Families Urged to Plan Holiday Care for Elderly

November 22 2011

Families Urged To Plan Holiday Care

With Christmas fast approaching, Miranda Smith Homecare is urging people to plan ahead and avoid the usual last minute rush to secure care for their elderly family members who require support.

The national private care agency says hospitals and care services are often stretched during the festive season and now is the time to start making plans.

“We expect the usual influx of clients during the festive season and people need to start preparing and making arrangements to ensure their loved ones get care while they are either away or busy,” says managing director Miranda Smith.

She says the festive season is a time to relax and recharge, but also a time when regular activities involving the elderly are suspended and their daily routines are disrupted. Individuals can be left lonely and vulnerable as a result.

In situations where family members are providing the carer role, such demands can create stress at a time when stress should be eliminated altogether.

Whether a parent or grandparent is in your home during the holidays, or in their own home with family members absent and unable to visit, arranging for a carer to assist can be an easy solution.

Ms Smith says people can feel guilty about not maintaining close contact with vulnerable family members during the holidays, but doing so can be a challenge when the demands of visiting friends or relatives come into play.

She says the agency has already made plans to ensure carers are on hand to address the situations that typically arise at this time of the year, and has made a concerted effort to make the provision of such care as easy and inexpensive as possible.

For further information visit www.mshomecare.co.nz.

ENDS

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