Almost all of us believe that a sick person is best left in a hospital in the care of health care professionals rather than at home. This may be true only for persons whose illness requires constant medical care. In case where an illness is prolonged, it may be neither practical nor even possible to leave a patient in a hospital. Firstly, because of a shortage of medical facilities, the doctors may actually discharge a patient to test at home. In other cases, the cost of looking after a patient, who is merely resting in a hospital, may be staggering. In such cases, a patient needs to be taken care of at home.
The first consideration for taking care of a sick person at home is genuine concern for the sick person. It is not true that it is love and care that kids in healing and not just rest. Many sick persons need constant care and the persons who undertake to take care of them must be able to give it. It must be realized that the sick person is liable to become the center of the home. Lots of sacrifices need to be made; there cannot be any of the usual noise and freedom that people are used to. TV and hifi volumes may have to be reduced. Whatever other activities a home may have, with a sick person to care for, the activity must now become less important. This is often a difficult sacrifice to make.
The home too may have to be re-organized to take care of the sick person. A room may have to be put aside. Special food preparation may be necessary. Medication times have to be adhered too strictly. If that is not enough, well-meaning friends and relatives would be dropping in at odd times. Visitors may have to be controlled, if patients are to be helped to get well. This is easy to do in a hospital but not so in a home, without offending people who actually care for the sick person. Well-meaning visitors will also have to be told how to behave with the patient. People are more apt to accept the authority of health care professionals than ours.
Also, there is always the chance of the sick person becoming worse and having to be rushed to hospital. A vehicle has to be always available of, alternatively, a doctor must be on stand-by to rush and attend to the patient when necessary. This readiness to take care of an emergency may actually make the difference between life and death.
All in all, taking care of a sick person at home is a heavy responsibility, albeit often a necessary one. On the upside, the sick person is likely to be a loved one and we can do whatever we can to show our love and concern to the person. Often this, rather than just medicine will be responsible for the sick person getting well fast.
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