Celebrating carers, the unsung heroes
YOU are getting older and it’s getting harder to manage on your own. The easy option (if you’ve got that sort of money) is a care home. And yet do we really want to give up everything we know – the comforts of our own home, the friendly local streets, even our dog or cat – at a time in life when we should be winding down?
The answer is generally a resounding ‘No!’ and the solution is out there, one that helps us retain our independence with dignity while making sure that our environment is safe and secure.
We can continue to live our lives with the assistance of carers. These are mostly family and friends and in the UK there are 6.5million of them looking after elderly, frail or disabled relatives or friends.
This is Carers Week, an occasion that celebrates the tireless work of these people. The annual campaign aims to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges carers face – and recognise the contribution they make across our nation.
Carers help with the obvious tasks – shopping, laundry, cleaning and cooking – but so much more. They frequently become involved in much more personal things for the person in their charge such as dressing, turning them in their sleep, helping them to the loo and administering medication. Carers also help with things such as filling in forms and managing money.
They are also sometimes responsible for implementing modifications around the home that make daily life simpler and safer, anything from the best kitchen utensils to the installation of ramps, a stair lift and other living aids
Rewarding
Carers Week highlights how important it is to get all this right: assessing what is needed, because not all caring is the same.
It is often specific depending on health and disability issues and a carer needs a clear picture of physical, emotional and social needs. Only then is it possible to work together to make daily life more rewarding.
A skilled carer can make suggestions to improve a home simply and effectively – and there are many items that can help. What you don’t want is to turn your home into somewhere with the feel of a care home, filled with chunky equipment.
But, more and more, it is possible to find specialist furniture and living aids that fit in with any décor.
Hand rails in sleek chrome rather than hospital utility white, riser recliner chairs that look and feel good no matter whether you have mobility problems or not, and a range of smart bathroom products that are designed for effect rather than trying to stay hidden.
A leading supplier of the best and most innovative products is The Unlimited Company (theunlimitedcompany.co.uk), which provides anything from simple bedroom accessories to the very latest in mobility scooters, wellbeing aids and easy-use garden implements.
Everything is available from a comprehensive website, while there are also more than a dozen stores across the country and staff are happy to offer advice over the phone.
It’s easier than ever before to find a way to manage – and to do it so you don’t have to give up your home to gadgets that look as if they belong on a hospital ward.