Home care vs. care home – which is the best solution right now?

Whether you require care for yourself or a loved one, the question right now as we enter the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is ‘which care solution offers the safest option?’.

The problems in care homes are well documented. In the early days, many struggled to obtain PPE or couldn’t obtain tests for staff or residents. Others found themselves having to deal with coronavirus-related deaths after taking in patients from hospital with the virus. It’s estimated around 10,000 care home residents in the UK died during the first wave of Covid-19.

Even now, many homes are struggling to bring their death rate from the virus under control. Once it’s in a care home, it can spread very quickly, despite improved infection control measures. Read our guidance for infection control Covid-19 Infection Control at Home

At the same time, the NHS are keen to ensure their beds are not taken up with elderly patients who can be cared for elsewhere, particularly as the number of Covid admissions is on the rise, and some hospitals are already seeing more Covid patients than they did in the first wave.

Our London-based home carers offer a better alternative

Expert care at home provided by SweetTree reduces costs, reduces risks of the pandemic, and enables someone to recover in the best environment possible, their home. Our team are highly trained in infection control measures. You can read our Covid-19 FAQs here.

Live-in care through the pandemic has proved to provide safety, companionship throughout lockdown and restrictions, and comfort to families and friends that could not visit and provide support that perhaps they ordinarily provided.

We also provide a Covid-19 rehabilitation service to support people while they recover from the effects of ‘Long Covid’, which can be extremely debilitating and leave people struggling to cope.

New fund to provide social care

When Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the £588 million fund to provide people to offer additional social care he stated ‘We know that for the majority of people the road to recovery can be quicker when they receive care and support in the comfort of their own home’.

This can only be achieved with a responsive service that can meet the demands of the community and prevent readmission, plus continually assess and report progress to those providing treatment to ensure the former patient can return to their normal lives as quickly as possible with the compassionate care that they need.

If you are interested in finding out more about our home care, live-in care and dementia care services, please contact SweetTree.