Adulting is not easy. You have to take care of yourself, your family and your career; all at the same time. And this can often turn out to be challenging, especially when a family member gets sick and you have to attend to them. We can't always stay home to look after our loved ones and go out for work at the same time. This is where nurses and caregivers can assist you in your hour of need. 

Know your needs

Before you hire someone, you must decide if you need a nurse or a caregiver. They are not the same. Nurses are licenced with medical training and they can carry out all the duties of a nurse. Caregivers on the other hand are more like helping hands. They will not perform medical duties and you should not expect or ask them to either (for your own safety). But more and more caregivers are getting additional trainings these days.

"Before we provide our service, we need information about the patient. We listen to the patient history and requirements and then we recommend if a nurse or a caregiver is appropriate for that person," said Abu Salhe Forkan, owner and CEO of Israt Caregivers.

If you are worried about your privacy, worry not, for both male and female caregivers are available. Some of the caregiving agencies are also offering caregivers in the form of nannies that can assist new mothers with their babies since this can be a very challenging time.

What they can do for you

As mentioned earlier, nurses have medical licence and training. Therefore, they can carry out medical duties that one might need. Pushing an injection might seem like a very mundane activity, but even that should be done by properly trained personnel.

Nurses can do that as well as other activities like supervising the medication, checking blood pressure and oxygen level, administering insulin, etc. Caregivers will help you with other regular activities like physiotherapy, bathing or cleaning the patient, feeding them, changing diapers, etc.

"We have licenced nurses and trained professionals. In addition to that, we train them ourselves as well so they can perform their jobs better. They are also briefed on their responsibilities and what they can and cannot do. This is important since dealing with a patient is a very sensitive issue," said Jony Gomes, Managing Director of Clara Care Services LTD.

The timetable

So, how long will the helping hands be available for? The timetable will depend entirely on your needs and only you can know the answer. How long do you need someone to be present and taking care of your loved one? Perhaps, you need someone to be taken care of only for the time that you will be away from home. Or maybe the situation is dire and you need someone around the clock. Most nursing agencies will offer different time packages in the form of 8, 12, and 24 hours. If you need someone to be present constantly, they can arrange more than one personnel to cover the time accordingly.

The COVID concern

It is natural to be concerned about the COVID threats.

"During the COVID crisis, the demand for nurses and caregivers were higher for obvious reasons. Being involved in this industry, we try to maintain all the safety protocols as much as possible. We have taken care of COVID patients as well as general patients over the past year," affirmed Sandip Biswas, owner of 24Sheba, one of the newer organisations in the industry. He also informed that in cases of emergency, should an ambulance be needed, they can help with those as well.

Remember!

If the person to be taken care of needs some kind of special equipment such as oxygen tank, heart rate monitor, etc., you should get them yourself and be prepared since the nursing services will only offer you personnel and they will not be equipped with all the gadgets. The pricing might also vary depending on your requirements.

To hire a caregiver, you will have to be willing to spend at least Tk 600 for each shift and the amount will vary depending on how long the shift is. For nurses, the pricing will be different and depend on a number of factors such as timing, qualifications of the nurse, the patient, etc. The ideal thing to do would be to discuss it freely with the agency before you reach a contract.

Knowing when you need a pair of helping hands and reaching out for help is a wise action. Contact information and reviews of agencies that offer such services can be found online with a simple Google search. For more information, one can visit their websites and (should) always discuss the details before reaching a contract.

Photo: Collected