Everything You Need to Know About Convalescent Care

What is convalescent care? What are its advantages and the most common types? What types of procedures usually require convalescent care? What does convalescent care after surgery consist of?

Find out all about post-operative rehabilitation and convalescent care. We provide answers to frequently asked questions so that you can help yourself and your loved ones who have undergone a medical procedure.

What is convalescent care?

The term convalescent care refers to the short-term support provided during the recovery period after treatments, injuries and surgeries by qualified caregivers. Recovering from an illness or medical procedure can be very long and arduous, especially if the procedure in question has limited our mobility. That is why it is highly recommended to employ convalescent care professionals to support the convalescent during the most difficult moments immediately after surgery and recovery.

People stay in a convalescent care home when they require routine support from care staff, doctors and nurses, but are not at risk enough to need a hospital. These types of homes are sometimes referred to as inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Their alternative is post-operative rehabilitation and convalescent care provided by live-in caretakers. It is a much more comfortable and safer option, especially for seniors for whom a move to an institution might come as a shock.

What types of procedures usually require convalescent care?

Convalescent care is administered to people who have undergone any type of treatment, injury or surgery that restricts mobility or requires medical measures that impede normal functioning and movement. Postoperative rehabilitation and convalescent care are used in the circumstances of a wide range of medical procedures, from broken bones to appendicitis to hip replacement.

However, it is particularly often recommended for older people who, in addition to recovering from a particular surgery or injury, often also suffer from concomitant illnesses and mobility problems. Put simply, convalescent care targets those who need temporary, short-term care to enable them to return to being fully healthy and no longer need such care routinely.

Here are other examples of why a person may need convalescent care:

Discharge from the hospital after a fall or similar accident
Post-stroke convalescence
Post-bone fracture convalescence
Convalescence during exacerbation of a chronic disease

Convalescent care services

Convalescent care ensures a suitable environment during recovery from surgery, after an injury. It can be used as a transitional form of care after a stroke or long illness and is designed to enable patients to transition to an independent lifestyle when they are strong and healthy enough to live on their own. Besides providing basic medical services to patients, convalescent care professionals can also provide the time needed to recover physically and mentally, as well as practical assistance with daily activities.

Convalescent care services can include counselling, where psychologists help to develop motivational skills, physical therapy where physiotherapists develop exercise and activity plans to help the patient regain strength, coordination and motor skills, speech therapy involving exercises to regain communication skills, and occupational therapy.

Home convalescent care after surgery incorporates most of these activities but is more focused on practical help with daily chores and activities, such as personal hygiene and feeding.

The benefits of convalescent care for older adults and seniors

Learn about the key benefits of post-operative rehabilitation and convalescent care, especially for frail, ill or elderly people with specific health problems and limitations.

Companionship

Companionship is one of the biggest post-operative rehabilitation and convalescent care benefits. The presence of other people during this difficult time improves the other person’s motivation and well-being and makes them feel part of a community and someone still important.

Quicker recovery

It has been proven that proper convalescent care makes the patient recover faster because they have support and feel safe enough to take risks and do parts of activities on their own in the presence of a caretaker.

Comfort

Convalescent care improves the comfort of the patient’s life. It ensures that all the person’s basic needs are met. Just imagine how your loved one would feel not being able to pour themselves a glass of water after surgery if they were left to their fate.

Convalescent care – conclusions

In conclusion, we would like to emphasise once again how important the provision of adequate convalescent care is for the patient’s rapid recovery and well-being. Without convalescent care after surgery, sufferers feel lonely, and lose motivation and their standard of living drops dramatically, which can not only slow down the time to recover but can even lead to mental illnesses and disorders such as depression.

It is therefore imperative that you take care of your senior loved ones, who are particularly vulnerable to this condition and whose recovery time is the longest. Good live-in convalescent care professional can really turn this difficult time into a bearable one, and even not too bad.