Hour-change impacts elderly

A local care provider is urging people to take extra care of their elderly relatives and neighbours now that the clocks have gone back an hour.

The longer evenings have been shown to impact the well-being of older people, says Abacare, which cares for people in their own homes across the Welshpool area.

Neil Griffiths, Regional Manager at Abacare, said: “Through visiting our service users, we know that many elderly people are affected by the darker evenings and cooler weather, so we thought it was extremely important to pass on our insider knowledge to ensure that people check on any older neighbours, friends or relatives more often in the winter months.

“This is especially important as many have been unable to get out as much as normal due to the Coronavirus this year. They will be feeling isolated and lonely already before the clocks changed, so extra vigilance is needed this winter.

“The darkness and bad weather can limit the time elderly people can get out and about to run errands or socialise, if they can get out at all. So, it’s a good idea if you have formed a bubble with them, to pop in a few times extra during a normal week to see if there’s anything they need.

“If you aren’t in their bubble you could also call them more often and visit them using the current safe social distance measures in place. Please make sure you consult local rules at the time of your visit to ensure you’re complying with these.

“It’s also a good idea to make sure they are warm and have plenty of additional blankets to hand and are wearing layers of clothing, should they need it.

“Sometimes a friendly face at the window or on the doorstep, at a safe distance, is all that someone needs, but please do adhere to all the safe social distancing measures in place. If you’re in the same bubble, simply just popping in to say ‘hello’ and to enjoy a cuppa and a natter is perfect.”

Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.

Neil added: “We are continuously working to eradicate social isolation. We believe providing emotional care is just as important as the physical and we are doing our upmost to make sure our service users don’t feel lonely or isolated, especially in the current COVID-19 pandemic and throughout the winter months.”

Abacare is looking for kind, honest, caring and reliable individuals who wish to have a stable and long-term career in care, and who would like to forge rewarding relationships with the service users they care for. No experience is necessary to become a carer, as free, full training is given.

For more information or to enquire about a position at Abacare, please visit www.abacare.org.uk or www.indeed.com/cmp/Abacare. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook at http://bit.ly/2PgKK2K or on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/visitabacare.