Dementia Care and Alzheimer's Care Services

How can Caremark’s dementia care help you and your family

Our aim is to give everyone living with dementia a high quality of life in surroundings they know and feel comfortable in.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have many different strains and stages and our care assistants work with the family of the person living with dementia, as well as with specialists and other care givers, to put together a tailored care plan.

Our carers go above and beyond to understand you or your loved one’s personality, history, and personal preferences. They provide support with personal care, social activities, memory impairment, shopping, cooking and meal planning, cleaning, and mobility support. Our care assistants can assist as little or as much as you need. Not only do our services enhance quality of life, but they also provide reassurance for you and your family.

What is dementia?

The NHS describes dementia as a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning. This may include problems ranging from memory loss to difficulties carrying out daily activities.

To read more about dementia, visit our Dementia Care Guide.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The NHS states that it is a progressive condition, which means the symptoms develop gradually over many years and eventually become more severe, affecting multiple brain functions.

To read more about Alzheimer’s disease, visit our Dementia Care Guide.

Dementia care at home

According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, 60% of people receiving home care services are living with dementia. Dementia care at home has many advantages over residential care and it allows the person living with dementia to stay in familiar surroundings alongside their loved ones for as long as possible.

Our highly personalised managed service helps people to live well at home. We provide flexible support that is adapted to suit you or your loved one’s changing needs, be that 24-hour live-in care, day care at home, or a short-term respite service.

Staying at home helps people living with dementia to retain their independence. Changes in routine and environment have been shown to have a detrimental effect, while being looked after at home, in safe, comfortable surroundings provides enormous reassurance, which can help stabilise and slow the progression of many of the disease’s common symptoms.

To read more about our live-in care services, visit our Live-in Care guide, and to find out more about our respite services, visit our Respite Care guide.

The pros and cons of home care versus residential care

Deciding whether or not home care or residential care is right for you or your loved one involves so many factors and is never an easy decision to make. Not only should it take into consideration you or your family member’s needs, but it should also look at the other people playing an important role in the decision making. Here we consider a few of the pros and cons of home care services.

Pros of home care services

Home comforts: allowing you or your loved one to stay in familiar surroundings.
Stability: offering the reassurance that you or your family member can stay in touch with friends and the community.
Peace of mind: the reassurance that comes with high-quality home care, provided by highly qualified carers.
Flexibility: as much or as little help as is needed that can be adapted to changing circumstances.
Cost: depending on the care needed, home care may be cheaper than residential care
Pets: if you or your loved one has any pets, they can stay in the home too.

Cons of home care services

Regional limitations: your choice of care service may be limited to what’s available in the local area.
Carers aren't in the home 24/7: unless you or your family member has a live-in carer this might be a problem. You’ll need to think about the support network and how much extra support might be needed.

Caring for someone with dementia

Caring for someone living with dementia can be challenging and may mean it becomes all too easy to overlook your own needs. We’ve put together a few tips to help you get the support and advice you need as a carer.

1. Arrange a carer's assessment

A carer’s assessment is designed to see what might help make your life easier. You might be recommended things like:

someone to take over caring to give you a break
training in how to lift safely
help with housework and shopping
extra financial assistance - for which you will usually be means tested

2. Seek outside support

Feelings of guilt, sadness, anger, confusion and isolation are very common when you’re looking after a friend or relative with dementia. It’s important to acknowledge these feelings and share them with others. Your GP or a support service like Dementia UK will be able to let you know about carer groups, online groups, day centres, and other ways in which you can get support and advice. Informal memory or dementia cafes are great places for both of you to get information and advice and to socialise with others in the same position. You should be able to find one in your local area via The Alzheimer’s Society.

3. What about driving?

If your friend or loved one has a diagnosis of dementia they are legally required to tell the DVLA. It doesn’t necessarily mean they need to stop driving right away - the important thing is that they can drive safely.

4. Where can I find more information?

We’ve put together a guide to our dementia care services. Click here to read it. We also have a guide to planning ahead if you or a family member has dementia, which can be read here.

