Can I live at home if I have a terminal illness?
If you have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, you might imagine that a move away from home was inevitable. But this doesn’t have to be the case because you can receive palliative care, hospice care and end of life care in your own home.
There are many reasons why staying at home can be a more attractive proposition. It allows you to remain in the place where you feel most safe and comfortable, surrounded by a lifetime of memories while staying close to friends and family.
All this can be a particular comfort when faced with the practicalities of dealing with terminal illness. So what do you need to think about if you make the decision to stay at home?
Medical care
Many people choose to move to a care home because it offers round the clock access to nursing care. But staying at home doesn’t mean you won’t qualify for receiving palliative care or accessing hospice services.
After you’ve been diagnosed with a life limiting illness, your palliative care begins, managing both your physical symptoms and mental wellbeing. This package of care is decided according to your own wishes and will be managed at home by a team of healthcare professionals including your GP, community nurses, social workers and other specialists.
Medical services available to you at home include assistance with medication and pain management, help with mobility, cleaning and personal care.
Live in care
If you’re struggling to decide between staying at home or moving to a care home, there is an option that allows the best of both worlds. Live-in care is a service offered by Promedica24, and provides all the assistance you would receive in a care home.
Our dedicated carers offer support around the clock, providing a wide range of help from cooking to personal care. They’ll also help you remain socially active, taking you to meet friends or helping you entertain at home.
Think of your live-in carer as a sort of personal assistant – someone who’s there to provide support when and where you need it. You can rely on them being there to enable you to keep doing the things you want to do. Promedica24’s Companion Care service always begins with a care plan tailored to your particular needs.
Support for your needs
For the majority of our clients, carers are there to provide support when it’s really needed. They understand that independence is important to you and will be there to assist rather than take over, helping you to keep doing the things you enjoy – or even the things you don’t! Housework may sound like a chore, but when simple tasks that form part of a daily routine are taken away, it’s surprising how much many of us miss them.
Specialist care
If you have complex needs, such as an advanced cancer or require specific management from medical professionals you don’t necessarily need to leave home. The Hospice care team will visit you at home, along with Community Palliative nurses and other specialists. Having a live-in carer helps making managing their comings and goings much easier.
More of a friend
Loneliness can be high on people’s list of reasons to move into a care home – having people around you throughout the day can be a huge comfort. With live-in care, we offer something more akin to a personal assistant or companion, and aim to pair all our clients with someone with the specific skills to help meet their needs. The continuity of care from one person over a period of time is particularly beneficial in combating loneliness, and you’ll find our carers happy to take the time to sit and talk, play a game or share a meal with you.
Social life
Living alone with a terminal illness, it’s easy to become locked into your home environment. People sometimes lose touch with friends and drop out of social or community activities because of the extra effort it takes. This can lead to social isolation, which brings with it additional mental health pressures. A live-in carer can help to overcome some of those hurdles by providing the encouragement needed to stay connected with the wider world. With a companion by your side, you might find you have renewed confidence to leave the house and spend time among other people, knowing that there’s someone there to offer help should you need it.
Planning ahead
If you notice the brown envelopes are beginning to pile up unopened, or your email inbox keeps warning you it’s about to run out of storage space, this could be a sign you need some assistance. As your medical needs become a priority, it can be increasingly exhausting to find yourself having to deal with routine eye tests or filling in questionnaires about meals on wheels.
With live-in care, you’ll have someone there to help filter out the unimportant stuff, leaving you to spend your time concentrating on what really matters. You never need to worry about missing an important appointment or failing to reply to a message from an old friend. And as your carer gets to know you, they’ll soon come to understand your normal schedule and help you plan ahead.
Friends and family
Just because you’ve got someone living in your home, doesn’t mean you need to worry about inviting friends or family around for a cup of tea – just the opposite. Promedica24’s carers are highly discreet, and will want to know just how much help you need when you’re entertaining. That might mean they’re there to help prepare coffee and cakes, or if you want privacy they can take a step back and leave you in peace.
Affordability
24 hour care can be expensive. If you’re considering moving to a care home, potentially for a long period, that could mean using up your savings or even having to sell your house. Live-in care is typically a less pricey option and, combined with the benefits of staying in your own home, one that is becoming increasingly attractive to many people with life limiting illnesses.
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