We provide home care for South Asians in London. South Asian communities have specific needs and can face challenges when seeking home care including language barriers, cultural expectations, and a lack of awareness of local home care services.
Many families prefer to care for elders within the family, but modern living and changing circumstances can mean that professional home care needs to be considered.
The stigma around home care for South Asians
South Asians are reluctant to seek diagnosis for illnesses like Alzheimer’s and dementia (Alzheimer’s Society). They don’t want to become a burden to their family. They can even be afraid the family will disown them if they need care or if they are no longer considered able to make their own decisions.
They don’t want their families to be ashamed of them and the stigma around illness running in the family. This is especially true with inherited conditions like Alzheimer’s.
In addition, there is a mindset that says that a family must take care of problems within the family unit and not seek outside help. Traditionally, in a large extended family, there were relatives to help assist.
This is no longer the case in modern families living in London. Those who are younger are busy building a career, those who are older are working longer and later in life, and those in between are raising a family and maintaining a career. This leaves little time to devote to a relative that needs full time home care.
Home care is not a failure of family duty. It can be a way to ensure elders receive the best care available, especially when needs become complex. Professional home carers are trained to handle incontinence, mobility problems and challenging behaviours.
Jothno Care & Support have supported many South Asian families across London to provide the help their relative needs. Home care can be supplemental to the family’s capabilities and used in combination with the family’s efforts.
It can also take the form of short term respite care. For example, Seema needed respite care for her husband so that she could take some time off from caring.
“Jothno Care provided excellent respite care for my husband. The caregivers were attentive, respectful and skilled, allowing me to take a much-needed break. Their professionalism and genuine concern for his well-being made a stressful time much easier to manage. I wholeheartedly recommend their services.” – Seema
Language and cultural barriers for South Asians
South Asians can struggle to access available care services through language and cultural barriers. It is important to our clients to find staff who can speak South Asian languages; Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, etc. Jothno Care & Support works hard to match home carers with clients to overcome this issue.
It is also important to our families that we understand their religious and dietary needs. We can tailor our care plants to respect religious practices like attending the nearby Gurdwana, following Ramadan or celebrating Eid, Diwali, etc. Dietary preferences are followed and halal or vegetarian and vegan food can be arranged. Ask our team about our training and cultural competence.
Accessing home care in London
The first step towards accessing home care in London is to get a needs assessment done. This is usually performed by your local council. They will assess needs and inform you if there is any funding available. More information on council funding is in the Carer Advice Guide on the costs of home care.
Home care can also be arranged privately. The Jothno Care & Support team will be pleased to discuss your needs and the associated costs in private in an arranged meeting or on a call. Clients and their families can make a self-referral. You do not need to wait until a medical professional refers you for private home care.
The family’s role in home care
Home care can support family carers, it does not have to replace it completely. We can offer respite care for a short period while a family caregiver rests. Our home care teams are trained to provide specialised care when needed. We include families in care planning and decision making so that all parties are happy with the care plan.
Mental health support is available to both clients and the family through home care. Family members may not understand behaviours that are caused by mental illness and these can cause misunderstandings. Home care can improve the mental health of the family caregiver by allowing them to take a break and know that they can share the responsibility for care.
With Jothno Care & Support you know you are in good hands. Shima hired us after she had had problems with previous carers:
“After a string of unreliable private carers, we decided to employ an agency. Soon after Jothno Care & Support started, we were immediately impressed with the level of service provided. Jothno Care is professional and reliable and offers a friendly service, for which we are very grateful to the entire team.” -Shima Begum
Choosing a home care provider
Here are our tips for choosing a home provider:
- Make a list of questions to ask about language, cultural awareness, staff continuity and standby cover, meal preparation, dietary preferences, family traditions, etc.
- Involve your general practitioner or primary care team if you have one, for example you might need home care after a hospital visit.
- Make an appointment to discuss your queries with the care team. Don’t be afraid to ask for a specific service if you would prefer language matched staff or culturally appropriate activities.
- They will then prepare a quote for the care and a care plan to meet your family’s needs.
Home care for South Asians in London
Home care is available for South Asians in London. Specialist services, like the ones that Jothno Care & Support provide will take into account dietary preferences, cultural traditions, language matching and more.
Home care supports the family rather than replaces the family and provides supplementary support for your relative. We will work with your family towards the same goal, safe, secure and beneficial home care support.