As the number of older adults living alone increases, we need to focus on creating a safe environment for them. Senior safety is essential to protect the elderly from getting hurt due to falls, burns, slippings, etc. 

The in-home safety measures to adopt to ensure their safety include decluttering pathways, making bathrooms accessible, removing rugs and carpets, improving lighting, and installing safety devices. 

Let’s take a comprehensive look at how to ensure home safety for the elderly. Follow the steps below to protect your elders in your absence and prevent accidents. 

Areas to Make Elder-Safe in The Home

Ensuring the safety of an older person should not mean limiting their freedom to walk around the house. Instead, make sure that all the areas in the house are modified to ensure safety for the elderly. 

1. Bedroom

Here are a few things to do in the bedroom where your elders sleep;

• Remove all the tripping hazards, like rugs, carpets, mats, etc. from the room. 
• Declutter the room and give ample space for them to move around easily. 
• Don’t put too much furniture in the room and make it spacious. 
• Ensure the elders have easy and fast access to the telephone or mobile phone. 
• Lower the bed height to a comfortable level for the seniors to get out of bed without any external assistance. 
• Don’t let wires or electrical leads obstruct their way in the room. 

The whole point of making these changes in the bedroom is to prevent falls, electrocution, and delays in contacting the responsible person. Professionals also suggest that you install sound-enabled cameras in the bedrooms of your elders. 

2. Bathroom

Follow the bathroom checklist and implement the steps you can;

• Install grab bars near the tub, shower, and toilet. 
• Keep anti-slip or anti-skid bathroom mats. 
• Check the toilet height and make necessary changes to ensure the elder’s comfort. 
• Do you have the requisite system to ensure that the bathroom water does not get too hot? For this, install the thermostat on the water heater to an optimal temperature. 

Bathrooms are slippery; hence, has several hazards for the elderly if proper measures are not taken to ensure senior safety. In addition to getting anti-slip mats, install non-slip tiles. 

The reason we recommend adjusting the toilet seat is that when the adults use the toilet, their blood pressure changes and their knees hurt. In this situation, they must be able to use the toilet comfortably. 

You should also consider changing the faucet style to a lever-style handle, especially if the elderly is suffering from arthritis. 

3. Hallway and Stair Safety for Seniors

Hallways and stairs are another area of the house you need to check and modify for senior safety. This step is imperative for elders suffering from mobility issues. One wrong step on the stairs can cause a lot of damage. 

Seniors often have reduced vision and lack the motor skills to react quickly in the event of an accident. Follow these steps to ensure stair and hallway safety for elders. 

• Install smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors on the stairs inside and outside the home. 
• Ensure that the stairs have adequate lighting. Don’t get sensor lights for elders, as it can be confusing. 
• Make sure the stair railings are strong. They should not be wobbly and come out of place when held with force. 

Houses with stairs and elders can consider installing stairlifts, allowing them to go up and down easily. 

4. Kitchen

When working in the kitchen, the elderly must not be exposed to hazardous components. Install anti-skid mats and tiles in the kitchens. Remove all the clutter from the kitchen to create a safe environment for the elders to cook and walk in the kitchen. 

• Ensure adequate lighting in the kitchen for the elders to work. 
• There should be no spoiled food in the refrigerator. 
• Secure all the chemicals and cleaning materials so that your elders don’t use them accidentally without knowledge. 
• Repair or change all the appliances with faulty, damaged, and frayed electrical cords. 

Within the kitchen, secure the cupboards and cabinets in place. Ensure that the elders don’t accidentally hit their legs, feet, arms, and head with the cabinets. The kitchen shelves should be at an ideal height for the elders, allowing them to work comfortably and things are easy to reach. 

Elders with arthritis may find it difficult to pull out plugs and handle appliances. To assist them here, install smart appliances that can be operated through voice assistants like Alexa, etc. 

Making the kitchen elderly safe can be a cumbersome process due to the sheer number of risks and hazards associated with the kitchen. 

In addition to these, follow these general safety practices to transform your home into a safe haven for the elders. 

• Clear a convenient path from the driveway, removing all the objects that can cause them to slip or fall. 
• Trim the landscape and make the walking paths towards the home wide enough so that a wheelchair can easily pass through. 
• Install handrails on the sides of the stairs, and if there are ramps, install handrails there too. 

All the measures suggested above are meant to enhance safety for elderly in the home. From installing new appliances, devices, to changing tiles and lighting, ensuring home safety for elderly can be a costly and time-intensive process. 

Take it one step at a time, as changing everything at once will further create a nuisance for the seniors in the home. 

Ensuring Security for Homes With Elderly Living Alone

Elders living alone are targets for thieves as they can take advantage of the elderly’s limited mobility and slow reaction. To ensure senior safety, secure the home with all the security measures you can put into place. 

Install a self-locking mechanism like a deadlock or a paddle door lock. There should be a wide-angle peephole at the front door. Install voice-enabled front door cameras so that the seniors can confirm the identity of the person and talk to them through the camera if opening the door is not necessary. 

Install sensor lights outside the house and have a robust alarm system that notifies the authorities of unauthorised access into the houses. 

Get a Companion for Your Elders

Your parents may not be living alone by their own choice. Working children can take out a limited amount of time for their parents. For comprehensive senior safety, you need to provide them with the right living environment and this includes being there at the time of need. 

However, not everyone can be available to help their parents and elders at all times. Hiring professional nurses, medical professionals, and assistants to take care of the elder’s needs solves all the problems. 

You can get an assistant to take care of the elders in the house. They can assist them in cooking, bathing, wearing clothes, and completing all the other chores around the house. In addition to this, nurses can be hired for medical aid and assistance. 

Where assistants can take care of the medication, nurses can help the elders with their healthcare needs. At Santokh Home Care, we provide elder-friendly care services. Our mission to ensure senior safety and elder healthcare allows us to curate a bespoke services package for your elders, catering to their unique needs and health issues. 

Contact us to know more about how Santokh Home Care can become your go-to and trusted elder care services provider.