It’s not the nicest question to ask yourself, yet it’s one that will need to be asked at some point. As your parents get older, they become less and less capable of looking after themselves. In the beginning, there are no problems as you can pop over and help them whenever you can. However, there could come a point where you’re unable to care for them as much as they need, meaning you have to debate sending them to a care home or not.
First things first, there is nothing wrong with a care home. There are plenty of lovely facilities out there with wonderful staff members that do excellent jobs. You shouldn’t feel guilty about moving your parents to one of these homes, particularly if it is your only choice.
How do you make this decision? Well, we can boil it down to two main questions:
- How much will it cost?
- Are there any other options?
How much will it cost?
The cost of care home services will vary depending on the provider and where in the country you are. So, you need to do some research and consider what it will cost for you to send them there. If you have siblings, you also need to figure out how this affects all of you financially. What can each of you contribute? You may want to split the bill evenly but take into consideration what each of you makes. If you can financially afford to send your parents to a care home, it could be the right decision, based on your answer to the second question.
Are there any other options?
Yes, there are some alternatives in some situations. Instead of moving them to a care home, you could move a specialist carer in with them. To do this, you need to find a live-in care agency that provides carers who will live with your parents and be with them 24/7. They get the same level of care as in a care home, but with the benefit of staying in their own house.
Also, if your parents don’t need constant care and attention, perhaps a care home doesn’t make sense? Instead, you could just use a care services agency that sends carers to them at different points in the day. Perhaps they have someone in the morning to help them get out of bed, someone at lunch to make food, and someone again in the evening for dinner and to go to bed. They don’t live with your parents, but they do come over whenever required.
Realistically, your first port of call is deciding if the services provided by a care home are necessary for your parents or not. If they are, you should weigh up the costs of a care home with the costs of the alternative; live-in care. From here, depending on which one is more affordable, you can make your decision and find a solution that appeals to everyone. This could mean your parents are moved to a care home, or it might mean they are not.