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ENA Care Group
Suite 2 Wentworth Lodge
Great North Road
Welwyn Garden City
Herts AL8 7SR

The benefits of arranging live-in care before a hospital discharge

Jun 21, 2021

Whether you or your loved one have been in hospital for a planned procedure or as a result of an injury or illness, the news that it’s time to go home is usually very welcome, albeit perhaps tempered with concerns about coping at home.

ENA live-in care is the ideal option to help alleviate any concerns you or your family have, and make hospital discharge as seamless and successful as possible. Our live-in carers are fully trained to provide any care that you or your relative needs, as well as supporting you or your loved one to regain skills or independence that may have been lost in hospital. Best of all, our live-in care can be arranged at short notice, making it the ideal choice to get you or your relative home quickly and safely.

What types of home-from-hospital care do ENA provide?

All of our care is personalised to each individual, with specialist support for conditions including dementia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy and spinal injury. We can also provide end-of-life care if you or your loved one is on a palliative care pathway and wishes to return home.

Our care ranges from companion care, if you or your relative would like company and light support at home when leaving hospital, through to complex care if you or your loved one’s discharge is dependent on needs such as ventilator support, PEG care or tracheostomy care. Our live-in carers are adept at supporting a person who needs to follow a rehabilitation programme – perhaps because of a spinal injury or a stroke – and in helping a person to regain independent living skills – for example with meal preparation and laundry – following a stay in hospital.

Many older people often struggle to eat enough whilst in hospital or remain continent. Alongside this, a person may lose muscle mass during a long period in hospital which can result in mobility problems. Indeed, in our blog ‘Reducing the risk of falls in the home’, we reported a statistic from NHS England that:

“Many older people, particularly those who are frail and may have dementia, actually deteriorate while in hospital – a stay of more than 10 days leads to 10 years’ muscle ageing for people most at risk.”

With one-to-one in-home support from a live-in carer, we aim to enable our clients who’ve experienced these issues whilst in hospital to achieve a healthy weight, use the toilet to the best of their ability and recover as much strength and fitness as they are able to.

Care after being in hospital with COVID-19

We can support you or your relative following hospital treatment for coronavirus. When you or your loved one is ready to be discharged and have tested negative for COVID-19, we can arrange live-in care that will provide the support needed to get home safely and continue with post-COVID recovery.

Our live-in carers are able to provide any support that is needed around the home if you or your loved one are experiencing long-COVID symptoms – like fatigue – and unable to do the usual domestic tasks. This includes help with cooking, housework and looking after pets, alongside providing any care that you or your relative may need from a personal or medical perspective.

How long does live-in home-from-hospital care last?

Our care and support fits around yours or your loved one’s needs, whether you are looking for a short-term, 2-4 week package of live-in care to help you or your relative settle back at home after being in hospital, or for more long-term support because you or your loved one would prefer to live at home rather than going into a residential home or a care home.

If you are unsure about whether live-in care is the right option for you or your relative, our live-in care trial is the ideal solution. It provides 2-4 weeks with a live-in carer in yours or your loved one’s home before deciding if you or your relative would like to continue with live-in care.

Can live-in care help to prevent re-admission to hospital?

Having professional support at home is one of the best ways to ensure you or your loved one will be able to cope once discharged from hospital. Our live-in carers can make sure a medication regime is adhered to, that any signs of infection or complications from an operation, procedure or illness are promptly addressed, and that the risk of falls is minimised.

Our live-in carers can help to support nutrition and hydration and an exercise programme to help you or your relative to get stronger day-by-day. We can also help with arranging and attending any follow-up appointments that may be needed as an outpatient.

For a person who may have become confused or distressed by moving to and from hospital, a live-in carer can also be invaluable to help the person to settle back at home happily.

Reassurance for family members when a relative leaves hospital

With an ageing population and families geographically spread out around the UK and the wider-world, it is often a huge worry if an elderly parent or grandparent needs to be discharged from hospital. Arranging ENA live-in care for your elderly relative before they leave hospital will mean that they have a fully-trained and vetted professional to support them in their own environment, helping them to keep safe and well and ensuring they aren’t alone.

Our live-in carers can, with consent, provide regular feedback on how your elderly relative is, and ensure you are notified of any changes. We believe in working closely with family members (if our clients wish for this to happen) to help everyone remain connected and enable our live-in carers to get to know your loved one better.

Find out more about how ENA Care Group could support you or your family by calling 0800 4334 413 or emailing care@ena.co.uk.