How To Help An Elderly Relative Maintain Their Independence

It's fair to say that one of the biggest struggles that elderly people regularly face when they age is a lack of independence. Thankfully there are several steps that you can take to prevent your elderly relative from losing their independence, helping them to maintain a healthy social life and ultimate mental and physical well-being, and it doesn't have to be difficult to get started today. So, if you would like to help an elderly relative maintain their independence, then simply check below for some great tips and ideas that you can utilise now!

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Adapt Their Property Accordingly
A great step that you can take to help your elderly relative maintain their independence is to adapt their home. This doesn't have to be difficult, as there are numerous measures that you can take to make sure their surroundings match their unique requirements. An effective example is to install grab bars in areas such as the hallways, as this will give them something to grip onto and steady themselves with when they are walking around their home. You can also add a foldaway chair to their shower, as this way they can sit down when washing and reduce their chances of slipping over or becoming too fatigued. You may also like to purchase some raising furniture that will help them stand up or recline with greater ease. Things like raising beds or even raising chairs are all too common, and they work by slowly rising to lift your elderly relative up to their feet. This means they won't have to heave themselves up and get balanced on their own, as their bed or chair can help them. A stairlift is a further brilliant addition that can aid them to move safely from one floor to another without the risk of tripping up or down the stairs, allowing them to use every room inside their home without restrictions.

Always Be Ready For An Emergency
If your elderly relative wants to maintain their independence and spend time alone, then you need to always be ready for an emergency. Anything could happen to your loved one at any time, and this is something that you need to bear in mind if you want to have confidence that they are out of harm's way when they live independently. It can be a good idea for you to provide your elderly relative with a landline phone that they can use to call you (or anyone else) if they need to, as this will help them to stay connected and provide them with a means to get help in an emergency at home. Of course your elderly relative will not be spending all of their time at home, so getting something like a GPS tracker for elderly uk is the perfect solution. This way, if they ever get into a tricky situation when they're out and about, they can reach emergency support and assistance with just the click of a button, along with a precise location that allows the ambulance crew to find your relative in the fastest time frame.