Our primary goal is to help older people to cope and to give them the necessary care locally so that they can maintain their independence and stay amongst their familiar surroundings.
“Home Help” has always existed in county Clare where there has been a long rural tradition of help and care between neighbours. We began to operate a limited Home Help service to older people as early as the 1970′s and this has grown steadily over the years from an initial 40 cases in 1973 to servicing an average of 470 – 500 cases county-wide annually. In 1973 the Mid-Western Health Board introduced a Home Help Service, which Clarecare now administers.
Our service is extended to clients in to the following four main areas:
- Older people and those coping with long term illness
- Person with a disability
- Families with stresses
- Post-operative care
Clients are referred to Clarecare from a variety of sources, ranging from Public Health Nurses, doctors, neighbours, or family members.
We visit the client to carry out an assessment and to identify the supports that exist and those that we can offer. Our service is local based, it’s flexible, and we try to respond in a quick and expedient way to the needs of the individual case.
We have a panel of trained and skilled Home Helps in every district of the county. The services they provided range from domestic and social duties to personal care of older people, from the special needs of the post-operative patient to the higher level of support in cases of family stress, where special skills might be required. An important aspect of the service is its recognition of the role of carers in many family situations, and the importance of giving carers a respite from duties while a Home Help comes in to substitute.
Most Home Helps have participated in a Carer’s Course, Moving & Handling training, Personal Care Training, and Elder Abuse awareness training. We provide In-Service training for Home Helps as well as Workshops, which give participants an opportunity to meet colleagues, share experiences, and talk about the frustrations and rewards of their work.
Home Help is essentially a team response to a given need. It is never employed to weaken family and community care, but rather is a partnership of caring between the client and the Home Help. Its goal is always to encourage freedom and independence, and in many cases it achieves its greatest success when the service is no longer required.
