As parents age, adult children often find that caring responsibilities fall to them. Even when elderly parents are in good health, their needs will continue to evolve over time, and they may soon require additional support.
Figuring out the needs of elderly parents, understanding the available options, and making informed decisions about how to support them can feel overwhelming. Today, we’ll explore practical ways to encourage your parents’ safety and well-being.
Practical Tips For Safety and Well-Being
Maintain Daily Routines
Routines are incredibly helpful. For older adults, keeping a regular daily routine is especially reassuring and helps them to structure their day and feel in control. You can assist your parents’ routine by setting days and times when you plan to visit, help do the groceries, or perform other regular tasks to support them.
When setting routines, always involve your parents so they don’t feel that you are imposing on their lifestyle or trying to control their life.
Make the Home Safe
Whether your parents have good mobility or not, assessing the home for trip and fall hazards is crucial to their well-being. Even if your parents are agile now, you can expect their mobility to change over time. Falls at home contribute to a huge number of injuries for elderly people and should be avoided at all costs.
Take the time to assess each room in your parents’ house and look out for these potential issues:
- Rugs, floors, and slippery surfaces: Rugs that are not securely attached can be easy to trip on, as can carpets that are loose or torn. If there are mats by the sink or stove, ensure they are placed on a non-slip surface.
- Steps and stairs: Are handrails fitted next to all steps and stairs? Look out for any uneven, loose, or broken steps. Ensure the area is well-lit and that any clutter on the floor is removed from that area.
- Hazards in the bathroom: Grab rails next to the toilet and bath may be needed. Use non-slip mats around the bath, shower and sink. Consider a shower seat and check that the shower head is easy to adjust and at the right height so as not to cause a slip.
- Stretching to reach stored items can easily cause an accident: Keep items that are most used on shelves about chest or waist-high. This helps to avoid bending or reaching for them.
- Electrical and telephone cords can also be hazardous: Be sure that all electrical or phone cords are out of pathways. Coil loose cords or tape them down so they can’t catch on people’s feet.
Encourage Exercise and Socialising
Staying active is crucial for maintaining good physical and mental health in old age. Encourage your parents to maintain an active lifestyle, even if it only entails a daily walk or some light stretching. Social activities are also a great way to promote movement and stay socially connected.
Find out what activities and social events your parents enjoy and then see what’s available in your area for elderly people. Age UK has a useful search tool on its website for finding social activities for older adults in specific areas.
Help Them Stay Connected
While elderly group activities encourage social inclusion, you also want to find ways for your parents to stay connected to friends and family. It’s common these days for families to live geographically apart from each other. If your parents live far away, set up a weekly family phone or video call.
If it’s difficult for your parent to participate in social activities or for you to schedule regular family visits, consider home care services, such as companionship care. There is a wide variety of home care services available for elderly people, which involves a professional carer visiting your parents or parents regularly on agreed-upon days and times to provide companionship and practical support.
If this is something your parents could benefit from, get in touch with us at Trinity Homecare to find out how we can help.
How to Know When Your Elderly Parents Need Extra Support
Now, let’s take a look at a step-by-step process for understanding your parents’ care needs and planning for any care and support they may require.
Understanding Your Parents’ Needs
It can be difficult to know what help an elderly parent needs, and it is common for elderly people to often not recognise areas in their lives where they need extra support.
To understand each of your parents’ care requirements, you need to be aware of their physical and mental health and their daily routines. This allows you to identify challenges where they may need additional support. For example, if your parents have difficulty preparing nutritious meals, they may need help with grocery shopping and meal preparation.
Encourage gentle, open discussions with your parents about what things they find challenging or could use some extra help with. Most elderly people greatly value their independence.
They may become anxious that you are trying to control their life, or worried that if they express a need for extra support, it may be misconstrued as a sign of them being unable to cope. Be sensitive to their concerns.
Hold an Open Discussion with Your Parents
It’s always better to plan ahead for any changes needed to your elderly parents’ care or living arrangements rather than wait until a crisis hits or care needs become urgent. It is also a great way to discuss what type of care your parents are open to now and in the future, so you understand their wishes and preferences.
