Overnight Care

If you have a loved one with care needs, you might worry about whether they will be able to cope overnight.

However, there is an option to ease your mind, and that is opting for overnight care from one of the night care specialists provided by Greenwood Homecare.

Here we explain what you need to know about booking an overnight carer, whether for nights you cannot be there for your loved one or on a permanent basis.

How does overnight care work?

A traditional social care team, such as those provided by the local council, will likely not provide home visits during the night unless it is medically required, for example if your loved one needs medication or personal care at a specific time or requires specialist care.

Overnight care might involve being there in order to prevent falls, to check on a loved one with a health condition or to provide continence care where required.

Overnight care can be useful if you have company during the day for your loved one, and a carer to help with their needs, but they cannot stay overnight as they need to return home to sleep.

Please get in touch to arrange night care

At Greenwood Homecare, we have the ability to offer waking night care and sleeping night care, as well as specialist care throughout the night for complex medical conditions.

This means that instead of putting your loved one in a care home, you will be able to arrange care for them during the day, and leave them in capable hands overnight, with care you know you can trust.

Before we explain all about the types of overnight care assistance we can provide, we should mention that you can call us at any time to discuss what overnight carers might be best for your loved one.

Sleeping Nights

Some patients feel worried at night, particularly if they have medical conditions that impact their sleep.

Whether they are unsure as to whether they can deal with their own continence care or they’re worried about a medical condition, having a carer sleeping overnight in their home may alleviate those worries.

After all, it will mean there is an overnight carer on hand to help support them throughout the night if they need it.

Sleeping night care doesn’t mean your loved one cannot manage their own needs in their own home if they feel up to it; it just gives them the option to get immediate assistance where needed.

Quality care from skilled carers – at home

Getting overnight care at home from experienced carers can not only provide a way for a loved one to remain in their own home, it can also help them get a restful night’s sleep, giving the patient and the family peace of mind that overnight carers can be there throughout the night to deal with medication or personal care needs.

Waking Nights

Waking night care on the other hand is where an overnight care specialist will look after your loved one with any support needs they require through the night.

Such carers will stay awake while your loved one has a sleep, providing a range of support services that vary according to your loved one’s needs, preparing them for the next day ahead in comfort.

This can mean you and your family can have a stress free night, with reassurance your loved one’s personal needs are being taken care of even while they sleep.

What does a night care assistant do?

A night carer can do almost anything you would like them to do, with regards to personal care, household tasks and providing support throughout the night whether your loved one is having a sleep or is awake.

For example, your loved one may need:

• Stoma care
• Peg feeding
• Sleep aids
• More complex needs such as dementia support, for example. Some people living with dementia tend to require overnight care to stop them from wandering while other family members are asleep for example.
• Reassurance if there are night terrors or health issues

However, not everyone that needs overnight home care will have the same support. Care requirements vary significantly between clients.

Here at Greenwood Homecare, we can ensure that a fully better overnight care professional who is fully vetted and has all the training needed to provide a quality care service, is on hand to support your loved one overnight, whatever it is they need assistance with.

Overnight care at home vs. care home

Those that receive care at home, even at night time tend to have a better quality of life than those who are in a care home, for various reasons.

Overnight care at home, whether it is sleeping night or waking night care, allows the person to have all their personal care needs taken care of, while in the comfort of their own home.

Overnight care provides a great alternative to a live in carer too. If family can be there during the morning and afternoon, you might not need to hire a live in carer.

Instead, you could just have someone provide an overnight care service when your loved one needs extra support, such as after a hospital discharge, or when regular support is unavailable. This allows your loved one to benefit from specialist support but keep their own independence.

In addition, if you choose overnight care at home, you will be able to have a carer when you need it, a few times a week or daily if required.

You may be able to arrange overnight care as a respite service, or for a short while if your loved one is having sleep problems. There are a wealth of carers that can provide different overnight home care services, depending on your loved one’s needs.

Get in Touch

To learn more about overnight care, why not contact our dedicated team, who will be happy to assist you by providing further insight into the benefits of having highly trained carers provide a night sitting service for your loved one.

Overnight care can be delivered in one of three ways

As mentioned, there are different ways in which overnight care and support can be delivered. Examples of overnight care services can work are explained below.

Sleeping night carer

Just like the name, this is a carer who provides care while sleeping nights in the patient’s home until the morning.

Effectively, such carers will provide a service if needed during night time hours, but act more as a safety nest should you need peace of mind your loved one can have care if something happens in the night.

Sleep carers can also liaise with healthcare professionals if something happens.

Waking night carer

This is a carer that provides care by staying up in the night. Waking nights carers tend to provide specialist support with complex conditions that require monitoring throughout the night.

This is somewhat akin to a night sitting service. The carer will stay awake to ensure high quality care can be continued, even when the client is asleep.

Sleeping night care from a live in carer

Of course, you may decide you would like to benefit from both overnight carers and support during the day too. Whatever assistance your loved one needs, we can assist you.

There are carers that can live in to provide overnight home care, or you could opt for a separate day and night care team to look after your loved one, one while they sleep and another while they are awake. Whatever care service you feel your loved one needs, we can assist.

Why choose an overnight carer?

Overnight care services provide peace of mind to both clients and families that there will always be someone there to look after your loved one when they need extra support.

Whether you are looking for a carer to stay awake, or to sleep the night at your loved one’s home, they will have the assistance they need from an individual carer who will look after them for eight hours, or as long as you need, throughout the night.

Costs of overnight care

If you are concerned about paying for a carer’s support through the night, we can discuss the overnight care cost with you. In some cases, you may qualify for some benefits to cover the cost of overnight home care.

We will ensure to give you all the options you have available when it comes to funding support through the night, and help you arrange overnight care to suit your needs and budget. To discuss the overnight care cost applicable to the type of care your loved one needs, speak to our home care team.

Talk to us about your overnight care needs

If you have further questions about booking an overnight care service for your loved one, whether you want carers to stay awake, or provide sleeping night care, we’re here to help.

With Greenwood Homecare, you can have peace of mind that your loved one will benefit from all an overnight carer rated by the Care Quality Commission has to offer with regard to personal care, medication help or other services, and your loved one’s care needs will be fully managed.