Can dignified home care for the elderly become a feasible reality?

Until the government figures out how to help the elderly at home with some assistance and bridge the gap between pensions and the cost of care, hospital crowding and long waiting lists for public homes will persist

We are an ageing population just like the rest of the world. People over the age of 85 years of age are the fastest-growing segment and half of them need some help with activities of daily living. Beyond age 65, people have more than a 70% chance of needing some sort of long-term care. Care for the elderly has been in the spotlight since it is fast becoming a crucial sector to maintain a sound social structure.

Although home facilities or family help for the elderly have been their only choice, home care is now becoming a preferred option with 95% of seniors aged 75 years or older wanting to remain living in their own home. If properly managed it may be very beneficial to the family and with the right system in place the person being cared for usually shows signs of increased motivation to carry out activities of daily living as they now no longer feel alone or a burden on others.

This option is very cost effective if the assistance needed is a few hours daily for shopping, cooking, companionship, overnight stays or a few days a week as respite for the family. However once the situation turns into a 24-hour scenario there is a big gap between pensions and the cost of hiring a care worker even at minimum wage, since the maximum pension stands at €12,772 per annum and the cost of care calculated at minimum wage would be around €33,000 per annum, not including insurances, NI, VAT etc. If calculated as a real cost and not at minimum wage it would be closer to €60,000 per year.

So many families are forced out of the option of proper care for their elderly and opt to hire a live-in housekeeper, usually from the Philippines, and without choice have to abuse their time! Why? Because like any worker, although they live in your home they are paid the minimum wage for an eight-hour shift, the rest of the time they should be free to go or do as they wish unless they work and get paid overtime, but since the whole scope is 24-hour care, they are inadvertently asked to stay at home all the time without proper compensation or time for rest, while the foreign worker feels obliged not to complain since they are afraid of ending up on the street. Many foreign workers go even further and don’t report vital incidents which are crucial for the wellbeing of the client, so as not to ruffle any feathers, leading to the total lack of safety and continuation of care.

Unfortunately we also very often hear of the abuse that foreign care workers dish out to their clients, especially if they are hired privately and have no one who can train them and keep them in check.  Elderly persons who have been left alone unattended, unwashed and inadequately hydrated are just a few of these stories we hear on a weekly basis. More problems also arise since these workers are being so overused and overworked that they end up experiencing burnout again, to the detriment of proper care.

Thanks to the FXAM (Fondazzjoni Xjuhija Malta) and our current President, the government has started the process of setting up the much needed standards for homes for the elderly in the country and will start giving the elderly some much needed improvement. This will be followed by standards of in-home care which will go far to curbing abuse by the care worker or towards the care worker.

Until the government manages to figure out how to help the elderly who can remain at home with some assistance and bridge the gap between pensions and the cost of care beyond the current €300 a year, the problem of hospital crowding and long waiting lists for public homes for the elderly will continue to mushroom. Furthermore it is really sad to see so many dedicated, caring Maltese people who are willing to work and devote their time to really helping others, out of work due to the ever increasing influx of cheap foreign labour who due to their circumstances at home accept wages far below what is legal or even humane.

The inclusion of a responsible party overlooking and helping in the management of care, where either the care worker, the family or the elderly themselves have an outlet to share any grievances that may arise, goes a long way to eliminating abuse and promoting the proper care the elderly deserve in such a difficult part of life.

Do you need some respite this summer?

As you are well aware it takes a lot of effort and dedication to look after your loved ones when they are not well or as they age.  In addition to the strain of actually looking after someone a family member must also contend with the emotional burden of being related or married, which more often than not increases the difficulty multiple times over.

Sometime you need a rest, both from the physical demands of caring and secondly from the emotional strain that accumulates whilst looking after a loved one.

We at  Seniors Helping Seniors® do our best to match the personalities of the carers we provide to the family member being cared for so as to encourage a strong friendship.  Like getting a little help from your friends®  So when the family go on holiday or just need some rest you will find a kind and compassionate person to help out.  

We are pretty enthusiastic about giving the opportunity and the option to the elderly in Malta to remain safely in the comfort of their homes for as long as possible and thereby enabling families to enjoy their loved ones whilst carrying on with their normal routine or taking a rest with full peace of mind.

Seniors Helping Seniors® UK, wins it’s first award !!

Seniors Helping Seniors® is a Fast Growth Award Winner for 2014 for its innovative in-home care service.

