How to find a caregiver for an elderly or bedridden person
Where to start: the person's condition
Everything depends on the person's condition: who you need, on what schedule and for what pay. An elderly woman who walks and needs help with shopping and medicines is one job. A bedridden person after a stroke, with bedsores or dementia, is a completely different one, because it involves hygiene, moving them, feeding and sometimes night duty.
Write plainly what the person can do alone and what they cannot: whether they walk, hold a spoon, know the time of day, and whether there is aggression or restlessness at night. This is not excess frankness: it lets a candidate see whether she has the right experience.
How it works on BlaBlaPrice
Instead of searching through ads and asking acquaintances, you write one request on BlaBlaPrice. Before it is shown it is checked and you get hints about the details candidates still need. There will be no contacts in the text.
Caregivers in your area reply in the chat: about their experience, the kind of patients they have looked after, shifts and expected pay. Compare the replies by content and look at the reviews next to each. You give your number only to the one you choose, and by the channel that suits you. It is free for you.
What to put in the request
- Who needs care — age, sex, height and weight if lifting is needed;
- Condition — bedridden, walks with a walker, after a stroke, dementia;
- Duties — hygiene, feeding, medicines, cleaning, cooking;
- Shifts — daytime, 24-hour shifts, live-in;
- Pay — per shift, per day or per month;
- Arrangement — permanent or temporary, fixed contract or by agreement;
- Experience — for example with bedridden patients, references;
- City and area.
Example: “I am looking for a caregiver for my grandmother, aged 85, in Auckland. She is bedridden after a stroke and needs hygiene care, feeding and medicines from a list. Live-in, permanent. Experience with bedridden patients and references. Pay $380 a month.”
What to agree so you do not quarrel later
A live-in or 24-hour schedule must include rest, food and a place to sleep for the caregiver. Discuss whether she cooks and cleans for the whole family or only looks after the person she cares for. Agree on a trial period, for example a few days, and on who covers if she falls ill.
Medicines and medical procedures are the doctor's area. A caregiver can remind the person about tablets as prescribed, but injections and complex care should be discussed with the doctor and the candidate separately.
If you are looking for a caregiver job
Register on BlaBlaPrice as a service provider, choose this category and your area, and respond to families' requests. Similar jobs are in the “Cleaning / Domestic staff” section, for example a nanny. Read more on the “How it works” page.
