MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The lockdown has been especially challenging for families of people with special needs.
These include Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease patients and those with Down's syndrome and autism.
It takes a great deal of love, care and patience to look after these special people and family members often need a break to have "me" time, relax and follow pursuits that give them joy in order to recharge their batteries.
During the lockdown it has been a challenge for those who must be with the special needs people in their lives all day.
A nurse who works with the elderly said that early during the lockdown, an Alzheimer's disease sufferer was picked up by police in the Reebok area because he was wandering around. He did not know what "lockdown" meant.
Qualified carers
The nurse prefers not to be named because of the delicacy of her work and the close community in which she operates. But she stressed the need for more qualified carers who can relieve family members and look after those with Alzheimer's, Down's or autism - even post-operative patients - those who have had hip or knee replacements. In the case of special needs patients, it is specialist work, dealing with someone who is having a "meltdown".
The nurse points out: "An Alzheimer's sufferer can be swearing at you one moment and then laughing with you the next."
She said elderly folk who were used to having an evening glass of wine or whisky to calm them, were finding the lockdown really hard. "I had a lady saying to me that all she wants is a glass of wine at night." With the lockdown having been extended many had not been prepared for this and did not have liquor in their homes.
The experienced nurse cited the example of a woman who had undergone an operation in hospital. She was overwrought and agitated afterwards. Her doctor asked the family kindly: "Is she used to having a tipple in the evenings?"
A little whisky
They answered, surprised: "Yes!" Then he advised: "Just bring a little whisky into hospital in a hip flask and give her a measure. She will feel better."
Fortunately home-based care has been listed as an essential service during the lockdown, so carers have been able to continue going to the homes of the elderly, infirm, injured or rehabilitating, to wash and care for them.
However, families of those with Down's syndrome or autism, who are used to children being at schools, have had to take care of the children themselves all day and they do not get a break.
The Mossel Bay Advertiser spoke to Swan's Home Nursing manager Gerhard Swanepoel about the need for more home carers on the Garden Route. Swans is a local company servicing the area. He said: "There is a gap in the market. In our area almost 80% of people are older than 60. This is the opposite to Gauteng, where there are many young, working people. Many older people need care.
"We've been in the business for 10 years. We have found that many medical funds prefer that people are cared for at their house or in a familiar environment.
"That is why we nurse people in private homes. Especially if people develop dementia, they don't want to go to a strange place. They get agitated. It is more peaceful for them at home. Also, hospitalisation is expensive. With the demand for space in hospitals for those needing operations, there is more reason for people to be cared for in their home environment, so there is much work for home-based carers.
Not enough properly trained people
"The problem is there aren't enough properly trained people in the industry. There are many jobless people, but few being trained in this direction."
Home-based carers take many emotional knocks from patients who can be abusive towards them, either because they are in much pain or because they are not well mentally, such as Alzheimer's disease sufferers. Also, carers are always at risk of injuring themselves physically, because they must lift and move patients.
When asked why home-based carers are paid so badly - some earning less per day than domestic workers - Swanepoel says: ''In all of the medical industry, home-based care is the only section that is not regulated by the government, hence people cannot demand high salaries.
"Even the places of training are not registered. Home-based care is not a strictly regulated profession. The salaries are paid according the laws involved, but many are paid less than the minimum required and this is a great travesty."
Show compassion
Although home-based carers were sometimes verbally or emotionally abused by patients, they had to not show aggression, but compassion, he noted.
Swanepoel said: "As a company, we have hand picked people to work for us. It is difficult to find the right people for the job. We're a registered business with a medical practice number.
"If you advertise for home-based carers, you have many people coming forward who don't have the right documents or qualifications and they try to convince you they are right for the job.
"We offer services for all manner of situations, such as someone who has had a shoulder operation or a stroke or normal old age situations - people become too weak to attend to their daily needs. Our nursing sister goes to each person, sits around the table with the family and draws up a nursing plan."
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