I was lucky in that I managed to get to the age of 29 with a full set of Grandparents. My paternal Grandmother sadly passed away in January 2016 and then only 18 months later I had lost my paternal and maternal Grandfathers.
When my paternal Grandfather started to show signs that he really wasn’t capable of living on his own, with the family’s advice, he decided to sell his house which was about half an hour away from us and move into a new house built literally behind my parent’s house so that we could keep a better eye on him and make sure he had the help he needs to be safe.
Of course there is a lot to consider when moving an elderly relative as their needs are not always the same as a younger person and mobility issues may mean that a house needs special adaptions to ensure they can get around, cook and wash without potential danger.
Here are some changes it is worthwhile considering in the home of an older person:
A walk in bath
Ideal for those with limited mobility, a walk in bath allows easy access to bathing without the dangers of having to step over the rim of the bath. Many models come with a powered seat lift to gently lower the user into the bath to avoid any dangers of slipping or falling for anyone not very stable on their feet. Slip-resistant features are also available along with the addition of grab rails for extra security when getting in or out of the walk in bath.
Kitchen adaptations
For older relatives who love to cook, it’s worth looking into specialised kitchen adaptations such as looking at the location of cooking appliances, the storage and safe use of cooking equipment and flooring that may become slippery when wet I found a great guide on https://barburykitchens.co.uk/ with lots of helpful information which is well worth a read.
They’ve been featured in August 2020’s Hello Magazine, having recently completed a new bespoke kitchen for Made In Chelsea star Binky Felstead. If you’re in the right area take a look at their Oxfordshire Kitchen page as they offer bespoke kitchen design in the Oxfordshire area.
Remote control plugs and lighting
Some conditions which regularly affect older people can mean that simple actions like switching off lights or electric plugs can become hard or painful to do. These days it is possible to install remote control sockets which are controlled with an easy to access remote control so that it is not necessary for the user to lean down and try to use small, fiddly switches.
Try remote control plugs from Amazon which work with the Alexa app. Of course, you can also get electric plugs which use a timer so you can set electrical equipment to go off at a certain time which also avoids an older person having to lean or switch anything.
Getting up and down stairs
A combination of polymyalgia rheumatic and arthritis in his knees means that my Grandfather really struggled with climbing stairs. His new house did have stairs and we had to work out the best solution for this problem. The options were to make a sleeping and bathing space for him on the ground level or install a system to help him get up the stairs safely.
In some cases it may be possible to fit an extra banister rail with newel rails giving a continuous hand rail even around corners but in our case I my Grandfather required a stair lift to make it easier.
Home alarms and pagers
Unfortunately, before moving out of his old house, my Grandfather had a couple of falls where he was unable to get up or to get help – once in the garden at night time – luckily a neighbour heard him calling for help and they were able to get him up and inside in the warm.
My family did consider getting him a personal alarm for him to have on his person at all times which means if he got into trouble he had a way of alerting us and calling help which gives us peace of mind that he wouldn’t have ended up stuck in a similar situation where he required help but couldn’t have reached anybody.
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