Have you spent time with older family members recently?
And now are you worried that they're not managing as well as they used to?
At one end of the scale you may have spotted a few problems, and be wondering how you can make life a bit easier for them.
At the other end of the scale you may have noticed some serious issues, and be worried sick about how to avoid disaster striking.
And to top it all, they may well be insisting that they're fine, and don't need any help.
If you've started to search the internet for advice and guidance,
there's a huge amount of information out there,
but it's difficult to know where to start and how to work through it all.
It's a bit like trying to do a jigsaw without the picture on the box, or worse, with pieces missing.
Or imagine if you're half way through and some of the pieces disappear or the picture changes in front of your eyes.
This is the situation that new 'Carents' (Carers for Parents) often find themselves in.
Trying to help older parents to live independently at home.
I love The Carents Room article on the Care Jigsaw which helps explain the big picture, in a way that other sources don't.
The article explains that there are four types of care in the jigsaw:
1. Support for Health or Medical Problems
2. Support for People who have Difficulty with Personal Care
3. Support to Maintain a Safe and Healthy Home
e.g essential household tasks like laundry, shopping, cleaning, gardening, rubbish, security etc
4. Support with Everything Else
e.g. what people need so that they can live life to the full e.g. get out and about, socialise, attend appointments, organise their affairs, get a haircut, buy new clothes
It's complicated enough working your way around NHS and Adult Social Care Services to hopefully deal with the first two points. But number 3 and 4 are just as essential and in most cases have to be cobbled together by some combination of family, friends, charitable or private resources.
Or they just stop happening.
Increasing the likelihood of crisis, and even more reliance on the services providing support for number 1 and 2 on the list.
For anyone who finds themselves dealing with their own complex jigsaw, The Carents Room is a fantastic resource.
For anyone struggling to find the time, energy or headspace to work it all out,
or who would just prefer to save some of what they have left for themselves.
This is where And Wiser can help.
Helping you complete the jigsaw.
And then, as it continuously evolves,
Helping you keep piecing it back together.
I can help you work out what you need to do,
signpost you directly to the information you need,
and provide you with ongoing support.
And if your elderly relative lives in the Morpeth area,
I also provide a full support service in person,
so you know there's someone close at hand,
when you can't be there yourself.
Contact me for a free initial conversation,
and I'll help you through it.
To find out more about all of the ways I can help, take a look at all of my Services or read some of the blog posts and case studies to find out how my services have helped my clients to live well at home and really thrive, not just survive.
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