Having taken care of my elderly father-in-law before, I have compiled a basic checklist for elderly care. This is a complete checklist of things that I've prepared, bought, done, and arranged. Hope it'll come in handy for my readers who are going to take care of their elderly parent or relative.
1. Personal Belongings: Hand-phone (for emergencies, with your number or main caregiver on speed dial and also numbers of hospitals, doctors, etc.), spectacles, clothing and underwear, bags, shoes/socks, slippers, accessories (hats, belts, ties, scarf), walking aids/sticks, wheelchair.
2. Medications, Injections, Incontinence Care: All medications (pills, vitamins, supplements), pill boxes, external or skin medications/lotions, Q-tips, needles for injection, alcohol swaps, consumables for incontinence care like elderly diapers, wet wipes, dry tissue and toilet paper.
3. Daily Meal Arrangements: Home cook, meal delivery or takeaway? Eating utensils like bowl, plate, fork, spoon, cup, water bottle.
4. Beddings and Furniture: Bed frame, mattress with bedsheets, pillow/bolster and their cases, blanket, safety bar (to assist elderly in getting up bed), cupboard, drawers and clothes hangers. TV, TV console, radio, armchair or lounge chair.
5. Toiletries: Towel, hair, facial and body wash, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, shaver and shaving cream, comb, hair gel, hair accessories, hair clipper, nail cutter, bathing chair.
6. Safety: Install safety bars or handrails at important areas in the house e.g. beside bed, outside and inside bathroom, main entrance of house, areas with kerb (place ramps at kerbs for wheelchair accessibility) and staircases. Place anti-slip mat, or apply anti-slip flooring at the showering area.
Ensure main pathways in the house has adequate lighting (or well-lit. Especially important for night-time bathroom trips), is clutter-free and wheelchair-friendly, so that elderly can move around house freely, safely, and easily (remove wires off the floor, big plant pots, small or little furniture, carpet, etc.)
Last, but not the least,
7. Personal Important Documents and Life-end Arrangements: Identity card, passport, bank book/cards/accounts, insurance documents and agents' contact numbers, other financial documents of bank, will, investments, property/estate, etc.).
Life-end arrangements or preferences like will, asset or monetary allocation, lodging, food, care-giving, funeral, and perhaps appoint a decision-maker legally if elderly were to lose consciousness or cognitive ability one day.
Like all living things, everyone will die one day. The best thing that we can do for the elderly is to keep him/her as healthy and happy as we can, create a clean and pleasant home for them, give them our love and attention, respect their choices, have lots of patience, help them keep as much dignity as possible and perhaps ask and fulfill their final wishes so that they can leave this world happily, without any regrets. :)