Quick answer
Do not start by guessing a weekly hour total. Start with a one-week map of where routines fail, which gaps create risk, what family can reliably cover, and which needs are clinical rather than non-medical. The smallest reliable plan is usually more useful than the biggest theoretical plan.
Care-level planner
Map the week by daypart, not by a guessed number of hours.
Morning
Getting up, bathing, dressing, breakfast, medication organization?
Midday
Meals, appointments, errands, mobility, companionship?
Evening
Dinner, routines, confusion, fatigue, family availability?
Overnight
Waking, toileting, wandering, falls, caregiver exhaustion?
A practical sequence
- List the routines that are failing or becoming inconsistent
- Mark when each problem occurs: morning, daytime, evening or overnight
- Separate family coverage from the gaps that remain
- Identify tasks that require nursing, therapy or another regulated professional
- Build the smallest dependable plan and reassess after it has been tested
Questions that change the answer
What changed in the last 30–90 days?
Which missed routines create the most risk or stress?
Can family coverage continue at the current level?
What would tell you the plan needs more—or less—support?
