Working In Elderly Care – Did You Know You Can Live-In?

Discover the opportunities for living in as a carer including additional financial and emotional rewards, plus details of an extremely varied job role.

Working with the elderly is a job many people aspire to have because it is so rewarding. We are all destined to become older and infirm eventually, and for many people, being cared for by family just isn’t an option. When you need care, the most obvious and well known option to take is to move into a care home. This could be a care home with residential care, or a care home that is a nursing home which also offers nursing assistance as well. Working in that kind of environment in care home jobs does have rewards. You can enjoy providing care for the elderly, you can make sure they have all their physical needs met.

If you work in care, you may not realise that there is a much more rewarding type of care position, and that is live-in care or homecare services.

Live-in care works a bit like a personal assistant job, only it is mixed in with carer jobs as well. So a live-in carer could complete the following tasks:

    • Cooking whenever a client requests it, even late in the evening when a cheeky bacon sandwich and a movie is called for
    • Picking up prescriptions
    • Taking the client to hobby events like knitting clubs
  • Accompanying the client on holiday
  • Helping the client with personal tasks like cleaning and getting dressed
  • Administering medicine
  • Going for walks with the client
  • Taking the client’s pets to the vets
  • Caring for the client’s pets
  • Cleaning the property

The job of a live-in carer is unique to each job, so the clients needs are always at the heart of the job. In all situations what is expected of a carer is discussed at the very beginning so that both the client and the carer know what to expect.

Living In A Job Has Extra Rewards

Living in as a carer brings many extra rewards that make it a very desirable and attractive job prospect. One key reward is the fact that you can save a lot of money on your own home utilities, food and transport because you’re not home very much. You also make more money than you would in care home jobs because you work more hours and the job tends to be a higher hourly pay because it is more labour intensive and specialist. In terms of the job, you have a much higher job satisfaction because you get to spend a lot of time doing jobs you may have had to rush in a care home position. Plus, there are many extra jobs on top like helping with pets, driving to appointments and even sitting and watching TV with your client that make it a more varied position. Additionally, you get to make a strong connection with your client because you’re working with them and living with them at the same time.

Now you know that as a carer you have the option of living in, it might be a good time to consider a career step towards this incredibly rewarding side of care. With financial benefits, lots of variation in the job and a chance to make a strong bond with your client, homecare services could well be the type of care job you always dreamed of.