Tips On Choosing A Live In Carer For Those With Dementia

Dementia is a term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with memory loss and cognition. This affects the person's ability to partake in everyday tasks. There are a number of causes of Dementia including Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia as well as other causes such as Huntington's disease.

Unfortunately, most cases of dementia are progressive and as the illness worsens then this can cause challenges in daily living. It is widely recognised that staying at home as long as possible is beneficial for the quality of life for a dementia sufferer. This is where a live-in carer comes in.

A live-in carer provides 24-hour care long-term or respite care to give the normal carer, often a loved one, a short-term break or holiday. The main advantage for someone with dementia is that they do not have to leave their home. Being in familiar surroundings prevents confusion and helps orientation and is always preferable for the dementia sufferer than being in a care home.




Here are some tips on how to choose a live-in carer for those suffering from dementia. 

Where to find a live-in carer

Care can be provided by a managed care provider, a care agency or by a self-employed carer. Live-in care providers are regulated by their appropriate body and are subject to inspections so be sure to check out these if you are hiring a live-in carer and want them to abide by the rules. Each country has different ways in which carers are financed and regulated. In Australia, for example, the NDIS scheme is used to find and finance providers that offer such services. When it comes to an NDIS Service provider in Sydney strategies and techniques can be found online to help you make the decision process easier. In summary, research is the key to finding the right carer.

How to fund live-in care

There are some local variations in paying for care. This can be a solely funded by the local authority or a combination of local authority funding and private funding. The Alzheimers Society has a useful section on paying for care, and explains the variations in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. A financial, as well as a 'needs assessment', will help work out how much funding is available to pay for care.

Type of care provided



Care provided can vary and can include, from a basic level - ensuring safety and supervision, and social and reminiscence therapy, to help with personal care tasks, administering medication and providing medical care.


A live-in carer should ideally meet the dementia sufferer at the interview and a trial shift is recommended to ensure everyone gets along. It's important that the carer get on well with the person they are providing care for.  Experience with those suffering from dementia is highly recommended as challenges can include behavioural as well as physical needs.

Practicalities 

A live-in carer will need their own room and breaks need to be provided. It is usual to have more than one carer that works on a rotational basis. A contract will need to be provided to set out hours of work, pay and employment details. 
As it is important that all the care needs of the dementia sufferer are met, the carer/care provider should provide a care plan and this should be in conjunction with you and your loved one. 

Check out this link for more advice about live-in carers

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13 comments

  1. gosh, such a important decision to make. Handy resource for those having to make these difficult decisions

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  2. Very sound advice here, i wish i'd know this a few years ago when we were going through this process with my great aunt.

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  3. This is really helpful advice. I cant even imagine having to make such an important decision x

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  4. I used to work in the care industry as part of a call centre speaking to carers who did the homecare, it’s a great way to keep people at home and making sure their lives stay as normal as possible.

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    1. Yes Olivia. I used to work in a care home and I think it's important for those with dementia to stay at home as long as possible.

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  5. We have a close family member with dementia and it's such an emotional task to find the correct care for them. This is something that will affect more and more families as the population ages too! x

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    1. It will. I am so sorry to hear that it has affected your family.

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  6. It’s such a hard decision to make but definitely one that needs to be thought abput

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  7. I'm hoping it's a decision I don't have to make for a long long time but it's already becoming difficult looking after my parents.

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  8. These are good tips. I have seen the elderly with dementia in my time and it can be a great task to care for them so these tips can come in handy for those needing to consider this option.

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  9. what a great resource, thanks for sharing so many great tips!

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