SENIOR SNIPPETS By Christina Uppenkamp Home Instead Senior Care
Welcome to the latest edition of Senior Snippets: the monthly advisory column with the older members of our community in mind, brought to you by Christina Uppenkamp, Director of Home Instead in Dartford. The start of the year is traditionally a time when lots of people focus on creating new healthy habits, so we have decided to take this opportunity to suggest one of our own. Carrying out an annual home safety check is something that you can do in just a few hours once a year and it could help to keep you and your family healthy and safe. Here are our suggestions for how home? Or ask a family member or friend to test your existing smoke to go about it. detectors to make sure they are still Make sure you have emergency working fine. numbers to hand: Keep phone numbers for the emergency services, Remove hazards to prevent falls: a reliable family member or friend Check each area of your home to see and your doctor somewhere easy whether there is anything you could to access in a hurry. If you keep a fix or move to make the space safer. mobile phone with you at all times, Secure rugs, so that they don’t slip as save your emergency numbers there. you walk on them, move loose wires If you don’t, write them clearly and and other trip hazards and make leave them next to every phone in sure that routes you walk often are clear of objects. If you are wearing a your home. falls alarm, make sure it is regularly Book a fire safety check: Lots of tested to ensure it can help you in fire departments offer a free home an emergency. Have someone check fire safety check and install smoke your outside lighting to ensure you detectors free-of-charge as well. Why can safely see steps and pathways not contact the local fire department in darker months. and arrange for them to visit your
Install safety measures: If maneuvering around the bathroom is challenging for you, or feels unsafe, consider having grab rails installed to help you and putting a rubber mat in the bath to prevent slips. Make sure you have a sturdy banister running along your stairs and consider anywhere else in the home where safety features could make life easier. Social Services or an Occupational Therapist can conduct a needs assessment for you to establish if you require certain equipment to stay safe at home. Change the code to your safe: It’s a great idea to change the code to your safe annually, especially if you have people in your home on a regular basis, such as cleaners, carers, doctors and delivery people. You may choose to add additional points into your home safety check. However you go about it, begin by asking yourself whether you feel safe and secure in your home and what you would do in an emergency, then put in place any measures you need. If you would like to suggest a future topic for this column please get in touch with Christina on c.uppenkamp@ dartford.homeintead.co.uk or at 01322923750.
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