Quality of life (QOL) is defined as the general well-being of an individual. It is influenced by factors such as the built environment, the physical and mental health of the individual, and even their social belonging. For members of the aged community, their QOL includes that of the quality of care they receive from in-home caregivers or the services from their aged care accommodation.
With the global mortality rate continuing to drop every year, the need to provide better products and services for the aged community will only continue to rise. As more public and private organisations work to keep up with the rising senior citizen population, improvements to their services are needed to uphold their community’s QOL.
A Growing Older Population
The advancement of medicine and technology, partnered with the desire of living a healthier lifestyle has had a significant impact on the world’s population as life expectancy rates are rising. In Australia, older people make up a considerable amount of the population with one in every group of seven being 65 years old or over. This number is only expected to grow in the following years with projections stating that about one-quarter of the country’s population in 2050 will be made up of people aged 65 years or over.
While the majority of older Australians are living independently, one in every group of four lives in care accommodation with many of them aged 85 years and older. There are a number of public and private aged care homes in the country that provide the necessary services for senior citizens. However, the need to modernise these facilities is fundamental to the improvement to the care they can give.
Providing Comfortable Convenience
Part of improving the quality of life of those who live in aged care homes is the use of innovative patient handling equipment. For many older Australians. The use of handling equipment is standard in aged care homes but some homes are still using mobility tools from decades ago. While they are still effective in the most basic sense, newer designs and models provide additional comfort and efficiency.
These days, improvements are being constantly made to ensure that patient handling equipment is more secure and comfortable. In addition, they have also been enhanced to make them easier for caregivers to use, making their duties easier to carry out.
Upgrading Caregiving Services
The use of modern and innovative equipment is counterproductive if the people using them lack training. Currently, there is a deficiency of federal laws that determine the level of skill needed to work in aged care homes. Moreover, there is a lack of staffing in these accommodations that has caused an imbalance in the caregiver to patient ratio.
As individuals and organisations continue to petition for better governance in this matter, owners of aged care homes are tasked with improving the quality of their caregivers’ services. This can be done through the use of more stringent criteria in the employment process or regular training seminars and workshops.
Providing members of the aged community the necessary improvements for their QOL means giving them the best service possible. Innovations in patient handling equipment means that it is now easier for the carer and more comfortable for the patient to go about their daily lives.
