Elderly Help
To register for ‘Elderly Help’ you can enjoy the benefits of our ‘Premium Platinum Matching Service’. Simply click the register button below and then select the option at the bottom of the list ‘Platinum Nanny and Elderly Help – Almondbury Matching Service’.
Many of our au pairs are happy to offer assistance, companionship, informal care and help for elderly people.
This is an affordable alternative to the expensive and soaring cost of the elderly care system.
Our helpers are on the whole not medically qualified and are mainly live in.
This service is best suited for people who have less acute needs and do not require specialist care and would rather remain in their own home than taking up permanent residence in a residential or nursing home.
Our helpers are happy to undertake:
- Light housework: hoovering, cleaning, washing & ironing, internal window cleaning, other jobs like gardening would have to be pre-arranged.
- Food shopping.
- Mobility assistance in and out of the home.
- Companionship, this is included in working hours.
- And another person to call the services in case of an emergency.
We recommend pocket money at a minimum of £5.00 an hour (or the equivalent in your currency) for a live in helper. If you have any question please contact us or use the contact form on this website.
Please note that we do not provide resident nursing care.
As featured in the Daily Mail…
The person who came in to see my old mum provided by the council was not allowed to do a bit of cleaning,she was able to do some shopping which mum did not need,useless really and expensive,that was 20 years ago,so there has been problems with getting old here for a long time.au pairs sound a better idea…
We did this when caring for my ailing grandmother-in-law. She didn’t need specialized care but she did need someone available 24 hours a day. We hired a “granny nanny” to live with us. It was a perfect solution. Between the two of us, Grandma received the attention and support she needed and my young daughters got to know their great-grandmother in a way they never would have otherwise. Although many consider it an inconvenience, it should be a blessing to be able to care of our families at home. We can provide a personalized and loving environment that will never be found in a “care” home.
I can’t see that it matters whether the au pairs have medical training or not – if the elderly people they were looking after had severe medical problems then they wouldn’t be at home they’d be in care. Having au pairs on hand to look after an elderly person seems a good idea, company, and there to help if the elderly person falls or needs assistance. Anything has to be better then being put into a rest home to be treated like a cog in the mechanism. Staying at home where you are happy is much better.
Compared to the outrageous costs of ‘care’ homes – where residents are forced to pay in the region of £600 and upwards a week for indifferent ‘care’ and are often mistreated, lonely and neglected. An Au Pair type of person, caring for the elderly person in their own home seems by far the better solution. If elderly people need medical care, they will be in hospital – free – and possibly get the care they need. This solution is for those who simply need a bit of an eye keeping on them, companionship and a hand with looking after themselves. A far better way of dealing with the problem of elderly care if families are unable to provide it themselves – or as an extra pair of hands if the elderly person is in the family home It also provides jobs – and takes the profits away from large impersonal ‘care’ providers. A win win situation for all concerned I’d have
I used to work in a nursing home whilst studying, and I’ll tell you what….Although some carers try there absolute best, from what I experienced I would NEVER EVER put my parent or grandparent into a nursing/care home! All those who think ‘yeah, I have private care sorted I’ll be alright’…think again…no matter how much you pay the level of ‘care’ is still the same as the staff are still paid and treated the same…minimal pay and care. If I have to give up work to care or put an extension on my house and get occasional home help, then so be it, but I’ll be damned if I put a relative into a home. Care homes are a disgusting creation and I welcome this idea of au pairs for the elderly. The only time I agree is if there’s a nursing need, and even then, there are community nurses.
Brilliant in its simplicity. Families no longer live in homes large enough to accommodate an elderly relative on the ground floor. I’d be more than happy with this type of arrangement. Private carers dropping in for a few minutes with no empathy for the client is not a preferable option for me. Live-in companions have been around for generations, I don’t understand the sudden criticism, unless it’s coming from care agencies who are losing revenue.
It’s an excellent idea. We have an au pair and she is truly part of the family. She isn’t paid very much (£90 per week for 30 hours of babysitting and housework), but from her point of view she has a far better standard of living than if she had a minimum wage job and was living in a shared flat or house and paying bills. If my Mum was old and infirm I would trust our au pair far more than a care assistant who we would know little about. Medical training is neither here nor there. What is needed (as for childcare) is common sense, a warm personality and good character.
Many elderly do need some one just to keep an eye on them, family carers have no training so where is the problem. The number of care jobs that say experience is not needed and training will be given makes it pretty clear that a lot of the staff will have little or no training in care homes and even in hospitals. Just having someone around allows others to work…
What is this modern idea that someone else will care for your elderly parents? The article mentions Greece as being a place for au pairs but normal Greeks care for their parents by having them live wit them. Another DM snide comment about Greece I think.
As a Registered Childminder, this sounds like an excellent idea. If the Government Registered the Practice, and offered Tax Breaks to help with cost, as well as Training in line with the needs of Vulnerable Adults and Government Guidlines; then there’s no reason why we couldn’t have Quality Homebased Care for Adults as we do now for Children.
I am 90 years old. I have had Au pairs living in and looking after me for 5 years. Turkish, Polish and Hungarian and most of them are still dear friends now. The secret is to treat them as a family member from the start. Pay for them to have professional English lessons and look upon them as adopted daughters. Six months is the usual contract time but we celebrate my present carer’s stay of 12 months this month. Do not expect or ask for medical care. Take them on visits that you are making. Try not to be too rigid with time off and money arrangements. Treat them fairly and as friends and they will respond. They are not servants, are young vulnerable and trusting. Give them your trust. I have happy memories and they have given me and my family independence.
Care homes and nursing homes are too expensive and the care given is rarely good as they have too many patients and not enough carers because the councils will not pay the full amount of fees. Here in Torbay they only pay around £300 a week and most homes cannot afford to keep the heating on let alone staff. The whole system needs a massive change, but saying that this idea of “nannies” is a really good idea, for I would never go into a home. johnincrete, chania crete I believe that most of Europe look after their elderly relatives and it is only Britain who lags behind. A survey would make this clear then the media would not have to guess and then the truth might get printed….for a change.
When my 83 year old mother came out of hospital earlier this year her home care package came to £1600 a month. She requires 4 doubled up visits a day so it’s a lot of care. As a family we have manage to arrange our own care now and it costs £1200 a month and the care is at least twice as good than the big care company. What disgusts us and especially my mum is that she work as a teacher/deputy head for 40 years (in the days when deputy heads taught full time as well as managing) so she’s paid her tax and NI.This is virtually the first time in her life she needed anything from the state and there’s nothing but a massive bill there for her. What’s even more disgusting is that if she lived in Scotland the visiting care would all be FREE. Btw I don’t begrudge the Scots getting it free but it should be free for the English too – especially those who paid into the system all their lives. The UK parliament fails the English on.