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Care Guide
How to properly approach caring for relatives
How to properly
approach caring
for relatives
As people age, their parents or other relatives need increasing support – and almost always eventually, care. Often, this support comes from close family members. Those needing care and their families want to avoid nursing home placement. However, this step should be carefully considered. Anyone who decides to care for a relative should seek supplementary professional support from the outset. Here you will learn what you should consider – and how to finance support services for home care.
Caring for relatives: What you should know
Caring for relatives:
What you should know
When close relatives need support in their daily lives as they age, the question inevitably arises: Who can actually provide this care? Often, children, grandchildren, or even neighbors decide to take on the responsibility. This is frequently driven by the desire to enable the person in need of care to live in the familiar surroundings of their own home – with close contact to family and friends.
However, providing care at home is a demanding task that requires energy and is always a burden for caregivers. Family members should only consider taking on this role if certain conditions are met. With good organization and professional support, caregivers can manage the workload and may even enjoy some carefree time with the person they are caring for.
What does caring for relatives entail?
What does caring
for relatives entail?
Caring for relatives varies from case to case. This applies to both the scope and the nature of the tasks and depends largely on individual circumstances and the level of care required. For most people, the need for care and support increases over time.
Home care often begins with occasional support with everyday tasks, such as shopping. As the need for care increases, further tasks may be added, such as help with household chores or with getting up and dressed.
Essentially, home care for relatives comprises two areas of responsibility:
- Daily care and household help
- Support and care, the so-called basic care
For senior care and household help
Priority tasks include:
For senior care
and household help
Priority tasks include:
- to make the laundry
- Keeping the house or apartment clean and tidy
- Preparing food
- Help with shopping and accompaniment to appointments
- Leisure activities
- Meaningful employment opportunities
- Reading aloud and memory activation
Basic care encompasses all tasks to support
those in need of care to provide for oneself:
Basic care
encompasses all tasks
to support those in
need of care to
provide for oneself:
- Assistance with eating and drinking
- Washing, showering, bathing, brushing teeth
- Help with dressing and undressing
- Assistance with getting up, including transfers, repositioning or repositioning if needed.
- Hair, beard, nail or skin care
- Assistance with toileting, hygiene and, if needed, incontinence care
Another task involved in caring for relatives is scheduling appointments – often including accompanying them to the respective appointment:
- Doctor’s appointments
- Hairdresser appointments
- Bank visits
- Official procedures
- Therapies
Organization of care and social services
- Applying for and organizing assistive devices
- Organizational matters relating to care, such as dealing with health insurance companies, long-term care insurance providers, therapists, doctors, hospitals, medical supply stores, and pharmacies.
- Administrative tasks related to house and apartment, such as paying bills, transferring rent, handling daily mail, paying taxes and fees, and organizing and coordinating tradespeople when needed.
A NOTICE:
Medical treatment care is another area. Only specially trained nursing staff are permitted to provide this type of care. This includes, for example, changing dressings and administering injections. Medical treatment care requires a doctor’s prescription.
Who qualifies as a family caregiver?
Who qualifies as
a family caregiver?
Even though it may seem obvious at first glance, the question of who qualifies as a family caregiver is quite relevant. It becomes important at the latest when it comes to benefit claims, for example, from long-term care insurance. According to the law, the following are considered family caregivers:
- Parents
- Children
- grandson
- Siblings
- Uncles and aunts
Furthermore, under certain conditions, other individuals who are not related to the person requiring care are also considered family caregivers. This can be the case, for example, with friends or neighbors who feel obligated to provide care.
More important than the relationship between caregivers and those needing care are the type and extent of care provided:
- Care must be provided in the home environment for at least 10 hours per week.
- The person in need of care has care level 2 or higher.
- The care is provided on a non-commercial basis, meaning it is not paid for.
What are the requirements for the
Is the need for care of relatives fulfilled?
What are the
requirements for the
Is the need for care
of relatives fulfilled?
Anyone wishing to care for relatives should carefully check beforehand whether all the necessary conditions are met or can be met. What exactly are these conditions? Essentially, they are these two criteria:
- The family caregivers are physically and mentally capable of providing care permanently or over a longer period of time.
- The house or apartment of the person in need of care or the caregiver must be suitable for home care.
If the person requiring care is to be cared for in their own apartment or house, the home environment must be suitable for this. Ideally, it should be barrier-free and adapted to the needs of the elderly. Modifications to the apartment or house may be necessary to ensure that care can be provided in the long term.
If providing care for a relative in their own home is not possible, family caregivers have the option of providing care in their own home. However, this means that another person moves in. Therefore, the home must be large enough. If necessary, the home may also need to be adapted to the needs of the person requiring care.
More crucial than the practical requirements is the first point: Are the family caregivers physically and mentally capable of providing care on a long-term basis? Many family members overlook the fact that the need for and demands of care typically increase over time. This frequently leads to family caregivers becoming overwhelmed – sometimes even to the point of burnout.
