Those of us who are advanced in age have many problems such as a decline in physicality and a higher risk of illness. It is for this reason that they need access to quality home safety services. When looking at home safety for the elderly, personal care is often the first thing that comes to mind. The state of personal care for seniors is rather interesting today. This is especially because of what we have learned when it comes to social and medical skills.
That said, if you have a loved one you think needs these services, you may want to look for certain indicators. Also, as a person aspiring to be a caregiver, the same information will prove to be just valuable. Let’s see a quick guide to personal care for seniors according to Galaxy Home Care.
The purpose of personal care for seniors
Understanding personal care requires you to know why it is there in the first place. You will find a plethora of reasons the elderly require personal care and some may not be as obvious as you think. The following are a few of the many reasons people require personal care:
Mobility issues
Unfortunately, as we get older, we aren’t as mobile or as physical as we used to be. As such, many of our beloved seniors need someone to help them with anything that requires movement. This includes things such as:
- getting out of bed
- going to the bathroom
- getting around the house
- taking a shower
Mental problems
This may not always be the case, but some of our elderly have been developing one mental problem or another. This can range from low levels of memory loss to heavier cases such as dementia.
In the case of the former, they need to be reminded of relatively small things, such as where they left things and to take medication. The latter people in particular need the most attention. This is because their mental state has reached a critical level and they need constant attention.
Sorting through affairs
Fortunately, there are good numbers of seniors who are more than competent physically and mentally in their old age. These people have few issues, but they could honestly care less about general tasks. These general tasks include the likes of the following:
- sorting the mail
- paying bills
- taking care of house chores
- buying groceries
This type of care is not always seen as urgent. As such the scheduling can be flexible. A way of looking at it is through the lens of the 24/7 schedules that are required for a typical client. When the client doesn’t need as much help, there isn’t an immediate need to attend to them all the time. Only a few appointments will do.
Scheduling
Because every client is different, the schedules tailored for them also vary. As seen above, seniors need different things depending on their general condition. In short, the lighter cases may not need much and typically have flexible schedules. The more severe cases require caregivers to pay constant attention to their clients.
It is also important for you to know that these schedules are often subject to change. Mandatory things can cause these changes and they can be as small as a client being out of town too as big as huge health changes. It is for this reason that these schedules are constantly monitored and reviewed.
The duty of caregivers
Caregivers are the people responsible for making seniors’ lives easier. For the most part, caregivers come in the form of an elderly person’s family. In some cases, family members will often hire someone to do this job for them, if they aren’t available. The best way to go, however, is hiring a professional company and bringing in their experienced caregivers.
Also known as care assistants, these people are true professionals who have been trained extensively to do the exact job. This training consists of quite a few things including:
- first-aid
- proper handling and moving of clients
- safeguarding
- proper treatment and interaction with severely ill clients
These specialists typically have other experience in things such as home economics and hospitality, for which they can get diplomas. Personal care companies often hire and train people with these credentials to look more reputable. So, if you are looking to be a paid caregiver, you will have better odds if you have previous qualifications.
How to provide personal care
It shouldn’t be surprising to find that the job of being a personal caregiver is not for everyone. Though you may receive all the training in the world, that training will not mean anything if you don’t have the right attitude.
Attitude is ultimately the one thing that will decide if you are a good caregiver or not. You should be patient, understanding and compassionate. Ultimately these qualities are what will get you through the tough days.
As for the actual manual of how to go about things, it will be included in the training. Said manual should contain the following:
- Learn as much about the client as possible, especially their previous care,
- Talking to the client about the care they are to receive and learning their patterns,
- Create a proper and happy environment for the client,
- Allow the client some independence to prevent them from feeling useless,
- Ensure that the clients have all they need.
Final thoughts
Now that you know how personal care works you can go about either finding a caregiver for a loved one or being one. Either way, you cannot stress the importance of this service enough. At the end of the day, it’s all about making the seniors’ lives as comfortable as possible.
This is especially true for those who require help. Actually, such services are focused on both medical and emotional aspects and it also affects the sick and loneliness. With all that out of the way, we hope that this knowledge will help you and you will find the best personal care providers for your close people.