For many older parents, planning can be challenging, especially when it comes to arranging living arrangements and meeting care needs. It can be frightening for elderly people to think of what the future may bring, and ignoring their concerns can be a coping mechanism. Be aware of this and approach all discussions with sensitivity and empathy.
Early planning and discussions provide the opportunity to consider factors such as relocating elderly parents closer to where you live and the type of elderly care your parents would prefer if their needs become more significant.
Research Care Options For the Elderly
Once you understand your parents’ care needs and their wishes and preferences, you can begin researching the available options for them.
The vast majority of older people, when asked, say they want to remain living in the comfort of their own homes rather than move to a residential care home. Thankfully, there is a wide range of cost-effective home care options and residential-type facilities available today to choose from.
Here are some of the options for elderly parents who need extra support:
- Visiting care is a great option for older adults who have limited care needs.
- Live-in care, where a professional carer lives in the home, providing all-day support.
- Round-the-clock home care is most suitable for older adults with complex care needs who require assistance during the night.
- Care homes provide residential care for those with limited health needs but require support throughout the day.
- Nursing homes offer residential care for those with more complex health conditions and care needs.
- Assisted living, a residential option that maintains privacy and independent living but offers more support than sheltered housing.
- Sheltered housing is suitable for older adults who are independent and have no specific care needs but want the reassurance of emergency support if needed.
Involve Healthcare Professionals
If your elderly parents have existing health conditions, you should consider their current health needs and how these may evolve in the future. The type of health conditions your parents experience may affect what type of care and support is most suitable for them.
Involve your parents’ healthcare team in any care planning where necessary. An effective and efficient way to do this is through a care needs assessment. A care needs assessment is free and can be carried out by your parents’ primary healthcare team or through a CQC-regulated home care provider, such as Trinity Homecare.
The care needs assessment involves a team of healthcare professionals, such as a social worker and occupational therapist, making an at-home assessment of your parent’s needs and abilities with daily tasks.
Family and those involved in existing care are encouraged to contribute. The assessment team will then create a care plan, providing guidance and recommendations on the best course of action.
Make a Plan Together
Once you understand your parents’ care needs, their wishes and preferences, and the care plan recommendations, you can discuss them together to create a care plan.
This can be an incredibly daunting time for an older person. They fear the loss of independence and find big changes very stressful. You may find that your parents are resistant to change, even when they can see the value and benefits of the extra care being offered. Take your time, don’t rush them and try to explore and answer all their concerns.
At Trinity Homecare, we often find that clients are initially resistant or sceptical about the home care they receive. Once care begins and they get to know their friendly carer, their fears and worries disappear. In fact, most of our clients say their carer is a trusted friend, like a family member and they look forward to seeing them each time.
A good way to introduce home care is on a temporary trial basis. This way, older parents don’t feel pressured and they can try it out without a long-term commitment.
Benefits of Home Care For Elderly Parents
The benefits of home care are plentiful. Home care services not only increase independence, but they also nurture physical, emotional and psychological well-being while remaining in the comfort of one’s home surrounded by cherished memories, friends and neighbours.
The advantages of home care extend beyond the person receiving the care; it provides reassurance and respite to loved ones who may otherwise worry about them or struggle to help.
Home care services can help:
- Maintain independence and freedom of choice
- Avoid moving into residential care and thus maintain daily routines and autonomy
- Provide bespoke one-to-one support for specific needs and preferences
- Remain in a much-loved home, surrounded by memories, pets and the local community
- Give flexible support that can be efficiently adapted to changing needs
- Deliver condition-led support for dementia care, cancer care or other complex care requirements
- Provide relief to family caregivers
- Contribute to social interaction and companionship
- Save money, as home care is usually more affordable than residential care
Talk to Trinity Homecare today
If your loved one requires home care, chat with one of our friendly care team today. We offer a free, no-obligation enquiry and assessment service and are happy to offer information and advice to help you find the perfect home care solution.
Call us on 0207 183 4884 in confidence for a free no obligation quotation. If enquiring outside of our opening hours, please complete our online form and we will contact you the next day.
