It’s not always easy to know when to move your parents into an aged care facility. The signs that it’s time to get additional care help are not always clear, especially if you don’t see them as often as you’d like. Often the decision to move into an aged care facility is an inevitable one, and it’s made by circumstances in life, such as a serious medical condition, the death of a partner, or an injury that wasn’t expected. In other circumstances, it’s something that just sneaks up on you before you know it.
Plenty of people choose to avoid going straight to an aged care home in favour of living in care at first. It’s a nice way to keep aging parents in the home, but if you’re not there regularly then how are you supposed to know when it’s time to get help? Generally speaking, there are some main checkpoints along this journey, and these are signposts that your parents may need a higher level of care than you can offer.
When they can no longer function independently, or they pose a danger to themselves or those around them, or when they’re currently unable to get the right level of support from their current carer, that may be a sign that a care home is a good step. Let’s take a look in depth at the signs. It’s time to get additional help.
There are plenty of things that go hand in hand with the normal aging process. Declining hearing and eyesight are pretty normal for everybody as they get older. But if you’re noticing that combined with memory loss or a slowing down and finding certain tasks harder, then you may want to pay a little more attention to whether or not your parents need help. These are the signs that tell you that additional care is necessary:
- They are falling often.With bruises and other injuries, multiple falls can lead to broken bones. If they’re spending more time covered in bruises and going to the doctor than at home, then that’s a good sign that they’re going to need some additional support in some way.
- Day-to-day tasks are becoming harder. Even the simple things such as going to the bathroom can become very difficult for somebody who’s unable to manage themselves.
- There is a cognitive or physical impairment. Cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s and dementia can mean that live in care or additional care may be necessary. Having additional help with somebody whose mind is changing all the time is not easy to find, but it is necessary for them.
- Health issues that lead to hospitalisation. Physical or mental health conditions that are leading to constant hospitalization mean that you may not be able to keep up with that care. You still have to work and look after your family and go to your usual activities, so you can’t be there all the time.
- Getting lost. If your parents find themselves in unfamiliar places and panicking, and you’re getting phone calls from the police to come and pick them up, then it might be time to look at additional care so that they can have somebody with them.
- Loss of continence. This one’s a big one. If a parent is losing continence, then additional help is a must. They may be too proud to wear adult nappies or get additional help, but it’s necessary if they want to continue to live at home and comfortably in a living facility.
