Live in Carers

[Jasper2]

You may have seen my previous postings well I have arranged for my 85 year old Aunt to come home to her cat and live in carer...it did not work at the above average Care Home. She would not settle and was crying a lot and was not at all interested in partaking in any activities.
So now have secured a mature live in carer and another nurse pops in for 2 hrs to cover their break in daytime. This also means that now ( as only living relative) I do not feel obliged to visit everyday.
Thankfully the carer have cars but trying to get my Aunt to leave her baby (the cat!) alone is going to be difficult.
The first carer departed yesterday said she had enough but I think cat peeing on my Aunts bedding didn't help and I think she had her own family problems to deal with after a recent divorce. Finding the right match is part of the game.
So we go on with my aunts care saga and I'm hoping the carer does not send me whatapps every half hour.
Any hints or thoughts on managing with live in carers would help.

 

[Violet Jane]

We engaged a live-in carer for an elderly friend who has now died. It's not a matter of paying her and just leaving her to get on with it. You have to remain closely involved as she will come to you with any problems and expect you to sort them out promptly. You have to forge a constructive relationship and not nit-pick over things that you personally would do differently.

Our friend's first live-in carer left after a month. Live-in care worked well for about a year but then we had to engage a waking night carer on top. A few months later we had to move to 24-hour care (horrendously expensive) as nobody would stay. It's actually quite difficult to find carers to do long term placements. Many want to work, say, two weeks on, two weeks off or do short placements only. Live-in carers won't put up with difficult behaviours. They can find someone easier to work for.

Do you employ/engage the carer directly or is she employed by an agency? Is there a detailed written care plan?

Live-in care is not an easy or cheap option and I don't think that it works as well for people with dementia as it does with people who have other health conditions.

Feel free to ask me any specific questions that you have.