Age UK also offers a practical Lifebook guide, which can be downloaded and referred to for advice on caring for someone with dementia.

Caremark's dementia care commitment

We are committed to improving the lives of those with dementia. We pride ourselves on providing high-quality personalised dementia home care across the country.

Award-winning training

A survey made in 2016 by The Alzheimer’s Society found that 400,000 people with dementia were receiving care at home, but only two in three home care workers had received adequate dementia training. We are dedicated to ensuring our care assistants receive the very best in-depth training and we have allocated over 2,400 dementia care courses over the last two years.

Our specialist dementia carers have been fully trained through our award-winning training programme and use a range of approaches and techniques to reduce anxiety, provide reassurance and calm behaviours, reducing feelings of confusion and anxiety, as well as helping with everyday life, including personal care, mobility, eating and drinking, and assisting with medication.

Problem solving

Our care assistants present decisions to their clients in a way that is sympathetic to their condition. They are trained never to overwhelm anyone with choices.

Diet and exercise

Our carers all undergo training in nutrition and hydration and will work hard to ensure the person with dementia is eating healthily and taking appropriate exercise. A common symptom of dementia is a change in tastes or a loss of appetite, but a healthy diet and suitable exercise has been shown to have a positive effect on dementia symptoms.

Communication and language difficulties

Finding the right words or understanding questions asked can be frustrating for those with dementia. Our training helps our care assistants to know how best to communicate and help their clients feel at ease, even if conversing and being understood is challenging for them.

You can read more about our training here.

Peace of mind

To ensure our care is of the highest quality we regularly work with medical experts, academic bodies and charities to enhance and improve our training and make sure we have the most up-to-date understanding of dementia and its many nuances.

We always strive for the highest standard of care in supporting people with dementia to live independently at home. Our carers have all undertaken intensive training and assessment and we are accredited by the Care Quality Commission - giving the peace of mind of a regulated, licensed service.

What are the costs of dementia home care with Caremark?

The cost of home care can be the same or cheaper than residential care depending on your or your loved one’s circumstances.

Help and financial support for dementia care

There are several ways in which the services that you receive from us may be paid for. We would be happy to discuss your circumstances so that we can advise you on the availability of Local Authority or NHS funding and the best method of paying for care.

How much you or your family member pays for home care services depends on factors like income and savings. If you or your loved one are having trouble with everyday tasks, ask your local council for a care needs assessment. This may result in you being able to obtain financial or emotional and practical support to help your situation. It's possible that you or your family member may not need to pay anything.

If, after this, it is agreed that you or your loved one is eligible for care at home, you may need a means test, which takes into account income and savings. If you are eligible for financial support to pay for home care, your local council can arrange these services or you or your loved one can choose to receive direct payments and arrange home care privately.

Self-funding dementia care

If you or your family member are paying fees directly (called self-funding), then you will arrange and pay for your own care, but your local council can provide advice to support you. Our charges are based on an hourly rate that varies depending on the times at which our services are provided.

You may qualify for funding and it's possible that you or your family member may not need to pay anything at all. Visit our Guide to Financing section for further information or get in touch with the team at your local office by filling out this form to receive a personalised quote.

You might also wish to download Age UK's helpful guide to paying for home care.

Testimonials

Hear from some of the people our dementia home care services have helped:

"I feel so reassured knowing my mum has a Caremark care assistant going in each day to help her with everyday tasks. The fact that they are so friendly and kind is a wonderful added bonus.”

Sarah, from London.

“My dad was really struggling and we were thinking seriously about a residential home, but thankfully we found out about Caremark and he's now being looked after at home. It's such a weight off my mind.”

Richard, from Ipswich.

“I kept forgetting the silliest things and was getting in a muddle with things I used to be able to do so easily. I felt guilty bothering my daughters, who are so busy and have their own lives to lead. Now I have my carer Sue, so I can relax a bit. She's just brilliant at knowing when and how to help. I really don't know what I'd do without her."

Maud, 91, from Evesham.

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Dementia and Alzheimer’s care at home

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