An increasing number of relatives are making the decision to provide care for their elderly loved ones instead of entrusting them to traditional care homes.
Indeed, statistics now show this figure stands at 58%, likely because COVID resulted in concerns about how care homes were run.
The “no jab no job” mandatory vaccination ruling led to staff leaving or losing their employment. COVID-related staffing issues and the judgment that resident admissions during the pandemic were actually deemed “unlawful” has dented confidence in not only the availability but the quality of care.
The compound effect of these various factors has understandably led to an increase in people choosing to provide companion care for their elderly relatives at home.
COVID 19
There is no doubt that the recent pandemic has also affected morale within residential care that could take years to recover. Staff entrusted with providing quality care quickly become stressed when staffing and resource levels are low.
During the pandemic, social care resources were stretched to the limit and have still not recovered fully. In turn, this has a knock-on effect on the morale of residents whose mental health may have already been seriously challenged by a care home admission.
Reports show that 70% of people believe that moving their loved one into residential care has had an adverse effect on their relative’s mental health, and 55% believe that the elderly deteriorate more quickly due to being taken out of the environment they knew and felt safe in.
A Human Rights Issue
It is well recognized that regular contact with loved ones is essential for mental and also physical health and yet COVID resulted in visits being restricted and even banned.
It is hard to forget the images of relatives on the outside looking in with a literal pane of glass between them and their loved ones. This naturally led to concerns regarding their relative’s wellbeing and whether a high standard of care was being upheld within the home.
There was also a real concern that should their already frail, elderly relative contract COVID, they could be seriously ill with a loved one unable to be by their side.
The policies care homes operated on during the pandemic have quite rightly raised human rights issues.
Care choices – the ability to choose
When given the choice; approximately ¾ of people would not choose to go into a home and indeed, working carers themselves have noticed the decline in admissions and their ability to deliver quality care as well as a growing exodus of residents.
Nearly 1 in 20 will be seeking alternative forms of care over the next 12 months with many of these joining the 24% who already receive care at home.
Care home departure
Not all residents who leave residential care do so by choice.
According to the Care Quality Commission approximately 2000 residents a year are given the notice to leave their residential home; whereby an elderly relative who may have settled somewhat into their placement, is quite literally evicted.
The main reason provided to the CQC is that they cannot offer the higher care level the resident needs but there is also a concern that residents are given notice due to their relatives making a complaint regarding the quality of care.
This can be extremely stressful for a family who already had to make the difficult choice of choosing a residential placement for their loved one and extremely unsettling for their relative to once again be moved out of an environment they had grown to know.
This “notice to quit” that could come at any time, is also one of the reasons why people are moving away from traditional care.
Everyone has rights
Everyone has a right to family life, and if this is not possible – the right to maintain relationships through regular contact.
Indeed, the Human Rights Act states the right to privacy, family life, home, and correspondence (Article 8) and this right extend to receiving care in a residential setting. Home means different things to different people.
A care home can feel like “home” to residents with eviction leading to great distress and decline in wellbeing. Correspondence should mean that residents and their families are able to raise any concerns without the fear of eviction or visitation bans.
Care home failings
Due to the failings of the “residential model” and these oft compromised rights; 2022-23 will see the demand for live in care practically double due to the preferences of the elderly and their relatives beginning to take precedence.
Rather than simply accepting the existing societal model of care and all the concerns it brings; families are increasingly taking a proactive role and exploring the option of live in care for their loved ones.
Fears of contracting COVID within a residential setting as well as limited control over the management of their relative’s daily affairs are now very real issues as recent events have highlighted.
These issues are only further illuminated by frequent reports of neglect and even abuse – an incredibly distressing prospect.
Of course; there are care homes that offer outstanding care where residents are treated with dignity and rights of equality and diversity are respected. Sadly, residential homes that offer this level of care seem to be in the minority.
Choosing to stay at home
Residential care means that someone has to leave their home including their memories, belongings, and even pets, to be cared for in a facility where their needs and choices are not always respected due to a lack of resources and staff receiving inadequate training.
Some care homes DO offer high-quality care and allow residents/visitors the freedom to come and go whereas others are more restrictive – as the recent pandemic has shown.
Choosing a live in carer, however, offers the ultimate peace of mind.
Knowing that a vulnerable loved one will receive the highest standards of bespoke, one-to-one care whilst remaining in familiar surroundings where family relationships are preserved, is becoming the natural go-to choice for many families.