Mega Nursing and Care

It isn’t pleasant to watch one’s parents enter old age and see the ones you depended on for so long suddenly appear all too mortal and begin to need help themselves. At the same time, more and more people want to age in their own homes, keeping as much independence as possible.

The two seem to be at odds with one another.

But they don’t have to be. With the advancements of medical science and the growth and improvement of domiciliary care services, it is probably more possible than ever to help your parents stay independent as they age at home.

And there are several things you can do help.

Be Proactive

The most important thing right now is to avoid kicking the can down the road. It’s easy to put everything off until your parents really need help, but that causes shockwaves through the family and to every individual person’s life.

It’s better to be proactive and look for what needs to be done NOW, even if you realise that nothing needs to be done yet. If nothing else, you can figure out what you will need to do ahead of time so that when your parents do start needing a bit of assistance, you (WITH you parents) know what to do.

And this means you need to talk to your parents about their health and the future, even if this is uncomfortable.

Talk to Your Parents

Your parents will have hopes and expectations for how they want to live, and you want them to have a meaningful and enjoyable life as they age at home.

Having honest conversations about what really matters to them and what they really want to avoid is vital in deciding how you can help them stay independent.

One of your parents might be set on getting onto the golf course as much as possible, or intent on gardening or any number of other meaningful pursuits that make life worthwhile. Discovering what is important and what can (or can’t) be achieved is important in setting expectations and making a plan to help them live the life they want.

It’s impossible to provide a single solution that accommodates every situation, but we can say that this initial communication is vital.

Get Help

You might think that getting a professional caregiver takes away your parents’ independence and agency, but this is a misconception.

To the contrary, getting a professional caregiver for your parents as they age at home is one of the most empowering things you can do for them and actually increases their independence.

There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that it allows them to live in their own home independently and brings any support they need to them.

In addition, getting a professional caregiver prevents one of the biggest mistakes you can make when thinking about you parents’ well-being: taking the entire burden on yourself.

One problem with trying to do it all by yourself is that you are likely to burn out and it can damage your relationship with your parents when you really want to make the most of the time together. Another, equally significant problem with doing it alone is that you simply cannot be there all the time. There will be times when you have other responsibilities to attend to or when you are incapacitated due to illness or one of life’s other events.

Help Them Organise Their Health Management

Don’t take over; that removes agency. But you do want to be involved and make it clear that you are happy to help them.

You can offer to help them schedule medical appointments and procuring medication, especially if they need help with transport because that means that you can be part of the process and keep an eye on things without taking over completely.

In addition, you can gently and unobtrusively check in on their well-being, eating habits, movement and sleep in conversation.

In short, you want to keep an eye on their health and be available without removing responsibility and independence from them.

Make Their Home Safe

Because of the way that people become more accident prone as they age, one of the most important things you can do to support your elderly parents is to go through their home to make it safer for them.

There are some obvious things that you can do, like removing tripping hazards and installing night lights to make it easier for them to move around at night.

But even something that seems obvious like removing tripping hazards can be deceptively difficult because it is very easy to miss something that can be a tripping hazard to your elderly parent. For example, you might easily identify a long cable that goes through a walkway as a hazard and easily spot a step between two rooms as another hazard, but miss identifying the rug as a tripping hazard because it isn’t a hazard at all to you.

Apart from lighting and tripping hazards, there are a whole range of things that you can do to make your parents’ home safer for them, from identifying slippery surfaces to installing grab rails in strategic spaces, to installing shower seats and checking all smoke detectors.

There are obviously more things that could be done, but as we’ve indicated, it is quite difficult to identify everything, and even more tricky to do something to solve the problem.

For that reason, we have to point out that it’s best to get a consultant in to check the safety of your parents’ home and conduct a safety report or audit. This is also where professional caregivers add a significant amount of value, as they are experienced and adept at noticing dangers that a normal person would not notice.

Plan for Emergencies

Emergencies are unpredictable, but having a basic plan can make the world of difference if and when something does go wrong.

A basic plan should involve having a short and clear list of emergency contacts, an info pack with their personal information and medical details, and a general idea of where they should be taken if they can be moved.

In addition to this, it’s a good idea for them to have a panic button that they keep on their persons at all times. One of the most distressing and dangerous things that can happen to an elderly person is suffering some sort of medical incident or fall and being unable to call for help.

Protect Their Social Life

Maintaining an active social life is incredibly important for people aging at home, but this is threatened by a decline in mobility and decreasing confidence in their ability to either get out and socialise or host people in their own home.

There is no one-size-fits-all way to protect and promote your parents’ social life but encouraging them to stay social and offering to help them in this area is empowering.

Furthermore, having the occasional conversation with them about the topic will help you discover where they need help to make this important part of life happen.

And again, getting professional care support can be helpful in this area of their lives as well. Depending on the situation, it is highly likely that transport or some other form of assistance can be organised by the caregiver. This is something that would need to be part of the care plan, however.

Ask for Advice about Elderly Care at Home

Until you’ve done it, you simply do not know what to anticipate when supporting your parents as they age independently at home, and as things come up, you will likely find yourself at a loss. This is perfectly normal and you should never feel bad about about not knowing something. All you need to do is ask for advice from people who have experience with elderly homecare in the UK.

If your parents are getting to that stage where they need some assistance and you need help or advice, reach out to us. We are well on our way to two decades of providing high quality home care for the elderly, and we would love to help. Even if your parents don’t need a caregiver just yet, knowing who to bring in and getting advice about caring for your parents is a proactive and positive first step.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does home based care look like in the UK?

This depends on your loved one’s situation. Every care package we put together is tailored to your loved one’s specific situation, including their needs and desires. But, in general, this can range from occasional short visits during the week to check on their health status, to 24-hour live-in care.

2. How are care plans made?

We make our care plans in consultation with you and your loved one. Once you contact us, we get all the necessary medical information about your loved one, as well as all the other information about them (as an individual) that we need. After that, we visit their home to conduct an interview and assess their home for care needs. At that point, we sit down with you and your loved one to find out what they want and need, and from there, we have all the information we need to put a care plan together.

We only finalise the care plan when everyone is satisfied that the plan addresses your loved one’s situation and is feasible.

3. What happens if my parents’ health situation changes?

The care plan changes to fit the new situation. It’s as simple as that. We make our care plans knowing that situations change and that they will need to be adapted to fit the situation as it evolves. In fact, one of the things our caregivers specifically do is monitor the changing state of your loved one’s health and needs so that they can be proactive about suggesting changes to best support your loved one.