Safety, health and wellbeing

A collection of 24 posts

Safety, health and wellbeing

Supporting a Parent With Continence Care, Sensitively and Safely

It is one of the hardest and most sensitive aspects of caring for an ageing parent, and one that families often find hardest to talk about: continence. Bladder and bowel problems are very common in later life, yet they are so often surrounded by embarrassment and silence. But there is

Safety, health and wellbeing

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in Older Adults

As the darker months draw in, some older people find their mood dips, their energy fades, and they feel low in a way that seems to lift again come spring. This can be more than simply the "winter blues." It may be Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, a

Safety, health and wellbeing

Osteoporosis and Fracture Risk: What Families Should Know

Osteoporosis is one of the most common conditions of older age, and one of the most consequential, because it makes bones fragile and prone to breaking. A fracture, and a hip fracture in particular, can be genuinely life-changing for an older person, affecting their independence and wellbeing profoundly. Yet

Safety, health and wellbeing

What Is Social Prescribing, and How It Complements Live-in Care

Not every problem that affects our health and happiness has a medical solution. Loneliness, isolation, low mood, inactivity, or simply a lack of support and connection can weigh heavily on a person's wellbeing, especially in later life, and no pill or prescription can truly fix them. This is

Safety, health and wellbeing

Recognising Signs of Pain in a Parent Who Can't Easily Express It

Pain is hard enough to cope with when you can describe it. But what happens when your parent cannot easily tell you they are hurting? For older people living with dementia, or with communication difficulties after a stroke, or simply with a lifelong reluctance to complain, pain can go unnoticed

Safety, health and wellbeing

Wandering and Dementia: How Live-in Care Reduces the Risk Safely

For families of someone living with dementia, few worries are as frightening as the thought of them leaving the house, becoming lost, and coming to harm. This tendency to walk about, often called wandering, is common in dementia, and it can be a genuine source of dread, especially at night,

Safety, health and wellbeing

Sundowning: What It Is and How Live-in Carers Manage It

If you care for someone living with dementia, you may have noticed a distressing pattern: as afternoon turns to evening, they become more confused, restless, anxious or agitated than they were earlier in the day. This is known as sundowning, and it is very common in dementia. It can be

Safety, health and wellbeing

Communicating With a Parent in Later-Stage Dementia

As dementia advances into its later stages, one of the hardest changes for families is what happens to communication. A parent may speak very little, or not at all. They may no longer follow what is said to them, and may not seem to recognise you. It can feel, heartbreakingly,

Safety, health and wellbeing

How to Communicate With a Parent Who Has Hearing Loss

If a parent is losing their hearing, you will know how easily conversations can become frustrating for everyone. Words are missed, things have to be repeated, and both of you can end up tired or exasperated. Over time, that frustration can quietly cause an older person to withdraw from conversation

Safety, health and wellbeing

Staying Mentally Active: Hobbies, Puzzles and Lifelong Learning at Home

We tend to think a great deal about keeping older people physically well, and rightly so. But keeping the mind active matters every bit as much. A stimulated, engaged mind supports mood, confidence, a sense of purpose, and general wellbeing, and it helps later life feel rich and full rather

Safety, health and wellbeing

Coping With Hay Fever and Allergies in Older Adults

Hay fever and allergies are often thought of as something that affects children and younger adults, but they can trouble older people too, and sometimes for the first time later in life. Itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing and congestion are just as miserable at eighty as at eighteen, and

Safety, health and wellbeing

Sleep problems in older adults: causes and home-based solutions

A bad night's sleep is miserable at any age. In later life, it can be more than that. Poor sleep drains energy and lifts anxiety, but it also raises the risk of falls, clouds memory and concentration, lowers mood, and makes existing health problems harder to manage. And

Safety, health and wellbeing

Companionship as care: why loneliness is a health issue too

When families think about care, they usually think about the practical things: help with washing and dressing, medication, meals, mobility, safety. All of it matters enormously. But there is another part of care that is easy to underestimate, and it may be just as important to your loved one'

Safety, health and wellbeing

Dehydration in older adults: a commonly missed risk at home

Of all the risks facing an older person living at home, dehydration is one of the most common, one of the most serious, and one of the easiest to miss entirely. It rarely announces itself. It creeps up quietly, and by the time it becomes obvious, real harm may already

Safety, health and wellbeing

UTIs and sudden confusion in older adults: why it is often mistaken for dementia

It is a scene that plays out in families all the time. A parent who was perfectly sharp last week is suddenly muddled. They do not know what day it is. They seem agitated, or unusually drowsy. They say things that make no sense, or seem not to recognise where

Safety, health and wellbeing

Winter safety for older adults

Winter has its own quiet beauty, but for older adults the colder months bring some very real risks. Cold weather is harder on the ageing body than many people realise, and it comes bundled with slippery pavements, dark afternoons, and the seasonal bugs that tend to hit older people hardest.

Safety, health and wellbeing

Long-distance caregiving: staying involved when you live far away

Caring for a loved one when you live far away, in another city, or even another country, comes with its own particular ache. There is the worry of not being there, the guilt that quietly follows you around, and the frustrating sense of being out of the loop, never quite

Safety, health and wellbeing

Heatwave safety for older adults

When the summer sun arrives, it is tempting to think of hot weather as nothing but a treat. But for older adults, a heatwave can be genuinely dangerous. Our bodies become less able to cope with heat as we age, and every summer, hot spells pose real risks to older

Safety, health and wellbeing

How do we keep your loved one's money safe?

Trusting someone to come into your loved one's home sometimes means trusting them around money too, for the weekly shop, perhaps, or a small errand. It is completely natural to want to know how that is handled, and to be sure your loved one's money is

Safety, health and wellbeing

Moving and handling: how our carers keep your loved one safe and mobile

As we get older, the everyday movements most of us take for granted, getting out of bed, rising from a chair, walking to the bathroom, can become harder and, at times, risky. So it is a very natural question for families to ask: can a live-in carer help with

Safety, health and wellbeing

How do our carers handle medication safely?

Of all the things families think about when arranging care, medication is often near the top of the list. Is my loved one getting the right medicines, at the right times? Is it being handled safely? Are they still being treated as an adult who can make their own choices?

Safety, health and wellbeing

What happens if there is an accident?

It is one of the worries that sits quietly at the back of every family's mind when arranging care: what if something goes wrong? What if my loved one has a fall, or there is a mistake? It is a completely fair question, and one you should feel

Safety, health and wellbeing

Mental capacity: how our carers respect your loved one's right to choose

As a loved one grows older, or lives with a condition such as dementia, families sometimes find themselves worrying about decision-making. Who decides what is best? And, importantly, is my loved one's right to make their own choices still respected and protected? It is a sensitive and

Safety, health and wellbeing

End-of-life care at home

There are few times in life harder than knowing someone you love is approaching the end of theirs. Amid the sadness and the many questions, most families find themselves holding on to one simple, deeply human wish: for their loved one to be comfortable, to keep their dignity, and, wherever