Are you looking for dementia care in Farnborough, Farnham, and Fleet? Let us show you the power of relationship-led home care and what it can do for your loved one.
Alzheimer’s Research UK has projected a staggering rise in UK dementia care costs, from £34.7bn to £49.3bn in just one year (2023-24). This figure is expected to skyrocket to £139.3bn by 2040, painting a concerning and urgent picture for the future funding of care provision.
While these figures include social care, health care, quality of life, and economic losses, it’s important to note that unpaid care accounts for 50% of annual dementia care costs. This means families bear the financial burden for loved ones where our current social care system is ‘largely underfunded and over-stretched.’
But caring for someone living with dementia isn’t just about financial costs; there are also physical, mental and emotional costs. Much of the burden we see families facing includes:
A further stretch for GPs deepens the disconnect between NHS care plans and families, leaving unpaid carers unsure who to contact and when, while often waiting months for social care allocation.
In a recent update, the NHS signalled that it is looking to work more closely with care homes and home care providers to bridge that gap. And we believe that reliable and affordable home care is the way forward. But how many people know about the potential of holistic home care provision?
Holistic dementia care is about providing a comprehensive care plan that works in unison with the NHS, GPs, families and the person living with dementia. It should cater to all of those needs, centralising its focus on relationship-led home care. And that’s what we strive to achieve here at Home Instead.
Let’s break that down so you can see how we link these different needs to bring focus to our client.
Recognising a need in the care community, we developed our award-winning City & Guild dementia training. Since its launch, we have trained thousands of care professionals to engage and work with people with dementia to promote happy and independent living.
For the families we work with, this means installing a dedicated and accredited care team. This approach has had life-changing effects on the clients we meet. They no longer live in closed-down existences. Instead, they have regained their confidence to interact and communicate with a reinvigorated sense of self. Families become families again – no more “carer and patient” strained relations.
We see our relationship with the NHS and your local GP as crucial. We are there to help administer medication and care plans and signpost condition symptoms or changes to your healthcare professionals.
Our approach brings a level of integration that is sadly missing otherwise, and our experience and knowledge of how these channels work can reassure clients’ families.
Clients also benefit from our collaboration with clinical care teams in that their needs are met at a much faster rate.
At Home Instead Farnborough, Farnham, and Fleet, we have worked particularly hard to establish connections with national and local dementia charities. And because we understand who has the means to help in which situations, we can refer families and clients for assistance or specialised equipment. No more trawling the internet for advice; we have all the contacts you need.
Dementia charities also offer specialised events, which can be particularly useful for family carers and clients. We keep ourselves up-to-date to pass on that information to families and clients who will benefit. We can even assist you in getting your loved one to and from those events.
Supporting those who care for people with dementia is critical from several standpoints:
We like to think of home care as a vehicle that supports our families emotionally, mentally, and physically. And that can mean many things to different people. For example, where family carers work, we can be there in their stead. Where they are struggling with relationship changes, we are there to chat and show them how they can re-establish their connection. And if they need a break, we can provide coverage for short or extended periods.
By relieving family carers of the heavy lifting in physical and clinical care, we can help them re-establish a personal connection. The benefits for the client, the person living with a dementia diagnosis and all that comes with that, is a sense of normality at a time when they might otherwise feel like a burden.
In our experience, those who receive a dementia diagnosis often feel lost, not in a sensory way, but in an emotional way. A loss of control results in the avoidance of people, places and interactions that make them feel embarrassed or frustrated, manifesting in withdrawal. We remove the stigma from our care approach so clients can remain confidently independent.
When you work with Home Instead, you’ll have one team—a dedicated team of dementia care professionals to handle every area of care provision. We are careful in our matching process, ensuring that if your loved one likes to garden, your care pros also have a green thumb. Joint interests and activities breed companionship.
Social connection and stimulation outside the home are also vital for those with dementia, so we will help them attend day centres, where they participate in active events. Making and retaining friends, despite a dementia diagnosis, goes a long way to helping the emotional difficulties of loneliness.
It starts by reaching out to our specialist care team, who can answer all those questions about how home care can help you and your loved one.
Time to reach out?