How Home Care Contributes to Personal Independence

For many of those who are receiving care or may in the future, staying in their own home, surrounded by the items and memories that they love and hold dear is of utmost importance. Home care and support allow individuals to receive the support they require while maintaining their independence.

Independence allows everyone to feel self-fulfilled and is key to ensuring that a high-quality of life is upheld. In many cases, when independence is removed, it can lead to doubt manifesting that a person is able to care for themselves, leading to feelings of deflation and in some instances, depression.

Whether caring for the elderly, vulnerable or disabled, a need for independence is likely to be a high priority. It allows an individual to feel a sense of achievement that they are able to look after themselves in some capacity and do things for themselves.

Independence is one of the main reasons that home care is a popular choice among those who require assistance in their day-to-day lives. It allows an individual to stay in their own home, with a sense of normality that their life is able to continue as it has done so previously while providing them with the additional support that they require.

As a carer your role may be to provide support and guidance where required, and duties are likely to vary from service users that you work with, as well as on a daily basis. However, broadly speaking, a home carer is tasked with cleaning, washing, dressing, meal preparation and eating, laundry and assistance moving around the home. Duties can also include involvement in paying bills, assistance getting to and from appointments such as health care visits, help attending leisure activities, as well as general maintenance and running of the household.

Everyone is different, and what one person requires assistance with another may not, which is why a care worker works to achieve the service users desired outcomes. Whether it’s helping them to wash up, have the confidence to go for a walk or dress – whatever independence means to them, a home care worker’s goal is to help them achieve this.

Empowering someone to maintain their independence, also means that the appropriate emotional support needs to be provided so that emotional and mental well-being is upheld. This requires a care worker to form a close bond and companionship with the service user that they support on a daily basis.

As someone who feels that they are lacking the confidence to be independent due to a mental or physical illness may become irritable or experience feelings of anxiousness, a care worker is on hand to provide support and encouragement. Equally, the focus is on ‘promoting choice’, and even if a task requires assistance, this is still a job well done and a sense of achievement should still be celebrated.

Allowing a person to feel pride in their accomplishments, no matter how big or small means that when it comes to completing another activity that they have confidence that it can be achieved.

Independence also allows a sense of purpose to be established, something which adds structure and routine to a day, as an individual knows when certain tasks are to be carried out.

However, there is a balance to strike between promoting independence and ensuring that a person is safe and unable to cause injury or harm to themselves or those around them. With care workers trained in providing as much assistance as required to ensure that safety is maintained.

Personal independence isn’t just about ensuring that a person maintains a degree of their freedom and confidence that they have the ability to look after themselves, it’s also an essential component in allowing an individual to stay in their own home for as long as possible. Care workers help to make this possible and are a lifeline to those who use care and support services.

Guest Writer

Hales Care has provided person-centred care for over 20 years throughout the UK. Delivering over 33,000 hours of award-winning care each week, they offer services which include care at home, specialist care, live-in care and companionship. Placing health and happiness first, Hales Care delivers a service which promotes independence and provides service users with outstanding service no matter their requirement.