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Caring for aged

In the fast-moving world where time to provide care to family elders comes at a premium,
in-house nursing care has come to the rescue of professionally occupied couples of the city. A new trend of having an attendant or a nurse for grandparents or old parents has become quite popular.

As nuclear families replace joint ones, the trend of couples moving out of the family houses when they start their own families is gaining acceptance. As these ‘independent parents’ grow older they find it extremely difficult to deal with age related health issues. With nobody available to take care of them, the problem grows in proportion.

On the other hand, children get so busy giving shape to their personal and professional lives that they find it very difficult to devote time to their near and dear ones who need love and care. As a result, the old age people often become the victims of loneliness, depression and start showing signs of abnormal behaviour.

In the age of globalisation, the problem is compounded because children move out not just of the houses, but many a times, also out of the country in search of greener pastures. It’s not that the children are always to be blamed for this. On several occasions fiercely independent parents prefer to stay in their own nests. In these cases, the lives of old age people are at risk in many ways. In situations like these what is needed is proper assistance to make life comfortable for older people.
 
Many private initiatives have come up with a new concept of providing ‘comfort keepers’ popularly known as ‘in-house care’ for the elder people to tide over this problem. Instead of worrying about your old age family members, you can now stay carefree by hiring nurses or attendants who look after the elderly with professional and affectionate care.

Comfort Keepers, a leader in the in-home care industry, has come up with an in-home Senior Care Assessment Guide to help you evaluate the needs of your loved ones better. It helps in providing the required amount of care that your elderly family members may need. In Delhi-NCR, there are several in-house care agencies which provide with attendants, nurses and doctors.

These agencies give you an option of choosing 24*7 comfort keepers or 12 hours assistants. The charges differ accordingly.

For an attendant with a minimum experience of four to five years, you have to pay Rs 450-500 for a 12 hours day shift and Rs 550-650 for night shift. If you hire a nurse, who is a diploma holder in nursing, it will cost you Rs 900-1,100 for 12 hours and Rs 1,700-2,000 for a whole day.

Based on the gender of your elderly seeking proper care, you can opt for male or female attendants. ‘To save money you can take a combo-pack which includes a nurse for the day shift so that the old age person can get the medical facilities and in the night you can keep an attendant,’ said Brijesh, owner of Saini Nursing Care.

He added that the payment is made after services have been provided. You receive a copy of a bill that will carry a detailed summary of the facilities availed.  ‘For security reasons, you must get the identities of these comfort keepers verified from your local police stations,’ a senior police official in south Delhi, said.

These agencies collaborate with medical equipment providers who provide all types of equipment on rent. You can also buy other affordable equipment from them.

When the reporter visited one of the agencies as a potential customer for her 72-year-old grandmother, who underwent a surgery, the agent advised her to arrange a foldable bed. He offered a deal saying, ‘Pay Rs 7,500 as security deposit, further you have to pay Rs 400 monthly till you need the bed. When you do not require the bed you can return it and get the refund of your security amount.’

The nurses are well-trained in giving injections, putting drips, dressing wounds along with regular check-ups such as blood pressure, sugar among others. But you need to buy the equipment for it.
Comfort keepers also assist elders in managing the activities of daily life such as cooking, incidental transportation and other support services. Experts say choosing in-house nursing care is far better than sending your senior members to old age homes.

These comfort keepers offer a better solution by allowing seniors the comfort of their own home rather than moving to a nursing home or assisted living centre.
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