Spending time with your loved one when you are back at work
After weeks or months of being off work due to coronavirus, spending more time with loved ones than you might ever have anticipated, going back to work is producing a strange mix of emotions for many people, not least those who have spent their time in lockdown caring for older or disabled loved ones. Having such an unexpected amount of time together may well have led to new discoveries about each other, precious moments of shared time and enhanced bonds between loved ones. For many employees who are returning to work, they may well find themselves missing those experiences as they commute to their workplaces and spend long hours away from home again. Keeping positive family connections when you return to work Whilst none of us would wish to return to the height of the pandemic and all of the misery and pain it caused, keeping some of the more positive aspects of the time we’ve had at home with our loved ones may be very important to many people as they return to work. Many of us have thought a lot about what our new ‘normal’ might look like, and high on your list if you’re returning to work having been a family carer may be how to make the most of the time when you’re not working. You may not wish to rush back to the shops if you’ve got used to online deliveries, and the cinema may be less appealing than planning a reminiscence movie afternoon with an older loved one whose big screen favourites from yesteryear may have become favourites of yours too during lockdown. The question you may be asking yourself, however, is: How do I make the most of my time off with my loved one when I’m back at work? Engaging a live-in carer to help you and your loved one If your loved one needs care, support and/or companionship while you are at work, you may be considering live-in home care. At Unicare, we have a passion for ensuring the highest standards of personalised care and support, provided by care workers who are well-trained and fully vetted and with services that are registered with the Care Quality Commission. Many people fear that engaging with care services will be intrusive and obstruct family time, but quite the opposite is true with Unicare live-in care worker. Our experienced care workers live-in your home and work with you to ensure that you have all of the quality time with your loved one that you both want. Our live-in care workers are there to provide the care that your loved one needs alongside doing any cooking, cleaning or other support tasks that are required, freeing you up to spend precious time with your loved one. In addition, our live-in care workers are experienced in supporting you to engage with your loved one. If you have been finding this difficult due to your loved one living with dementia or because their communication has been affected by a stroke, a Unicare live-in care worker can guide you and answer your questions. Things you could enjoy with your loved one thanks to the help of a live-in care worker All of this means you can look forward to your time off work and doing things with your loved one, supported by your live-in care worker. It may mean those movie afternoons, or you may want to try other things too, for example: Your live-in care worker could prepare a picnic for you to enjoy with your loved one. Your live-in care worker could help you to set up a hobby with your loved one, like painting, model making or other craft-type activities. Your live-in care worker could help to facilitate favourite games that you might want to play, perhaps keeping score. Whatever you choose, you can relax and enjoy your time off with your loved one, knowing that the quality time you had together during the long lockdown days doesn’t have to be over now you are back at work. If you are wondering about the level of care your loved one may need, complete our online Care Assessment Tool for a quick and convenient overview of the most appropriate Unicare service for you. Alternatively, please visit www.unicare-livein.co.uk get in touch with our team on 0208 239 6877 or email info@unicarerecruit.co.uk for further information.
Supporting Our Clients Through The COVID-19 Pandemic
As a live-in care provider, we are at the front-line of social care services supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We know how worrying the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is for our clients, their families and our live-in care workers – it is an unprecedented health crisis across the world which requires us all to take action in order to minimise our risk of catching or spreading this new disease. Through this blog, we want to inform and reassure our entire Unicare family that we are doing all we can to support you through this pandemic, with the continued safety and wellbeing of our clients at the heart of all that we do. Caring for vulnerable people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis Many people are worried about becoming unwell with coronavirus (COVID-19) and trying to access already stretched NHS services. At Unicare, we view our live-in home care services as an important way of keeping vulnerable people in at-risk groups safe. The most at-risk individuals are believed to be: Older people (over 60) People with pre-existing medical conditions Most of the people we support fit into one or more of these groups and have been advised to self-isolate by following the UK governments shielding advice . Doing this in the person’s own home, rather than going into a care home, is likely to be considerably safer. Our live in home care is enabling our clients to self-isolate with a trained live-in care worker to support all of their health and care needs, alongside other important aspects of remaining healthy and happy like good nutrition and hydration, maintaining consistent medication regimes and getting restful sleep. Health conditions that we support Our live in care workers are fully trained in supporting conditions such as: Dementia Parkinson’s Stroke Cancer Motor neurone disease Physical disabilities We know that any individual living with one of these conditions will need experienced and reassuring support more than ever at the moment. Live-in home care: The solution to the mental health and practical concerns associated with self-isolation One of the issues with long-term self-isolation is the effect it can have on a person’s mental health. Having a live-in care worker in your own home means that friendship and companionship are part of everyday life and loneliness is alleviated. Having someone to talk with over fears and concerns and who can provide reassurance and support is vital to ensure that our older and vulnerable community can self-isolate without feeling distressed by the constant news coverage. Our live-in care workers also support our clients to continue with home-based hobbies and activities (or try new ones) and keep in touch with family and friends. If the person has access to technology, we can also help to set up important services such as grocery and medication deliveries, alongside enabling the person to keep in touch with family and friends via video calls or messaging services. How can live-in care help with loneliness? Companionship– All social beings thrive off of interaction with other people and when this is taken away it can have a major