As old age creeps in, falls and accidents happen often. Living alone can become increasingly challenging and hard. Seniors and elderly individuals living alone may begin to struggle to perform daily tasks and have difficulty moving around with ease. At that moment, the service of a personal carer is needed to provide support.
Personalized care is essential for seniors living alone. You cannot overstate its importance. Seniors need personal carers to live a healthy lifestyle without the risk of suffering frequent falls. Personal carers often act as primary support to seniors. They help to maintain safety, and ensure overall well-being. These primary caregivers become the bridge between seniors and their ability to enjoy independence and a great quality of life.
In this blog, we explore the gaps in the lives of seniors living alone and the benefits of finding them a personal carer.
Benefits of a personal carer for seniors living alone
Improved safety and security
The older an individual becomes, the more they are prone to injuries, falls in the home, and accidents. Worse if they are living alone. As such, the risk of emergencies increases. A personal carer helps to prevent these hazards from happening.
Beyond these, a personal carer also ensures that the senior does not miss the doctor’s appointment. They set medication remainder and activate emergency responses if need be. a personal carer guarantees a safe place. Making the home accident-free and reducing the risks of injuries.
Below are some of the tasks a personal carer performs to ensure safety
- Prevent incidents by assisting with mobility
- Provides prompt response to emergencies
- Ensures on-time use of medication
- Assists with household chores and home maintenance tasks that could cause accidents
Daily Living Assistance
Seniors who have difficulty taking care of their stuff need carers. For instance, managing a home can be overwhelming – even for regular people, not to mention seniors. A personal carer offers daily living assistance to seniors with unique needs. A personal carer helps with domestic tasks. Whether it is dressing, cooking a meal, going to the store for groceries, and so on, a carer helps with that.
Sometimes, a senior could need help exercising their muscles or fragile limbs, a personal carer comes into play. A personal carer also helps to coordinate a senior’s light exercise to support self-reliance.
Other areas of daily living assistance include;
- Meal planning and preparation
- Grooming duties
- Personal hygiene support
- Bathing and dressing
- Limb exercise
- Cleaning and laundry
- Grocery shopping
- Organizing and maintaining a safe living space
- Installing home modifications
Complex care Assistance
Seniors living with chronic health conditions require more than just a personal carer who will provide daily living assistance. They need a carer who provides complex care. Complex care includes the management of chronic and terminal illnesses, monitoring of vital signs, and so on.
Complex care also includes training and helping seniors navigate the use of medical devices and supervising smooth and effective communication between the participant and their professional care provider.
Examples of chronic or terminal diseases that could require complex care assistance for seniors are;
- Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia
- Parkinson's disease
- Recovery from stroke
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- Diabetes
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Companionship and Emotional Support
Living alone can lead to feelings of loneliness. In elderly people, it could lead to depression. Life slipping by and not being able to do things you could do in the past can be troubling. That is why it is a safe option to have a personal carer who will be assigned to a senior.
Seniors need someone to reassure them that there is still more to life beyond being old. They need someone to make them see beyond the wrinkles on their hands and live happily to see another day.
The carer will provide companionship support and act as a life support. Offering emotional support and encouraging the senior to take on beautiful initiatives with the NDIS funding. The personal carer must be willing and able to provide support and guidance during life transitions.
The personal carer will also engage the senior in stimulating conservations and hobbies. While also ensuring that the senior does not miss hospital visitations and medications. The carer encourages participation in community activities and provides reassurance and companionship.
Behavioural support and mental health care
Aging often comes with little cognitive defects in a senior’s mental health. A personal carer provides behavioural support and assists with cognitive exercises. Other ways personal carers help seniors include;
- Engaging them in stimulating and mental activities like puzzles, games, etc.
- Communication support
- Providing emotional assistance
- Monitoring signs of mental health concerns
- Memory assistance
Encouraging Confidence
One of the reasons some seniors refuse to stay in care facilities is the fear of losing independence. However, some service providers actually encourage participants’ independence journey.
Personal carers who work with these service providers encourage self-sufficiency while providing the necessary assistance. They do not take over the whole activities, instead, they introduce innovative and supportive ways that could help the seniors become more independent.
