Categories for Advice
April 15, 2019 8:00 am
Caring for elderly parents/relatives is a role reversal that few people find easy to navigate. For those of the older generation, it means having to give up a degree of independence and their life-long role as the parent figure. For the adult child, taking on the responsibility of parenting your own parent can be difficult to come to terms with. However, there are things that can be done to make this process easier: Make a Plan Many of us ‘fall’ into becoming carers as soon as it becomes apparent that one or both of our parents requires regular assistance with day-to-day living. You will need to assess your options and discuss them with other family members and friends to find...
April 1, 2019 8:00 am
Despite everything we know about the importance of maintaining social connections as we get older, finding friends in later life can be a challenge. As we age, the easy social connections that we enjoyed as school friends parents and colleagues change. As a result, many older people find themselves facing shrinking social circles and needing to make new friends. The increase in technology has made our search for companionship, both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, services like Skype and Facebook allow us to stay connected with friends and family throughout the world. However, on the other hand, with everyone focused on staying “connected” online, we are losing the ability to connect in real life. Are You...
January 28, 2019 8:00 am
As the weather gets colder and the mercury plummets below zero, it’s time to help our elderly friends and family stay healthy and warm this winter. According to Age UK, “1 older person dies every 7 minutes from the cold weather and many more become seriously ill.” But, there are steps we can take to ensure our elderly loved ones are looked after and able to stay warm and healthy in the winter. Why are elderly people more likely to become ill in colder weather conditions? Often, older people are more at risk because their bodies can struggle to adjust to sudden changes in temperature change. In addition to developing illnesses such as the flu or pneumonia, the cold weather...
January 21, 2019 8:00 am
For many, getting older often may mean slowing down – retiring from work, taking it easy and for many, it also means spending much of their day seated and sedentary. But, as we get older we need to be incorporating the right amount of exercise into our lifestyle in order to live healthier. Physical activities and exercise are proven to help reduce the risk of heart disease, and early death. It’s also important to remain active in order to maintain your own independence and continue to enjoy daily activities such as; playing with grandchildren, walking to a shop, meeting friends and socialising. Whilst we don’t recommend you over exert yourself as you do get older, you should increase your activity....
December 10, 2018 8:00 am
Approximately 1 million people in the UK have a learning disability (2% of the population) and this is on the rise.* What is a learning disability? A learning disability is a “significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence), with a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning), which started before adulthood” – the Department of Health. How can a learning disability affect a person? Having a learning disability will affect the way a person understands information and communicates. Although it will vary from person to person, this can mean that they might have difficulty learning new skills, coping independently or need extra help in certain aspects of their lives. Many people...
December 4, 2018 8:30 am
Did you miss Home Care Preferred Barnet’s Care Fee Planning event? We’ve rounded up the key takeaways from the evening. What is care fee planning? Care fee planning (sometimes called funding plans) are tax efficient investments enabling people needing care (or their Powers of Attorney) to buy an income for the rest of their life in order to pay for care fees. Where can the fee be applied? Care fees can be provided at home (we offer various types of support, services and live-in care options), in a care home, retirement village, a nursing home or at a hospital or hospice. What is a Power of Attorney? An LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) is a document that allows a person, over...
November 27, 2018 8:30 am
Many people, as they grow older, dread the prospect of having to move into a Residential Care Home. At Home Care Preferred we provide home care for a wide range of clients, ensuring that they can remain at home in an environment that is comfortable and familiar while receiving the highest standards of care Many clients manage with hourly visits from our team at Home Care Preferred, however, Live-in care has become a successful and popular service. How does live-in care work? A carefully matched Support Assistant lives at the home of the client. Typically, they stay for 6-8 weeks and then have a one week break, at which time a second relief person steps in. Why should I consider...
October 25, 2017 4:14 pm
At Home Care Preferred we understand how daunting it can be deciding how to fund yours or a loved ones care (at what is usually an upsetting and stressful time). Deciding the best way to fund support can be extremely confusing and hard to navigate if you don’t know the ‘in’s and out’s’ of the industry, which can often lead to families making ill informed decisions. To tackle this, we are pleased to announce we will be hosting a series of one to one advice clinics were the public can access expert advice from a professional Independent Financial Adviser who is accredited in the later life advisory sector. We will be collaborating with SOLLA qualified St James’s Wealth Management Partner...
August 14, 2017 5:11 pm
A new report suggest over a third of dementia diagnoses could potentially be avoided by addressing aspects of one’s lifestyle including exercise, education, blood pressure and hearing. There were around 45 million people living with dementia in 2015, with recent figures showing this is set to rise; in England and Wales alone it is estimated that there will be a 57% increase in people living with dementia by 2040, with numbers set to hit 1.2million, driven predominantly by people living longer. But the new report from the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and car, stressed that dementia is not an inevitable part of ageing – and that action can be taken to decrease risk. “There are a lot of...
July 18, 2017 3:20 pm
A major study, undertaken by a team of scientists at Tohuku University in Japan, indicates a daily intake of any citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons or limes can cut the risk of developing dementia by almost a quarter. Various studies have suggested that citrus fruits can protect the brain against the damage that leads to dementia. Citric acid contains the chemical nobiletin which, in animal tests, has been shown to slow or reverse impairment of memory. However this new research – published in the British Journal of Nutrition – is the first major study to investigate the effect citrus fruit consumption might have on large numbers of those most at risk. Scientists tracked more than 13,000 middle-aged or...
