Care for Older People
We fully understand how difficult it is when the decision has to be made with an older person about their future care provision. We are here to help you find your way through the process and to discuss possible care and funding options which may be available.
With the correct professional help and support an older person can live independently at home, avoiding the need for residential care. NCCN works to maintain and improve independence of older people, involving them and their families every step of the way. Our care workers are there to help rehabilitation following a stay in hospital or, for example a fall, prevent further deterioration in general health and well-being and to encourage independence overall. We do this by giving choice, finding easier ways of doing everyday tasks, and where appropriate recommending assistive technology. Where possible we will support people to maintain community and social contacts which are so important for self esteem and keeping interests alive.
Our assessment team which is led by qualified nurses will visit and talk you through all aspects of the service and the way we work as an organisation. Because NCCN heads up all services using qualified nurses and managers we are able to provide a full range of services and we specialise in more complex conditions including dementia, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, motor neurone disease (including respiratory ventilation), holistic end of life care, support where there are problems with mobility needing advanced moving and handling techniques, diabetes, stroke care including help with physiotherapy exercises, In fact, anything and everything you will need.
To give an idea of the ways we can help:
- Support at difficult times of day, in the morning to get up and start the day including bathing or showering, breakfast etc. Lunch and tea times to make sure that nutritious meals are available, and help to go to bed at night. These visits can include help with medication – administration or prompting. Support with toileting and mobility – maintaining movement is so important to keep skin healthy, prevent stiffness and help with circulation.
- At the end of life, we believe this to be one of the most important aspects of our work. Rachael and Tracey work closely with GP’s, District Nurses, Macmillan Nurses and of course the family to provide holistic support. They provide training and support for care workers focusing not only on the physical aspects of care but also emotional support for the family at this difficult time. Support can be as flexible as needed including nights to give family members a rest knowing that they will be called if necessary.
- Dementia Care – most people living with dementia would prefer to continue to live in their own home keeping their contact with family, friends and the community they know. Caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s, or any form of dementia, can be confusing, frustrating and tiring. You may feel lost and wonder where to turn for help. Our experienced assessment team will visit to find out what your needs are, to explain how we can help and what other support is available for you. We could provide very flexible support which can be different each week to fit around family commitments. Or, regular visits at difficult times of the day with longer periods of support to enable outings or other activities. If a fully flexible care pattern would suit you the best an Individual Support Fund, managed by NCCN would allow that click here to see our funding page.
- Short breaks for family carers. Maybe a relative who provides support for someone who has dementia or other long term condition needs time to themselves, we can plan visits so that this can happen. Three or four hour sessions can be arranged using the same care worker every week who, information gathered during the assessment, will be used so that we can offer activities to give a change of scene and perhaps rekindle old interests. These visits can be arranged flexibly to suit the needs of the family carer. We can also provide longer cover for when family members are on holiday, ranging from daily or twice daily telephone contact through to full 24 hour support.
- Support at night, To give peace of mind we can arrange for a care worker to sleep in the spare bedroom to be around if necessary during the night to help to the toilet, make a drink or to just give the person a feeling of security knowing that there is someone around if necessary a listening alarm is recommended to rouse the care worker if necessary. Or, the care worker will stay awake throughout the night if there are more complex care tasks needed. These service are particularly useful for people coming towards the end of their life and we often supplement the support provided by Marie Curie nurses.
- Accompanying on Hospital and other visits/appointments, a visit to hospital can be very daunting and sometimes difficult for a family member to be around to help. We can provide transport and accompany the person in to see the doctor, mobility around the hospital etc. Research shows that at best a patient only remembers 30% of what they are told by a doctor, we can help to achieve a much higher rate of understanding.
Help and support is only a phone call away, we provide a 24 hour support service with access to qualified nurses and managers should you need it.
This information is just to give a flavour of the services we can provide, please contact us using our contacts page by clicking here, or ring us to talk through your needs and to arrange an assessment visit.
