Promoting independence Free Essay Example, 1000 words

CHAPTER ONE Independence among Elderly: Helping Older People to Live Independently in Their Homes Introduction The objective of the dissertation Older people are known to suffer from illnesses more often than young people, as well as develop diseases or medical conditions that are related to old age, and which require support, medical and otherwise. It has been shown that a global demographic transition is occurring, and the percentage of old people in the world is rapidly growing (Young, Robinson, Chell, Sanderson, Chaplin, Burns et al. , 2005). This suggests the need to pay more attention to the subject of treating elderly people, offering them sufficient and proper care for their various special needs and promoting their independence so they could live and function well. This dissertation comes to examine in depth the subject of elderly dependency, including the causes of their dependency, factors affecting it, measures and methods to dealing with it, as well as the welfare state of older people in the past and the present. An overview of the welfare state for older people The global demographic transition has caused health and social care services worldwide to address the needs of older people as a priority. Frail older people, who are elderly people with physical or mental impairments, are major users of these services. Attending to their needs in personal, and to those of the entire population of elderly people, is quite a challenge. Proper care is needed in order to make a positive impact on the health and independence of the elderly. However, the situation today is insufficient and does not always comply with the requirements. Home care for older people in England is often "inflexible, misses opportunities to promote independence and suffers chronic staff shortages", shows a report published by the Commission for Social Care Inspection. We will write a custom essay sample on Promoting independence or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The commission has found that services are concentrated on older people with severe needs, and this is why many other older people, who would certainly benefit from home care, do not receive it. Also, the commission’s report reveals that some employers attempt to save money on selection and recruitment of home care nurses, and 39% of inspected agencies failed to meet the national minimum standards in this area. Be that as it may, home care services have improved since in the past years. For instance, three-quarters of providers were found to comply with the minimum national requirements, and inspectors of the commission praised certain aspects of personal care, which were associated with "respectful, caring and helpful attitudes of staff"(Hocking, 2006).