Hot meals and cosy toes – keeping warm through Spring

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As we get older, our bodies react differently to the cold and wet conditions we experience in the UK. Looking after elderly relatives or parents is imperative during the winter and, sometimes cold spring, months to ensure they stay warm and healthy. Keeping warm both inside and outside your home can help reduce your risk of the serious health problems that are more common in the colder months, such as chest infections, heart attacks and strokes.

Here are some simple tips from Age UK to ensure elderly relatives stay safe during colder months:

  • Keep simple cold, flu and sore throat remedies in the house. Your pharmacist can make suggestions and also advise you on how to manage minor illnesses.
  • Follow up your GP’s invitation to have a flu jab.
  • Order repeat prescriptions in plenty of time, particularly if bad weather is forecast. Ask your local pharmacy if they offer a prescription pick-up and delivery service.
  • Keep basic food items in the cupboard or freezer in case it’s too cold to go shopping. You could also do your food shopping online and get it delivered to your door.
  • Keep a radio and torch handy in case of a power cut.

It is the smaller things that can make all the difference so for more information read through this handy guide: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Informationguides/AgeUKIG27_Winter_wrapped_up_inf.pdf?dtrk=true

Latest News: Trials announced to investigate new dementia technology

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Older patients and people with long term conditions such as dementia, will be among the first to benefit from a series of projects aimed at improving health with a major new drive to modernise how the NHS delivers care.

NHS England invited companies from the UK and globally to express interest in setting out and testing their innovations in this flagship initiative. This programme provides the opportunity to combine different technologies with innovations in how services are delivered in the NHS.

Five ‘test bed’ sites across England will evaluate the use of novel combinations of interconnected devices. For people with dementia this might be a new model that combines the use of wearable devices linked into mobile or other digital technology. This could be implemented alongside technology-enabled housing and a lower cost nurse or health professional workforce model. This data analysis and way of working will help patients stay well, monitor their conditions themselves and therefore live in their own homes for longer.

Hilary Evans, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity said:

“Trials of this sort are vital to know whether new technologies can have a real impact on people’s lives, and it’s good to see that tools aimed at helping people with dementia are being evaluated as part of this scheme. The NHS test bed programme could be vital for understanding which innovations should be taken forward.

Many of the projects being assessed aim to support people with dementia to live independently for longer, but there is also a desperate need for new treatments, preventions and better diagnostic tools. Investment in research must continue if we are to defeat dementia, and we must ensure that new treatments can reach the people who need them as quickly as possible.”

At Sussex Grange, we are encouraged by the level of dementia research that is taking place. The more research, the better the quality of life for our elderly relatives.

Source: http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/nhs-england-to-trial-new-dementia-technologies-in-test-bed-scheme/