UnLtd (www.Unltd.com) has today announced 32 of the UK’s leading social entrepreneurs as Fast Growth Award Winners for 2014.

Each of the social entrepreneurs who have won the award has been given a monetary prize and they will get intensive support over the next 12 months to help them scale up their ventures to tackle some of the nation’s toughest social issues. 

Seniors Helping Seniors® started in Canterbury offering Seniors in Canterbury and Thanet the help they need to stay at home living safely and happily for as long as possible.

Seniors Helping Seniors® Canterbury & Thanet

They are among 32 winning ventures for 2014

Seniors Helping Seniors® utilises the nation’s untapped resource of a willing and very able senior workforce. Carefully selected Seniors provide care to Seniors who need some help at home. Interests are matched to ensure the relationship between the care provider and care receiver flourishes. Having shared experiences and shared standards helps with acceptance, respect and trust and there is a sense of fun in the care.

Albert Chong, Fast Growth lead at UnLtd, said: “Our 2014 Fast Growth Award Winners are exceptional entrepreneurs tackling some of our most difficult social problems. Their solutions are innovative, effective and sustainable.They are driven, focused and with one thing in common: true dedication to using enterprise to solve social problems. We are very excited to be working with them over the coming year.”

The Millennium Awards Trust, which is administered by UnLtd, has funded the award for Seniors Helping Seniors.

To find out more about the Fast Growth 2014 winners, go to https://unltd.org.uk/fast-growth-winners-2014.

Christian Wilse the Manager of Seniors Helping Seniors®  - “Particularly where health is concerned, the UK needs social entrepreneurs more than ever. The country needs an alternative system of support that offers more than charity can offer and puts care of the elderly at the top of the agenda with an emphasis on living well, not just surviving. I feel very proud to receive this award and acknowledgement from such a wonderful and supportive organisation on behalf of all of our team”

Christian Wilse the Manager of Seniors Helping Seniors® UK

UnLtd is the leading provider of support to social entrepreneurs in the UK and offers the largest such network in the world. UnLtd resources hundreds of individuals each year through its core Awards programme. UnLtd operates a unique model by investing directly in individuals and offering a complete package of resources; from Awards of funding, to ongoing advice, networking and practical support. 

SHS - Improving peoples lives

Having someone who cares for you and knowing that you are not alone makes all the difference.  We at Seniors Helping Seniors® have been noticing the amazing effect the right person makes in ones life.  It's a positive transformation that really gives back people the joy of living.

Instead of being cooped up at home in front of TV waiting away the days and weeks, one now has the choice of enjoying some quality time engaging in activities that they used to love and often have forgotten. Cards, scrabble, cooking, walking, whatever it may be. Activities that although may seems trivial have a incredible restorative effect on the soul.  No one should have to be alone, feel lonely and give up everything they used to love.

Mr. Rizzo enjoying a brisk walk on the front one of his passions

Here at Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home services we are pretty enthusiastic about giving the opportunity and the option to the elderly in Malta to remain safely in the comfort of their homes for as long as possible and thereby enabling families to enjoy their loved ones whilst carrying on with their normal routine with full peace of mind. 

We do our best to match personalities and activity levels and to encourage a strong friendship that is developed as we complete various activities throughout the day… together.  Like getting a little help from your friends®

Introducing FXAM - the NGO that seeks to affirm and safeguard the dignity of all Maltese citizens as we age. Article as it appeared on the Sunday Times of Malta 04/05/14

We envisage a Maltese society that empowers older people to remain actively engaged in their community, to maintain the highest level of independence possible and to continue to contribute to society.

Unfortunately at present we are nowhere in sight of this goal.

Paradoxically, we Maltese pride ourselves on being a caring family-oriented nation, and yet many of us turn a blind eye to the unwarranted neglect and degradation suffered by a number of our senior citizens.

There exists an urgent need to challenge local stereotypes about ageing and acknowledge the huge contribution that people in later life can make to their communities.

With so many issues to tackle, we asked ourselves at FXAM - which one should we focus on first?   We then discovered a distressing lacuna in our statutory regulations.

Our country has Standards for restaurants, hotels, guesthouses, kindergartens, even for host families for foreign students – but no Standards for care homes for our own elderly!  How could it be possible that as an EU Member State with a relatively opulent life style in the year 2014, Malta still has no Standards for care homes for our older people? 