effect on both physical and mental health. Live-in care provides extra companionship for those who live alone which can alleviate loneliness and its effects, for example poor mental health. Security – Many who are lonely also feel a sense of lack of security, and living alone can cause distress due to the lack of feeling safe. Services such as live-in care enables someone to restore their feeling of safety and security as live-in carer workers can ensure everything around them is secure. Flexibility– Receiving care at home gives you the flexibility to live your life how you choose to. There are no set times to get up or go to bed, you are able to set your own times for meals. How Unicare live-in carers can help you: Support with medication management Cooking, cleaning and other household chores to ensure the living space is kept clean and tidy. Care workers are key workers, enabling them to have access to dedicated shopping hours which allows them to shop in a safe way. Find out more about Unicare Live-in Care Service If you would like to access our services, please visit https://www.unicare-livein.co.uk , get in touch with our team on 0208 239 6877 or email info@unicarerecruit.co.uk. We can provide live-in care services across the whole of England and we would also encourage you to visit our testimonials page to read what our clients and their families have said about our services. Frequently asked questions: What is coronavirus (COVID-19) and what are the symptoms? The official NHS website says: “COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus.” There is currently no vaccine for coronavirus (COVID-19), although scientists are working to develop one. The most common symptoms are: Fever – a temperature above 37.8C or 100F Cough – this is most commonly a dry cough The World Health Organisation (WHO) add that other symptoms can include: “Aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhoea.” All of our live-in home care workers are well-briefed regarding these symptoms and are on constant alert for any of these signs amongst the people they support or themselves. How can you avoid catching coronavirus (COVID-19)? All of our live-in home care workers are practicing the recommended hygiene procedures and supporting our clients to do likewise. These include: Hand washing: Using soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using a hand sanitiser regularly and especially after being out, when blowing their nose, sneezing or coughing, eating or handling food. Avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throwing the tissue in a bin and washing their hands. Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces in the home. If you have any further concerns you can visit the NHS coronavirus advice page or call their helpline on 111. The NHS also have an online facility to check your symptoms fast if you have any worries.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) exposes new depths of loneliness. We at Unicare can help
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has put loneliness in the spotlight like never before. When lockdown came, suddenly the majority of the population were asked to remain at home, isolated from other households and work colleagues, leaving most of us missing human contact with our families, friends, neighbours and co-workers. Some people who had never experienced loneliness before began to report feelings of loneliness and isolation, and for those already feeling this way – particularly many older and disabled people – their plight was intensified. With more people now experiencing and talking about loneliness than ever before, it’s no wonder the Marmalade Trust have said of this year’s Loneliness Awareness Week: “Our aim is to empower everyone to understand loneliness one conversation at a time. By building on our understanding, we can help ourselves and others to manage feelings of loneliness.” Unicare and loneliness campaigning We are a long-standing champion of loneliness as a serious issue that requires greater understanding and support. We’ve worked with other organisations to help further the loneliness agenda, knowing first hand as we do the hugely negative effects of being lonely that many of us experience and that particularly impact upon the most vulnerable in society whom we support. Many people engage with us initially because their older or disabled loved ones are chronically lonely, and one of the huge advantages to live-in care is how it is able to decrease loneliness purely through the model of having a fellow human being living with a lonely person. Companionship really does make a difference For many of us prior to lockdown, companionship may have seemed like a rather unimportant aspect of life, but without it lots of people have felt utterly bereft. As human beings, most of us are naturally sociable, and as those interactions have been forced onto screens and down phonelines during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the need to be in the presence of another person and to be able to communicate face-to-face has dominated how many people have counted down the days until lockdown eased. We’ve always known the huge benefits of companionship, and as a result offer a very popular standalone companionship service, as well as reassuring our clients that companionship naturally runs through all of our other services too. It is the friendships that are formed between our clients and live-in home care workers that make us most proud to be a live-in care provider. Seeing first-hand how a person’s physical and mental wellbeing can be improved through such human interaction is an incomparable joy. Let us alleviate your loved one’s loneliness You may be considering live-in home care for many reasons: your loved one’s health has deteriorated or they have just come out of hospital, you can’t cope with family caring responsibilities any more, or you are simply too far away to support your loved one effectively and don’t want them to move into a care home due to the risks associated with this from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Alleviating loneliness might not be something that is high on your wish list, but it can make the world of difference to a vulnerable person’s health, happiness, sense of purpose, and even their will to live. Now so many of us have experienced loneliness for the first time due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it’s important to consider that if you always felt lonely and had no real prospect of feeling any different how severely this would potentially impact upon your life. Our live-in home care services provide that alleviation of loneliness, alongside all of the other support your loved one might need, from help around the home and cooking meals, through to personal care, assistance with pursuing interests and hobbies, or more intensive support relating to health conditions including: Dementia Parkinson’s Stroke Cancer Motor Neurone Disease Physical disabilities Let us change your loved one’s life for the better and help them to banish loneliness for good. Complete our online Care Assessment Tool now for a quick and convenient overview of the most appropriate Unicare service for you. Alternatively, please visit www.unicare-livein.co.uk get in touch with our team on 0208 239 6877 or email info@unicarerecruit.co.uk.