This balance allows seniors to maintain control over their lives while still living outside a care facility.
Random Facts About Seniors Living Alone
- Studies show that over one-third of seniors living alone are at risk of social withdrawal, which can lead to depression and cognitive decline.
- They prefer in-home care service to staying in a care facility
- Seniors living alone require a strong support system to improve their quality of life
- Many of them suffer from falls
- Falls are the most common injuries that lead to hospitalization among seniors
What to consider in a carer before enlisting them for service
Cost
Generally, home care is often cheaper than care facilities and nursing homes. However, some personal carers through their network might want to place heavy charges on their service. Hiring a personal carer for your senior is cost-effective.
Pet Care
If you or your family won a pet. You should consider getting a carer who will assist you take care of your pets. Some carers assist with feeding pets while some others do not.
Technology Assistance
The world is now a global village. Technology has revolutionized all sectors and spheres of human living. This does not exclude the care service sector as well. Technology has made some care options easy. For instance, home modification features, hearing devices, personal assistant devices, etc.
Some of these technologies might require guidance and setting up. So you need to consider a personal carer who is tech-savvy. For example, setting up devices for video calls for family connections, teaching seniors how to access the internet for life hacks, and so on.
Some personal carers may not be familiar with these tools and that could create a technological or digital void. Some seniors’ NDIS funding may cover home modifications, but if the personal carer is not tech-inclined, the modifications are as good as useless.
Custom meals
Seniors need proper nutrition for sound health. That is why you should consider hiring a personal carer who can help with meal planning and preparation. There is no point in having a personal carer and still having to source for a support worker to prepare meals.
Nutritional support you should anticipate from a personal carer includes;
- Ensuring seniors don’t skip meals
- Monitoring dietary intake and making adjustments
- Assisting with cooking and meal preparation
Holiday Support
The availability of your personal carer during the festive period is worth considering when hiring one. The main reason for hiring a carer is to prevent the senior from living alone. Hence, it is not ideal that the senior would be left alone for a brief period.
Hire a carer who ensures you or your seniors are not left alone during festive seasons.
Compatibility
It is not worth hiring a personal carer with whom you have contrasting values, hobbies, or beliefs. There will be no synergy and the atmosphere will be somehow dry. More damage will end up being done than the care that was intended.
That is why you should consider compatibility before locking in with a specific personal carer. Do you share the same values? Do you both believe in the same things? Does he hold any reservations about your culture?
You should also be sure the intended personal carer has interests in your hobbies. You cannot be a soccer fan while your personal carer is anti-soccer. You need to be interested in the same hobbies so that there can be synergy.
These are some of the factors to consider when selecting a personal carer for yourself or your senior.
When to consider a personal carer
Normally, it is hard for the elderly to accept needing help. Not to mention having someone stay around them for the greater part of the time. However, some inexcusable signs out rightly point to the need for a personal carer.
When these signs begin to show or their symptoms start to appear, then you or your senior are due for a personal carer.
- Skipping medication
- Declining hygiene
- Frequent falls
- Seclusion or isolation
What makes a personal carer stand out
There are many caregivers and carers in the care service industry. Some service providers also cannot boast of capable support workers. Making it difficult to pick the most suitable carer for care support.
If you are hiring an independent support worker to work as a personal carer for a senior, below are some key traits to watch out for.
1. Training received
Carers undergo deep background checks and skill assessments. They are also trained for special complex care procedures like dementia, mobility issues, ALS, etc.
2. Personalised care service
The ability to offer tailored support for a senior’s needs and preferences and flexibility of schedule.
3. Compassionate Companionship
Can the carer provide emotional support? Is the carer compassionate? These are some of the questions you need to be sure your carer will have positive replies for.
Conclusion
There are lots of benefits to having a personal carer for seniors living alone. As people age, it is essential to prioritize dignity, independence, and safety. Personal carers do not just fill emotional and physical gaps. They foster a sense of community, connection, and purpose.
Having a personal carer for a senior living alone offers a beacon of hope and a symbol of optimism. Consider getting a personal carer for your seniors today.
