Home medical care services for elderly parents from NRIservicefirst

“Loneliness is my least favorite thing about life. The thing that I’m most worried about is just being alone without anybody to care for or someone who will care for me.”

-      Anne Hathaway

Ageing is a slow, irreversible process in the life of all living things. As the life expectancy increases, the proportion of the elderly also increases. According to reports, by 2050, 20% of India’s total population would be above the age of 60. In Kerala, the old age dependency ratio (seniors/working people) has already reached a high figure of 16.5.  

Specialized Elder Health Care Services

Caring for ageing parents in India

As we become old, we will gradually become dependent on others for most of our needs. Loneliness is one of the most common conditions that could affect the elderly. Youngsters should be ready to give moral support to the elderly parents to ward off the loneliness creeping into their minds. Ageing brings along a number of unexpected medical problems too.

Although there is the government sponsored NPHCE scheme, which is aimed at the welfare of elderly parents, in most cases it is insufficient. Many private hospitals and agencies have also come up to cater to the needs of elderly parents. But for NRIs, who live far away from their parents, offering immediate help or care to their parents in case of medical emergencies is an impossible task.

nri parents care

Challenges in caring for the elderly

Caring for the elderly is not always an easy task. If you live far away from your parents, caring for them gets even more difficult. In the case of NRIs, attending to the medical emergencies of a dependent parent is often very stressful. In most cases, you wouldn’t have anyone reliable to take care of them, especially when an emergency arises.

A solution

But, things are getting better. NRIservicefirst, a one of its kind service provider for the NRIs, is creating a positive change in the lives of NRIs who wish to arrange for specialised care for their aged parents.

This Cochin based service provider offers specialised service to the elderly parents of NRIs. Whether it is support for Medical Consultation, Laboratory Investigation, and Medicine Delivery, trained personnel from the service provider would be at their side, helping them out.

Apart from these, plans are afoot to offer Medical Emergency support as well as In-patient support.

How can you avail the services of NRIservicefirst?

As the name suggests, this is an exclusive service for NRIs. You can visit the site http://nriservicefirst.com/membership/ and follow the instructions to sign up for membership. You may choose Gold or Silver memberships. The terms and conditions are transparent and fair. The service provider also offers a provision for withdrawing the membership.

As India lacks strong social initiatives for the welfare of elderly, often the individual have to care for the parents and other elderly in the family. Traditionally it was the duty of younger generation to take care of the old. However, as people have moved out of their hometowns to different parts of the world, they are seldom able to do it. It is in such circumstances that the services offered by NRIservicefirst come as a blessing to the NRIs.

Keep the elderly fall-safe

One of the leading causes of injury and even death among the elderly is fall. It is estimated that one out of three senior citizens suffer falls every year.  Fall related injuries are one of the most common conditions encountered in the emergency rooms as far as senior citizens are concerned.

The question is can this be avoided?

Well, the answer is – largely, YES!

Before we get on to know how to prevent the falls, let us try to understand the factors that lead to these dangerous falls.

• ·         The most common reason for fall is the lack of physical activities. As people grow older, they are more prone to lesser exercise, as well as lesser movement. This results in poor muscle tones and decreased bone mass. Consequently, they are more likely to experience loss of balance and flexibility. 
• ·         A weak sight could add to the woes of the elderly, which might result in falls. They are prone to impaired vision and may not always wear glasses, leading to poor sight.
• ·         After effects of medications is another reason for falls. Most of the elderly would be under some medications, which might include sedatives, anti-depressants and anti-psychotic drugs that lead to higher risk of falling.
• ·         Health conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s diseases, arthritis and the like could cause weakness in the elderly. This would affect their ability to grip things, balance stuff as well as their overall cognition. Apart from these, surgeries are also known to leave the senior citizens weak and prone to falls.
• ·         Other factors such as hazardous conditions at home such as poor lighting, saggy carpets and lack of general safety features also could lead to falls.

However, the good news is that most of these causes can be avoided. We can make our homes safer and elderly friendly.

Elderly Health Care Services India

Specialized Elder Health Care Services

Here’s how:

• ·         Fix handrails or safety bars in the shower and bath
• ·         Install anti-slip tiles in the bathroom
• ·         Use a stool riser seat to make getting on and off the toilet easier
• ·         Install handrail on the stairways. Make sure that it extends beyond the first and last steps
• ·         Keep the stairs and corridors well lit. Motion sensing lights could be a good idea. So is night lamps
• ·         Ensure that the rugs and carpets are not saggy or slippery. Give special attention to the ones on the stairs and steps
• ·         Get rid of clutter. Throw out/stack away any unused/surplus furniture. Make sure the corners of the furniture are not sharp
• ·         Move the furniture to ensure easy walking around the house
• ·         Tuck away the electric cords and ropes so that they don’t trail along the floor
• ·         Encourage the elderly to wear non-slip shoes or slippers
• ·         Arrange the frequently used items in easy-to-reach cabinets
• ·       Give special care to the heaters and make sure there are automatic cut-offs to avoid burns and scalding
• ·         Wipe away any spills and remove broken glass right away

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Apart from these, encourage the elders to remain as physically active as possible. Let them undertake small walks and exercise according to their physical conditions. Also, whenever possible, encourage them to stay away from unnecessary medication and drugs.

Malayali nri parents health care

Through these small, but actionable steps, we can make sure that our elders are less prone to falls.