Which type of care is right, and when?

Spitex comes to the home at fixed times and mainly provides medical nursing care: medication, wound care and personal hygiene, plus household help depending on the provider. Nursing care prescribed by a doctor is billed to the health insurer, leaving a personal contribution that is capped by law.

It is a good fit when needs are clearly defined and limited in time: changing a dressing in the morning, help with showering, checking medication. It reaches its limits where there is a gap between visits that nobody fills. Anyone who needs help at night, is at risk of falling or cannot be left alone because of dementia is not covered by care by the hour. seniorencare24 is itself a member of Spitex Switzerland and coordinates nursing care with the local Spitex service.

With live-in care, a personally selected caregiver moves into the household and supports everyday life around the clock: housekeeping, meals, shopping, accompanying the person to appointments, companionship and attention at night too. In professional terms, this is everyday support. It is care, not nursing: medical tasks continue to be handled by Spitex.

The key difference from Spitex is that there are no gaps; the key difference from a care home is that the person stays in their own home. At seniorencare24, this costs from CHF 5’080 per month for five days of care a week and from CHF 7’530 for seven days, at the same price throughout Switzerland. To get to know the service, there are 13 days from CHF 3’700. This option is right when someone can no longer be left alone on a permanent basis but wants to stay at home. It is not right when intensive medical care is needed around the clock.

With assisted living, you keep a flat of your own, but it is located in a complex with an emergency call system, caretaker services and optional services. This requires a move and works for as long as everyday life is still essentially manageable independently.

A retirement or care home offers the most intensive level of care, but means giving up your home. A care home place in Switzerland costs on average CHF 8’000 to 12’000 per month; after contributions from the health insurer and the public authorities, around CHF 6’900 remains to be paid by the resident.

Then there is care by family members. It is the most common form and often works for a surprisingly long time – until work, their own family and travel time push it to its limits. That is not a question of willingness but of how much a person can carry. If this is your situation, think about respite early rather than waiting until you are exhausted.

In practice, three questions decide: how many hours a day does the person need someone there? How much of that is nursing and how much is care? And should they keep their own home? Anyone who only needs help at certain times is well served by Spitex. Anyone who needs someone there all the time and wants to stay at home is well served by live-in care. Anyone who needs intensive medical care is best served by a care home.

The question of cost can be clarified early on, and the answer is often different from what people expect. For a detailed comparison of a care home and care at home, see the cost comparison of home care and a care home. What supplementary benefits and the helplessness allowance can contribute is explained on the page financial support. How care at home works in practice is shown under 24-hour care at home.