Home care company sets up heatwave neighbourhood watch

A national home care company, Home Instead Senior Care, is urging people in communities across the UK to pop in on their older neighbours to check they are keeping safe and well during the prolonged heatwave.

As a nation the British are much more aware of the health of older people during cold winter months and many people will regularly check up on them, but it’s just as important that care and consideration is shown to older people in the current hotter temperatures.

Older people are particularly vulnerable because they are unable to regulate their body temperature, medications can have a significant impact on this, especially when the temperature is warm during the day and well into the evening. Older people with dementia are most at risk as they can sometimes forget to do simple things, such as eat and drink fluids.

Home Instead has taken special measures to make their caregivers aware of these dangers and are ensuring that their clients are well prepared to cope during this type of weather.

Home Instead’s ceo, Trevor Brocklebank, outlined a recent case that he had been informed of by the Exeter & East Devon office. He said: “Mark McGlade from our Exeter office found an elderly lady propped up against her door when he passed by her home, he went to see if she was all right.

“She was locked out and had been standing there for nearly four hours in the sweltering heat with no shade or water and was quite obviously distressed. After trying to get back into her home to no avail, Mark resorted to climbing in an open window. Once he was in, he gave her a large drink of cold water, opened all the windows and closed all the curtains to cool down the house, she couldn’t thank him enough.

“Although this is an unusual example of the effects of heat, we’re calling for people across local communities to be extra vigilant about the wellbeing of their elderly neighbours, especially at this time of year.”