Taking Care Of The Elderly People At Home

by Kanan James NGO INDIA

A home is, perhaps, the only place where a person can and is truly very happy. Staying among his own people, his children, grandchildren and being a part of their daily activities, is something that every person cherishes the most. But these things become even more important when a person becomes old.

In order to ensure that the elderly stay healthy too, it is mandatory to engage home support for the elderly. This ensures that the elderly are taken care of and it also allows the family members to have quality time to spend with their older generation. This quality time translates into good physical and mental health for the elderly people residing with them.

But in order to ensure that these elderly people really stay happy, there are a few other things too that need to be kept in mind. In they are extremely important to the well-being of the elderly like:

· Equipping the home: As the age of a person advances, familiarity becomes as important as ease of use. Thus it is very important to equip the house with gadgets which they are used to using and the placement of the furniture etc. should be such that they are easily recognisable in a pattern. Moving the things around too much or disturbing the layout frequently can result in the elderly people feeling unsafe and insecure. Another point to be noted here is that, the home wherein elderly people reside should be absolutely clutter-free so that they do not overbalance and fall, thereby hurting themselves and their dignity.

· Health care:This is of extreme importance where looking after the elders at home is concerned. Some of the main elderly health care services which need to be followed are:

o Regular check-ups with a doctor specialising in geriatric care,

o Setting up and following a daily schedule for taking medicines based on the doctor’s advice,

o Ensuring that health check-up tests like measurement of blood pressure, diabetes, measurement of the various blood components etc., are conducted as scheduled,

o Making a note of important changes in the behavioural pattern of the elderly so that they can be brought to the notice of the doctor during the next visit,

o Making sure that the regular medicines are always available and arrangements need to be made to have them delivered at the home of the elderly when they get over etc.

Since elder health care is of prime importance those staying at home, it becomes equally important to ensure that in case of emergencies, prompt action can be taken with regards to:

o Arrangement of an ambulance,

o Pre-deciding on a hospital based on the medical insurance requirements as well as the health ailment required for etc.

Regular visits by their near and dear ones make the elderly people very happy and so it is also important to make them stay socially connected. Maintaining their dignity especially at times when they are not able to carry out their daily tasks and are in need of assistance in the form of help for the elderly, is a factor which ensures that their self-respect stays intact and they stay happy and at peace.