We acknowledge the fact that there are Homes that do provide quality care and services for their residents, but there are also bound to be ones that cut corners. The absence of National Standards and Legislation to enforce such Standards has allowed for the growth of  relatively unregulated public and private services for vulnerable seniors with highly variable levels of care.

As a Foundation, we find this situation unacceptable.  Thus the formulation of Standards for Care Homes for Older Persons together with their effective Regulatory Framework and implementation became our first priority.

Just think – one day sooner or later you too will be old: after working hard and providing maximum support to your family, how would you prefer to spend the twilight of your life?  Like Ms. M or like Mr. B.? 

Ms. M is an 80 year old who lives alone and is independent in all the activities of daily living. She goes shopping every day, attends Mass, cooks and manages her household chores. She also helps her daughter who lives nearby and works full time, by cooking her meals during the week. One day Ms. M, unfortunately, suffers a severe stroke.  She is taken to hospital where the treatment she receives causes her condition to improve but she is no longer able to look after herself at home.  Given the paucity of community support services, her family have no option but to arrange for her to move into a residential home.  This was discussed with her in detail and she participated in the meetings with the management of the home. She and her family were given a Residents’ Guide providing them with the following information about the Home:

{C}·       A full description of all services provided (including health, nutrition, social, cultural, spiritual, educational) detailing charges where applicable;

{C}·       An accurate description of individual rooms and communal space provided;

{C}·       Relevant qualifications and experience of the licensee, all managers and direct care staff; staff;

{C}·       The maximum number of residential places provided and any special needs or interests catered for;

{C}·       A copy of the most recent inspection report;

{C}·       A copy of the complaints procedure;

{C}·       An up-to-date summary of residents’ views on their home.

Before moving into the Home, Mrs. M and her family were also provided with a Contract detailing terms and conditions together with the level of care she required - this was based on a physician’s assessment evaluated according to the Barthel 100 Dependency Tool.   Mrs. M had her own room with en suite bathroom so her precious privacy was not jeopardized.  Her dietary requirements were adequately met and all meals served were appetising and nutritious.  She was given physio and speech therapy on a regular basis.  She was encouraged to be as independent as possible and to participate in the programme of social activities organised by the Home.   She settled in well and, indeed, her friends and family were happy to visit her in this comfortable and homely environment.

Mr. B

Had a comparable life style and also a similar stroke. His hospital treatment was relatively successful but he too had to be moved to a Home.  Unfortunately he was not involved in any discussions that may have taken place between his family and the Home.  Neither he, nor his family were given a Residents’ Guide to the Home, nor a Contract detailing the level and nature of the care the Home would provide for him. He shared a room with 4 others and had little if any privacy. He could not go to the toilet on his own as it was too far away from his bed so he was donned with a nappy.  Within a matter of a few days developed pressure sores.   The food presentation was unattractive; he ate less and less and became increasingly depressed. The physiotherapy sessions were regularly postponed.  He also inevitably became forcefully incontinent.   As the weeks passed, he became less and less independent.  His family felt sad and guilty about his circumstances. It hurt them so much to observe their once so active father in such a helpless state, increasingly dependent on others, his pride and dignity whittled away.

How can two such divergent scenarios continue to exist?

We (FXAM) thus lobbied vociferously for the introduction of the much-needed Standards.  It was our new President – then Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, her Excellency Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and her Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Franco Mercieca, who honoured us with an invitation to participate in drafting the National Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People (NMS) in collaboration with the Directorate for Health Care Standards in the Ministry for Health. 

The overarching aim of these Standards is to ensure Care Homes meet the needs and secure the welfare and social inclusion of those who live in them.  They will be applicable to all operations for which registration and annual licensing as a “care home for older people” are required. 

The Standards acknowledge the unique and complex needs of each individual residing in a care home.  They stipulate the minimum requirements for a facility to operate as a care home as well as the required knowledge, skills and competencies needed by management and staff to ensure care homes deliver individually tailored, comprehensive and quality services.  Moreover, although the Standards are qualitative, they are also measurable.   Each Standard has an achievable Outcome that can be objectively ascertained.  These outcomes provide an instrument for the independent regulator to assess the degree to which the Standards are being met.

Once effectively implemented, these Standards will be just one small step taken by FXAM towards achieving our goal – that of ensuring that Maltese citizens not only live longer, but also live well.  

Moreover, we will continue to urge younger generations to interact with older people: to enable them to enjoy a better life by providing needed services and support, and by maximizing opportunities for them to remain active participants in all aspects of social life.  

