In these unprecedented times there is a lot of fear and anxiety, and this seems to be heightened amongst the elderly who are amongst the most vulnerable. So what can we do to help and support during the coronavirus crisis? Of course, offering material support is essential to ensure the…

Whether it’s hourly visiting care, live-in care or a residential care home, care can be expensive. This gives you information and signposts to know what funding is available and where you can go to apply. Social Care vs Health Care There are essentially two categories of care, and two distinct…

There are two types of live-in care agency: a managed agency and an introduction agency. Introduction agencies work by “introducing” self-employed carers to clients who need assistance at home. This is a model approved by the CQC and although it falls out of the scope of their regulations, it conforms…

Right now there are about 7 million carers in the UK, which is more than one in ten of the population. This number is rising. Three in five people in the UK will be a carer at some point in their life. Many of us are caring for an elderly…

Often we find ourselves suddenly needing care for a loved one. It can be overwhelming as there are so many things to think about and organise and we need support right away. One of the main questions we have is “how will we pay for it?”. We have a separate…

Very often people are not aware of the difference between live in care and 24 hour care. Often live in care is advertised as 24 hour care adding further confusion. Then the clients feel mis-led when they realise that no one person can work 24 hours a day without a…

As a live in carer adapts to your daily routine, the day of each carer will most likely be very different. Some clients lead very active lives and like a live in carer more as a companion to accompany them to a whirlwind of social visits, dining out and theatre…

So what exactly is dementia? It’s a word that everyone has heard of, and it’s had a lot of press coverage but there still seems to be a lot of confusion as to what it actually means. Dementia refers to the set of symptoms, such as memory loss and difficulties with…

If you had the choice between staying in your own home or living in care home what would you choose? The answer for almost all of us would be to stay in our home. Very often, circumstances in our life change and due to sickness or old age we are…

What is the cost of live in care and how does this compare to the cost of a care home? And how much does the cost vary between different live in care agencies? These are the questions people naturally ask when considering the different care options available. The cost of…

There has been a recent trend towards helping move adults with learning disabilities from cares homes into supported accommodation.  A recent Local Government Association (LGA) report stated that they can meet the needs of the adults in question while saving councils money. Cumbria, for example, reported it expects to save…

When someone with dementia is unable to take care of themselves there is the inevitable need for support. If there is nobody at home that is able to offer this support then usually the first step is for someone to come and visit on a regular basis to offer care. Very…

More than half a million people over 60 in the UK will spend this Christmas alone. More than half of all people aged 75 and over live by themselves and according to age UK two fifths of older people (about 3.9 million) say the television is their main companion. Some may…

With the recent news that almost 10% of Britain’s care home places will become unavailable within five years due to huge cutbacks, care is once again in the limelight. We are all destined to grow old at some point and when we do we’ll likely need some form of care.…

Once again elderly care has been placed in the spotlight. This week we have seen a watchdog report showing that 4 out of 10 care homes are substandard. As care homes are currently the most popular option for people who need care, this means that a huge part of our…

Once upon a time going to a care home was seen as the only option when continuing to live at home was no longer possible. The old cliché of a roomful of sleepy pensioners slumped in armchairs, goggle eyed in front of the TV or subject to bingo and group…

It takes someone special to be a carer. Most people’s caring instincts stretch to their children, family members and close friends, but it takes more to care for someone you’ve never met. In our experience, when you do begin to grow your field of compassion, you reap the rewards through generating…

We started careleaf after working for many years as live in carers for the elderly and noticing things that could be improved, both from a clients perspective (those in need of care) and the carers perspective too. Over the years we cared for a number of different clients who had…