What Live-in Caregivers Are Responsible For and What They’re Not: A Guide for Families

man carer
Due to stereotypes, men are often underestimated in their role as caregivers.

A Guide for Families

Hiring a live-in caregiver is an excellent solution for ensuring that your loved one receives the care they need while remaining in the comfort of their home. However, it’s important for families to understand the scope of responsibilities that live-in caregivers are expected to handle—and what tasks fall outside their role. This clarity helps maintain a healthy working relationship and ensures the caregiver can focus on providing the best possible care.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to what live-in caregivers typically do and don’t do, with explanations for each.

Check our carers in:
London
Brighton
Birmingham
Liverpool

What Live-in Caregivers Are Responsible For

  1. Personal Care
    • What it Includes: Bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, and incontinence care. Caregivers ensure the patient’s hygiene is maintained with dignity and respect.
    • Why It’s Their Role: Personal care is a fundamental part of a caregiver’s duties to support the patient’s health and well-being.
  2. Meal Preparation
    • What it Includes: Preparing balanced meals tailored to the patient’s dietary needs and preferences.
    • Why It’s Their Role: Proper nutrition is essential for maintaining health, and caregivers often manage this as part of the patient’s care plan.
  3. Medication Administration
    • What it Includes: Ensuring medications are taken at the right time and in the correct dosage.
    • Why It’s Their Role: Caregivers help patients adhere to medical instructions to avoid complications.
  4. Mobility Assistance
    • What it Includes: Helping the patient move around safely, whether with a walker, wheelchair, or other aids.
    • Why It’s Their Role: Preventing falls and promoting physical activity is critical for seniors’ health.
  5. Light Housekeeping
    • What it Includes: Cleaning up areas used during care, such as washing dishes after meals, tidying the patient’s bedroom, and doing laundry.
    • Why It’s Their Role: Keeping the immediate environment clean ensures a hygienic and comfortable living space.
  6. Companionship
    • What it Includes: Engaging the patient in conversation, reading, playing games, or accompanying them on walks or outings.
    • Why It’s Their Role: Social interaction promotes emotional well-being and prevents loneliness.
  7. Errands and Appointments
    • What it Includes: Grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, and accompanying the patient to doctor’s appointments.
    • Why It’s Their Role: These tasks are part of the caregiver’s responsibility to support the patient’s daily needs.

What Live-in Caregivers Are Not Responsible For

  1. Deep Cleaning or Household Repairs
    • What it Includes: Cleaning old stains, scrubbing walls, fixing appliances, or painting rooms.
    • Why It’s Not Their Role: A caregiver’s focus is on the patient, not home maintenance. Expecting them to handle extensive cleaning or repairs distracts from their primary responsibilities.
    • Example: Caregivers aren’t responsible for removing old grime from carpets or deep-cleaning neglected areas, as this could lead to an endless cycle of cleaning unrelated to the patient’s care.
  2. Heavy Lifting or Moving Furniture
    • What it Includes: Rearranging furniture, moving heavy objects, or organizing storage spaces.
    • Why It’s Not Their Role: These tasks risk injury and fall outside the scope of caregiving responsibilities. Professionals like movers or handymen should handle these tasks.
  3. Pet Care
    • What it Includes: Feeding, grooming, walking pets, or cleaning litter boxes.
    • Why It’s Not Their Role: While caregivers may help in emergencies, regular pet care isn’t part of their job and can detract from their focus on the patient.
  4. Caring for Other Family Members
    • What it Includes: Assisting other household members, such as children or other adults.
    • Why It’s Not Their Role: Caregivers are hired specifically for the patient, and dividing their attention reduces the quality of care provided.
  5. Remodeling or Reorganizing the Home
    • What it Includes: Renovating rooms, decluttering long-neglected areas, or reorganizing the entire house.
    • Why It’s Not Their Role: Caregivers are not handymen or professional organizers, and these tasks require time and expertise that fall outside caregiving responsibilities.
  6. Financial Management
    • What it Includes: Handling bills, banking, or managing the patient’s finances.
    • Why It’s Not Their Role: This involves significant liability and should be managed by a family member or financial professional.

Caregivers Respect the Patient’s Wishes

An essential principle of caregiving is respecting the autonomy and preferences of the patient. While caregivers are responsible for providing necessary assistance, they are not allowed to force a patient to perform or accept any task they are unwilling to do. This respect for personal choice is a fundamental part of ethical caregiving and patient rights.

  • Example: If a patient dislikes washing their hair and expresses discomfort or resistance, the caregiver may gently encourage them by explaining the importance of hygiene or suggesting alternative solutions. However, if the patient continues to refuse, the caregiver must respect their decision and not proceed. Forcing a patient to comply with an action against their will could be considered coercion, which is not only unethical but also a criminal offense.
  • Why This Matters: Caregiving is built on trust and compassion. Pressuring a patient into doing something they are uncomfortable with can damage this relationship and harm the patient’s emotional well-being.
  • How Caregivers Handle Such Situations:
    1. Encouragement: Caregivers may suggest creative ways to address the issue, such as using dry shampoo instead of traditional washing.
    2. Compromise: They might offer to postpone the task and try again later when the patient feels more comfortable.
    3. Documenting Refusal: For clarity and accountability, caregivers often document instances where a patient refuses a particular task and report this to the family or healthcare team if necessary.

Maintaining Patient Dignity: By prioritizing the patient’s preferences, caregivers ensure that their care is respectful and empowering, reinforcing the patient’s right to make decisions about their own life. This approach is central to the caregiving philosophy of the professionals available through this platform, where patient dignity and comfort are paramount.

How to Set Clear Expectations

To ensure a positive relationship with the caregiver, families should establish clear boundaries and expectations from the start. Here are a few tips:

  1. Create a List of Tasks: Clearly outline the caregiver’s responsibilities and share this with them before they start.
  2. Discuss House Rules: Inform the caregiver about household routines, such as quiet hours or areas off-limits for their use.
  3. Hire Additional Help When Needed: If deep cleaning, repairs, or pet care is necessary, consider hiring professionals to handle these tasks.
  4. Maintain Open Communication: Regularly check in with the caregiver to address any concerns and ensure they’re not feeling overwhelmed or overburdened.