Acute care services at home provide intensive, short-term care for individuals with high dependency needs. This type of care not only supports your loved one during critical times but also facilitates early hospital discharges and reduces the likelihood of readmissions. By enabling recovery in the comfort of home, acute care services help alleviate the strain on healthcare facilities and ensure personalised attention for your loved one.
In this guide, we explore what acute care services entail, the components included in this type of care, and how to arrange acute care for your loved one.
What are acute care services?
Recovering from major surgery, injuries, and severe infections can take its toll on elderly individuals. Acute care can support the recovery process by managing medication, treatments, and appointments, and also assist with everyday tasks, from personal care to light housekeeping.
Acute care can take the form of visiting care or live-in care, depending on the individual’s health demands. As the individual recovers, their need for intense care will lessen with time. Acute care is a temporary form of care that can be used only until the individual recovers, at which point another, more suitable care plan can be put in place.
Who needs acute care?
Any individual needing help with demanding health needs for a short period of time could benefit from acute care. However, acute care is typically aimed at people who have been discharged from hospital and are unable to care for themselves. Acute care could be advantageous to those who have experienced the following:
- Heart attack
- Trauma
- Injury affecting mobility
- Respiratory infections
- Stroke
- Invasive procedures
- Intensive treatments
- Surgery
The benefits of short-term respite care
In addition to covering a gap in care, there are a number of reasons why short-term respite care is an essential service to include in your loved one’s care plan. The many benefits of short-term respite care include:
- Remaining in the comfortable surroundings of home
- Being cared for by an experienced carer
- Seamless transition of care
- Maintaining daily routines, hobbies, and interests
- Staying close to family, friends, neighbours, and local community
- Peace of mind for family and friends
- Allows time off for your regular carer
- Round-the-clock personalised one-to-one care
- Companionship and someone to talk to
What does acute care services involve?
Being discharged from hospital can be unsettling. Individuals go from having professional medical care administered by nursing staff and doctors to going home alone without adequate support in place. Acute care can help to bridge the gap from a stay at hospital to recovering fully in the familiar surroundings of home.
This form of care is usually intense and provides assistance with a whole range of daily activities, as well as supporting the recovery phase. Acute care services typically involve:
- Medication and treatment management
- Mobility assistance
- Help getting in and out of bed
- Personal care e.g. bathing, dressing, and toileting
- Transportation to and from healthcare appointments
- Preparing nutritious meals
- Emotional support during recovery
Other types of care to consider
Following a period of acute care, it may be necessary to investigate other forms of care in order to support an individual’s everyday life post-recovery. Some hospitalisations leave lasting effects even after recovery, affecting an individual’s ability to return to the life they once had. Everyday activities, tasks, and even taking care of themselves can become more difficult as a result of injury, surgery, or ongoing health issues.
Other types of care you may want to consider following a period of acute care include:
Complex live-in care
If your loved one’s health needs do not improve following hospitalisation and remain demanding, complex live-in care could be the solution. This care is geared towards supporting individuals with specific, complex health needs in the comfort of their own home.
Visiting care
On the other hand, an individual may require less hands-on assistance. Visiting care or hourly care can provide as much or as little support as is needed. This is ideal for individuals who are still quite independent and able to look after themselves with a bit of extra help.
24-hour home care
When your loved one needs round-the-clock help and support, 24-hour home care may be the answer. With this form of care, two or more live-in carers work together to cover all hours of the day and night.
Overnight care
Overnight care can be used in addition to other care services or simply stand alone. People experiencing disorientation, distress, or wakefulness at night may benefit from overnight care. Overnight carers ensure that individuals never feel vulnerable or alone at night when accidents can easily occur.
Palliative care
After a stay in hospital, it may be the case that healthcare professionals can offer nothing more for your loved one but to make them comfortable. Palliative care is designed to preserve an individual’s dignity and keep them comfortable in their own home.
For more information on the various care services available, take a look at our guide to different types of care.
How Trinity Homecare Can Help
Following a stay in hospital, if your loved one needs extra help and assistance with recovery, acute care services are a supportive solution. Trinity Homecare will match your loved one with a suitable acute carer, to seamlessly bridge the gap between hospital care and being discharged.
Awarded an ‘Outstanding’ CQC rating, Trinity ranks amongst the top 3% of all nationwide care companies in England. This gives you the peace of mind that your loved one will receive the highest standard of acute care and support.
If you would like to learn more about arranging acute care services for your loved one, simply get in touch with our friendly and professional care team.
Arranging short-term respite care with Trinity is easy. Just follow these five simple steps:
- Call our care team
- Undergo a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your care needs and arrange a care assessment
- After the assessment, a plan of care is created
- A well suited carer is found and placed
- Care can be adapted at any time
