Elderly Care career opportunities in the UK part 1

Well-paid options for hard-working and warm-hearted nurses and carers from EU 

British aging society needs skilled, professional elderly care providers.  

       If you are compassionate, caring, sociable, determined and patient, you may consider developing your career in care industry.

There are plenty of career options for Geriatric or Palliative Care Nurses and professional Healthcare Assistants in the UK and Ireland. There are different types of facilities that look after vulnerable adults and the elderly, both private and public sector.

Learn about some of them:

Assisted Living Facilities

Assisted living facilities, which are also called congregate housing, are suitable for individuals who need little or no help. Each individual lives in his or her own apartment, and these are often equipped with emergency signaling devices. All residents use shared spaces, which usually include living rooms, dining rooms, or laundry rooms. Minimal services, ranging from central dining programs to organized recreational activities, health, transportation, housekeeping, non personal laundry, and security services, are also usually available.

Residential Care Facilities

Residential care facilities, which also are called board and care homes, personal care homes, sheltered housing, or domiciliary care homes, offer housing for individuals who need assistance with personal care or medical needs. This means that the facility is normally state licensed and meets minimum staffing requirements. The facility is staffed 24 hours a day.

To be eligible for residential care facilities, an individual usually must be fairly mentally alert; able to dress, feed, and take themselves to the toilet; able to eat meals in a central dining room; and need no more than moderate assistance with personal care or behavior supervision. Check with the specific facility for any policies concerning walkers or wheelchairs.

Continuing Care Communities

Continuing care retirement communities, or multi-level care facilities, provide a nice balance between the skilled nursing home, assisted living facility, and the independent living facility or retirement community. It assures the care recipient independent living as long as possible, while providing for nursing assistance if or when it is needed. This type of living arrangement can be particularly useful to couples who are often in need of different levels of care and who wish to maintain a strong relationship..

Nursing Homes

Nursing home care provides help for a seriously ill care recipient. These facilities offer 24-hour supervision, nursing care, rehabilitation programs, and social activities. The level of care provided by a nursing home can be either intermediate or skilled. Intermediate care is given to individuals who need assistance with activities of daily living and some health services and nursing supervision, but not constant nursing care. This type of care is usually requested by a doctor and given by a registered nurse. In contrast, skilled nursing care is given to individuals who need 24-hour medical supervision, skilled nursing care, or rehabilitation. Individuals suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, are often given this type of care.

Hospice care

The aim of hospice care is to improve the lives of people who have an incurable illness.

Hospices provide care for people from the point at which their illness is diagnosed as terminal, to the end of their life, however long that may be. 

Hospice care places a high value on dignity, respect, and the wishes of the person who is ill, and aims to look after all their needs.

Hospice care provides for medical, emotional, social, practical, psychological, and spiritual needs, as well as the needs of the person’s family and carers. Looking after all these aspects is often referred to as holistic care.

Care also extends to those people who are close to the patient, and into the bereavement period after the patient has died. 

With many steps in the career ladder and rising salaries there is somewhere for everyone to fit in and be recognized for their hard work.

Full info how to get prepared for this type of career in the UK will be provided in next post…