Professional support from the start
Professional support
from the start
As a caregiver, you should take care of your health and well-being. Schedule time for yourself from the very beginning. Make sure your own needs aren’t neglected despite the additional burdens. Time must still be set aside for your family, friends, and hobbies.
To have enough time for their own needs, family caregivers should ideally seek support from professional care services right from the start. Even hourly support can provide enormous relief – even if this additional help doesn’t seem necessary at first. Those who involve a care service from the beginning can quickly access further services if needed.
What support services are available?
And which ones are suitable for whom?
What support services
are available?
And which ones are
suitable for whom?
There are various types of support available to relieve the burden on family members providing care at home. These support services are often precisely defined by law. The following services are frequently included in professional programs:
- Senior care + dementia care
- Everyday help + household help
- Basic care
- Day care
- Short-term care
- Respite care
Senior care and dementia care
Senior care and
dementia care
Senior care encompasses various services for the care of seniors in their home environment. This primarily involves light support, assistance with household tasks, and social interaction. Examples include:
- Help with household tasks such as cooking, washing, cleaning, and tidying up
- Shopping assistance and accompaniment to doctor’s appointments or visits to government offices
- Conversations, reading aloud, meaningful activities, and joint ventures
With appropriate experience, caregivers can take over the care of seniors in need of care and seniors with dementia.
Everyday help and household help
household help
household help
Here, the focus is on household assistance. This form of support greatly relieves the burden on family caregivers, allowing them to dedicate themselves to other tasks. In particular, household help often enables those requiring care and seniors with low care needs to continue living independently at home.
Basic care
Basic care supports elderly people in caring for themselves. This includes personal hygiene, mobility, and nutrition. If the mobility of those requiring care is limited, basic care can be physically demanding. Professional support in this area can significantly relieve the burden on someone caring for a relative.
Day care
In day care settings, for example, a professional care service takes over care on a daily basis. Family members requiring care receive the necessary support and assistance at home. This allows family caregivers to take breaks for their own needs and concerns. For those receiving care, day care often offers a welcome change of pace and additional social interaction.
Short-term care
Short-term care may be necessary after a hospital stay or illness. Once the person requiring care has regained their independence, the care ends. Without professional support, the additional and demanding tasks could quickly overwhelm family members.
Respite care
If the family caregiver is unable to provide care, respite care can step in. It doesn’t matter whether the caregiver is ill or simply needs a break and wants to take a vacation. Respite care is an important component in providing targeted relief for family caregivers.
What financial entitlements can be claimed
when caring for relatives?
What financial
entitlements can be
claimed when
caring for relatives?
Anyone who demonstrably requires care is entitled to benefits from long-term care insurance. Proof of need is demonstrated by classification into a care level from 1 to 5 (PG 1 to PG 5). Until 2017, the system was called care grades. Care level 1 indicates a low level of care need, while care level 5 indicates the highest level.
Depending on the care levels and the increasing need for care, those requiring care are entitled to various benefits to varying degrees:
| Type of service | PG 1 | PG 2 | PG 3 | PG 4 | PG 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Care allowance (per month) | – | €316 | €545 | €728 | €901 |
| Care benefits in kind (per month) | – | €724 | €1,363 | €1,693 | €2,095 |
| Day and night care (per month) | – | €689 | €1,298 | €1,612 | €1,995 |
| Short-term care (per year) | – | €1,774 | €1,774 | €1,774 | €1,774 |
| Respite care (per year) | – | €1,612 | €1,612 | €1,612 | €1,612 |
| Full inpatient care (per month) | – | €770 | €1,262 | €1,775 | €2,005 |
| Care and support services (per month) | 125 € | 125 € | 125 € | 125 € | 125 € |
| Consumable care supplies (per month) | 40 € | 40 € | 40 € | 40 € | 40 € |
| Home emergency call system (per month) | 23 € | 23 € | 23 € | 23 € | 23 € |
| Home modification (per total measure) | €4,000 | €4,000 | €4,000 | €4,000 | €4,000 |
| Subsidy for shared living arrangement (per month) | €214 | €214 | €214 | €214 | €214 |
Caring for relatives - Conclusion
Caring for relatives
Conclusion
Caring for relatives allows those in need of care and seniors to live in their familiar surroundings and in close contact with their families. However, as a caregiver, you should carefully consider the decision to care for a relative beforehand – because caregiving is associated with additional burdens. To keep these to a minimum, you should
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MENU
USEFUL LINKS
CONTACT
-
Sernitas GmbH
BioMedizinZentrum Bochum
Universitätsstraße 136
44799 Bochum - +49 234 367 10 050
- +49 234 966 45 602
- info@sernitas-care.com
OUR OFFICE HOURS
