"I nurse at home"

We present a project to support home care

This year the ECCB Diakonia has launched a comprehensive project under the name of “I nurse at home” to support care-giving family members. The project, which is unique in the Czech Republic, has the goal to assist volunteer caregivers in their families, who are caring especially for seniors, by establishing a linked information, consulting and education service.

Many of us have encountered, in the course of life, a situation for which we were not prepared: illness or the aging of parents, grandparents, relatives ... How can we take care of a person that is close to us, who has come home from the hospital, when we need to go to work ourselves? These and similar questions are answered in the project “I nurse at home”.

According to the Head of Diakonia, David Šourek, home care is more widespread than we think: “According to unofficial information, there are 200,000 long-term and another 200,000 short-term caregivers in the Czech Republic. To provide good care, naturally they themselves need support which we, as a large organization with national impact, try to offer.”

A new web portal (http://www.pecujdoma.cz/) was launched for the wider public, which provides current information, advice and guidance for care and treatment. Here users have the opportunity to use the internet consulting service or to take inspiration from the moderated discussions. Also specific instructions, sample contracts and the how-to of socio-legal procedures and the like can be downloaded. Recently, training videos have been added.

Furthermore, Diakonia operates a free advice hotline, where experienced professionals are available for carers. We also offer a handout entitled “Guidelines for aspiring carers”, which is a list of basic steps and procedures for those who have chosen to care for their family member in a home environment and who are beginners.

A series of free public classes has been gradually introduced at different locations in the Czech Republic. The courses introduce the participants to a minimum of social law and psychology, the essential fundamentals of care and a practical exercise of basic home care. “It is gratifying to see that young people also participate in the courses, for example girls who have experience as an au-pair abroad and want to further care for someone, either in their family or in their immediate environment.” says project manager Olga Mutlová.

The project is funded by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic.

Pavel Hanych