Supporting the elderly during the lockdown period
Taking care of the elderly is a bit more difficult after the government requesting people stay at home for 3 weeks unless it is necessary. It is still important to make sure we are taking care of them to the best of our abilities so this blog post is going to tell you what you can do to support them.
Phone Calls
Phoning the elderly can really help with their mental health and help to make them feel a bit more sane! It may seem obvious to turn to phoning your family members during this time but you could also call your elderly neighbours or family friends. Write your number down on a piece of paper with your name so they know who it is and give them the option to call you for a chat. you can also video call if the elderly is able to do so.
Shopping
It is important to ask our elderly if they need any shopping or help with anything to minimise them having to go out the house as much as possible. Pop a letter through their door or ring the doorbell and stand far back and ask them if they need any shopping when you are going. Please make sure you are washing your hands before and after delivering the shopping and let them know that you have done so to relive stress from them.
Living with an elderly
If you are living wit an elderly person then it is important to make sure that you are taking extra precautions when leaving the house. Washing your hands, the doorbell, phone and anything you have come into contact with to ensure that there is minimal risk for them contracting the virus.
Preparing for the worst
Make sure that you prepare for if anyone in your household gets the virus so you have a plan of what to do to keep your elders safe. If anyone does contract the virus they should isolate to their room and when entering the bathroom make sure that they are cleaning everything properly behind themselves to protect the rest of the household as much as possible. Having a plan with help to relieve stress from your elder and will help if the situation does arise so you know what you all have to do.
Exercising
the elderly should refrain from going our for exercise as they are vulnerable and at high risk. Saffron Support have written a blog post on this website about how they are getting their elderly to do chair exercises instead to hep keep them sit and healthy during this time where they would usually go out for a walk with their career.