases, there won’t be any requirements to have academic qualifications like GCSEs, A-Levels or degrees. However, most employers would prefer you to have some First Aid skills and an NVQ in Health and Social Care, Levels 2 and 3.
These courses would prepare you to work in Adult Social Care, teaching you to support individuals with learning difficulties and awareness of dementia. Care Workers often need to travel to many locations within the day, therefore you’ll also need an EU driving license.
Beyond these qualifications, experience is crucial; so securing volunteer work will pay off in the long run. You’ll have to also have background checks, such as a medical check and a criminal record check through the Disclosure and Barring Service otherwise known as a DBS.
Once you begin life as a live-in carer, you will need to have some training in food hygiene, health and safety. This will include elements of first aid and how to move people safely, particularly if working on your own. This is because you could be preparing meals for your clients to ensure they are eating a healthy and varied diet, even though they are not able to cook themselves anymore. You will also be working with clients who could have mobility issues, so you will be required to help them around the home.
It is important to take the appropriate steps to take care of yourself so you are able to care for someone else to your full potential. Consider speaking to your GP or other health and social care professionals to find out what support is available.
Sometimes the difficult emotions of caring can change into depression. It’s not always easy to know when this is happening, bad days can merge into a blur and it can be hard to identify if you are tired or depressed.
Emotional support is available for carers, there are numerous links to support groups and networks through the NHS website as well as going through your local council. Help for carers can come through a range of different methods, whether that is speaking to someone professionally or a loved and trusted one, taking time to relax or taking a break from caring temporarily.
Taking time for yourself regularly will give you time to restore your mental and emotional threshold. Relaxation is anything that helps your body and mind slow down and switch off for a bit, and it varies for everyone. While you might think of relaxation as deep breathing, meditation and slow music, there are many other ways that you can help your mind switch off for a bit so you can restore yourself.
Whether you only have 20 minutes to listen to a podcast, maybe you find cooking relaxing or going for a brisk walk in your time off.
It is important to ensure you take the time to ensure you are able to regularly relax, especially when you are in a job like caring, with long hours and mental and physical demands, if you don’t take the time to take care of yourself you could find yourself run down, sick and at your wits end.
Knowing where to start your live-in care job search can be overwhelming. This is where consulting an experienced live-in care agency is a good starting point to go from. With an agency, you have access to expert, experienced advice. Agencies also take the hassle of finding and applying to jobs directly, our consultants will work with you and present you with jobs that match the requirements that you have explained to them. Our consultants take the time to get to know you, understand your caring style, what salary you’re looking for and in what areas you are looking to work.
Our consultants are also on hand to help and answer any questions you might have along the way, using a live-in care agency in London like Guardian Carers means you have a direct line to the experts. Not only do you have a direct line during the search, but our consultants are constantly on hand to help with any follow-up queries or concerns you might have once your search has been completed.
Our years of experience within the care industry means we know what is required for carers and clients to be a perfect match, we are looking to help you find a client that you can have a harmonious relationship with.
We pride ourselves on providing a premium level of service to our candidates because we know they will be providing our clients with a premium care service.
Here at Guardian Carers, we pride ourselves on being able to delicately align a premium, luxury service for an aspect of your life that is so personal.
So much so that 95% of the carers we work with result in a happy, long term placement. Using an agency that specialises live-in care like Guardian Carers means you can be sure you will receive support from every side, we will take the stress that comes with trying to find a job and present you with options that perfectly align with what you are looking for. We work with you to find solutions, whatever your needs. To make perfect and seamless placements is Guardian Carers ethos. With Guardian Carers it is your care, your home, your way.
Give us a call. We are ready to help. We believe we can find your perfect carer.