Exercise for the elderly

Exercise is crucial in maintaining health and wellbeing for older people. However, mobility-related or cognitive conditions can make it difficult to establish a regular exercise regime Exercise is crucial in maintaining health and wellbeing for older people. However, mobility-related or cognitive conditions can make it difficult to establish a regular exercise regime. Not only does exercise have many short-term mood-boosting effects, it also helps protect against muscle deterioration, and can build self-esteem by enabling people to feel active and involved. Older people can exercise in their own homes, or join up with a group for additional social interaction. Safety considerations Exercises should be supervised by a carer or another trained healthcare professional to ensure that your loved one receives adequate ...

Support and encouragement from live-in carers

We’re thrilled to share the heartwarming story of Irene and the impact our live-in carers have had on her life! Almost a year ago, Irene fell and broke her hip. But with the help of our excellent carers, she received the support and encouragement she needed to make a full recovery and look forward to the next stage of her life in new surroundings. Her son has expressed his gratitude and said, “I would like to thank you and the whole team on behalf of Irene and the family for the great service which you have provided. You have enabled her rehabilitation and mobilisation and, crucially, to maintain her independence and positive attitude towards life. It has also given us ...

Sitting exercises for the older generation

With the snow and ice predicted over the coming weeks, it is still important to keep active within your home. Jackie Cooper, Occupational Therapist, shared her recommended exercises you can do at home. These gentle sitting exercises are designed to help improve your mobility and prevent falls. Ensure you are sitting on a chair that has arms for support.    Chest stretch This stretch is good for posture. Sit upright and away from the back of the chair. Pull your shoulders back and down. Extend your arms out to the side. Gently push your chest forward and up until you feel a stretch across your chest. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds and repeat 5 times.   Upper-body twist This ...

Preventing and reducing the risk of falls in dementia

Having a fall can be one of the most frightening and debilitating experiences for anyone, as we get older this only increases with declining mobility and function. Having a fall can be one of the most frightening and debilitating experiences for anyone. As we get older the chance of having a fall only increases with declining mobility and function. Add into this a diagnosis of dementia and the risks of falling increases further. It is suggested that that older people with dementia are twice as likely to fall than their cognitively intact counterparts. (Shaw et al 2003, van Dijk et al 1993). The consequences of a fall also becomes more significant once an individual has dementia. Someone with dementia who ...

How live-in care makes hospital discharge less stressful

Hospital discharge is a stressful experience but can be mitigated with help from a live-in carer. They can oversee the transition and your loved one’s recovery. Hospital discharge is a stressful process for both patients and family members, but is vital to the health and well-being of your loved one during recovery. Here we take a look at why successful hospital discharge is so important, and how live-in care can support this process. Why is getting hospital discharge right so important? Returning home from hospital can cause a lot of discomfort for your loved one if the right care isn’t in place. There are two common barriers to a successful hospital discharge: Decisions about care arrangements made while a person ...

Practical ways to support older people with hearing loss

Find out how timely intervention, hearing aids and a different approach to communications can help support older people with hearing loss. Taking steps to support older people with hearing loss might be something you haven’t considered before, but they could be vitally important in keeping a loved one engaged with the world around them. In this article, we’ll outline some of the practical steps you can take to help older people whose hearing is declining with age. Support older people with hearing loss by taking these steps Here are some of the steps you can take to help support older people with hearing loss: 1. Seek help early In some cases, seeking help early could enable your loved one to ...

Age UK finds 1,000 unnecessary hospital admissions are made each day

Rates of unnecessary hospital admissions are rising according to new research from Age UK. Find out how live-in care can help prevent such incidents. Age UK recently published the results of new research into unnecessary hospital admissions, and rates appear to be rising rapidly. In today’s blog, we’ll take a look at the results of this research, why unnecessary hospital visits can be so damaging and what live-in care can do to reduce this risk. What did Age UK find when they investigated unnecessary hospital admissions? According to the results of the latest study from Age UK: 341,074 over 65s were admitted to hospital for avoidable reasons from April 2016-April 2017 This is equivalent to approximately 1,000 older people being admitted ...

How live-in care helps protect vulnerable older people

Learn more about how live-in care helps protect vulnerable older people from many of the risk factors typically present in the home environment. Live-in care helps protect vulnerable older people in a variety of ways. With a dedicated team of two live-in carers on hand 24/7, your loved one will be shielded from many of the risks associated with getting older. Today, we’ll look at five of the risks elderly people regularly face at home and how live-in care can help ensure they stay safe and secure. Protect vulnerable older people with a dedicated live-in care team These are five of the most important ways live-in care helps protect vulnerable older people: 1. Home safety The home environment becomes more ...

How to support an older person following a fall

Care for older loved ones by improving your understanding of how to assess and support an older person following a fall. In this article, we’ll discuss how to support an older person following a fall in a manner that emphasises safety and minimises distress. Falls become a more serious risk as we age Our mobility tends to reduce as we get older, often due to a decline in balance, bone or muscle strength. Relatively common conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, Parkinson’s and anaemia are also associated with an increased risk of experiencing a fall. Risks you might not have thought about in the past –­ protruding furniture, loose rugs and polished floors – become more of a challenge to navigate. ...

Ongoing care crisis leads to rise in rates of severe falls

With rates of severe falls increasing, commentators are discussing a growing care crisis. Find out about the latest news and our falls prevention programme. The number of older people passing away following a severe fall has risen sharply, with commentators describing this as a key indicator of a growing care crisis. Here, we’ll look at these new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Then, we’ll explore why falls can be so detrimental and what can be done to reduce risks for older people. How has the care crisis impacted rates of severe falls? According to the ONS figures, the number of deaths following a fall has increased rapidly from 2008–2016, especially among older people. The most pronounced rise ...

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