We want to make it possible for all Maltese citizens to age as you and we would like to.

FXAM Founding Members

Dr. David Mamo, Dr. (Perit) Joseph Spiteri, Antoinette Powell, Maria Taliana, Dr. Stephen Mangion, Lora Cascun,  Simon Fiorini Lowell, Nadienne Zammit Fiott, Anne McKenna.

The importance of choosing the right people to help the elderly remain at home in comfort and peace of mind

It is a well known fact that most of us would like to remain at home for as long as is possible. Of course at some point we will need some form of assistance.  Whether this assistance is just some company to ward of loneliness, perhaps some help with cooking or physical assistance because of an illness or recent operation, it is vital to choose the right person to come into your home.

Most families are often forced into finding someone quickly due to a sudden change in circumstances and this often leads to a mismatch between the care giver and the person in need of help.  The results of such a mismatch may be resentment resulting in further resistance to help, increased depression or anxiety and god forbid abuse or theft.

The difference we find when we match the right person to look after the person in need is astounding, the result is truly magic.  Where once there was fear of letting someone into their home, now there is a welcome friend. Where their was complete resistance to any help now there is positive anticipation for the person to arrive.

Aspects  such as character, age, background are all important when choosing someone to come and help you or a loved one.  Nationality and culture are also essential, what good is it having someone who will become an important part of your life not being able to communicate with you, not able to reminisce and chat about the past and current affairs.  As we age it is so important to carry on being intellectually stimulated so having someone who can speak, chat and discuss about ones is interests is so valuable. 

I often find myself smiling at the synergy created when I introduce one of our lovely care givers and as they start chatting most of the time politely dismissing me with a “ok thanks a lot I think will be fine from here on”

Ours goal here at Seniors Helping Seniors® is to match active seniors who can provide a service in our community to other seniors who would benefit from receiving those services. The character of the seniors both providing and receiving services is key to ensuring the safety and harmony of all. We do our best to match personalities and activity levels and to encourage a strong friendship that is developed as seniors complete various activities throughout the day… together.  Like getting a little help from your friends®

We provide more or less most of the non-medical services any elderly person may need to remain happily independent in their own home.

Friends who care - Article on the Sunday Times

People over the age of 85 years are the fastest growing demographic, with half of them needing some form of help with their daily activities. However, over 95 per cent of older persons aged 75 years or older want to remain living in their own home.

“Given such statistics, it is important for society to provide a strong, caring network,” says Simon Fiorini Lowell, franchise owner of Seniors Helping Seniors Malta. “Peace of mind for older persons and their family is essential, and so we must have a support system in place that, thanks to trustworthy and caring individuals who truly care about helping others, provides comfort and dignity.”

After conducting in-depth research, Fiorini Lowell identified the need in the elderly sector for compassionate care which would allow older persons to live in their home without burdening their family with the worry and effort that comes with making sure your loved ones are safe.

“I approached Seniors Helping Seniors, an international provider of in-home services, as I found that their model is really effective,” Fiorini Lowell says.

“The more I learnt about their professional set-up, the more convinced I became about the value of their services and I decided to bring the franchise to Malta.”

Seniors Helping Seniors Malta offers non-medical services intended to support older persons still living independently, their families, and the medical community.

“Our services are based on companionship. This is essential as older persons often suffer from loneliness and lack of human contact. We cover all forms of assistance, such as light housekeeping, preparing meals, accompanying older persons to their medical appointments, respite care for the family, shopping and, now that the festive season is approaching, putting up Christmas decorations,” Fiorini Lowell says.

Of course, finding the right carers is essential.

“Choosing the right carers involves a three-stage process, during which we prepare very special people who are compassionate and interested in helping others. Our carers are all mature people who have valuable life experiences and who are able to emphatise and connect with the persons they are caring for and their family.”

Seniors Helping Seniors provides a win-win situation.

“Apart from caring for older persons, we also give our carers the opportunity to remain active, happy and fulfilled – our carers work as many hours as they want, and they get to supplement their income in a rewarding way. Moreover, the fact that older persons are being assisted by people close to their age helps them bond together.”

For more information contact Seniors Helping Seniors Malta on 2738 3161, 7773 3444 orcare@fiorinilowell.com.

Happy Easter

Seniors Helping Seniors® would like to wish you and your loved ones a Happy Easter and thank all those involved in our special family.