Note: In this series, we portray our customers using aliases to uphold their identities.
Dependency on Maid as Main Caregiver for Ageing Parents
Having a live-in domestic helper or maid at home is no longer a privilege of the rich in making sure that the condition of the house is in tip-top state. In many households, maids are hired to play the role of main caregivers for their kids or ageing parents, enabling a breather and work-life balance for working adults.
Like many, Jannah solicits the help of a live-in domestic worker for the past few years to tend to her parents with illness, who live 45 minutes away from her in Ipoh. However, the helper is going away for a month to perform her Umrah.
Concerned for her parents and acknowledging her family commitments, Jannah starts looking for a short-term care option while the maid is away.
A Little Background About Jannah’s Parents
Jannah’s mum, Puan Aminah is a 72 years-old elderly lady with a medical history of hypertension. A few months back, she had a stroke and went through a craniotomy to remove the blood clot in her brain. After the surgery, she was bedridden and is going through a slow recovery.
Her loving husband, Encik Jamil, is a retired teacher diagnosed with mild dementia. He is cheerful and independent, and able to take care of himself. However, he often repeats his sentences and misplaces his items. Due to his wife’s current situation, Jamil has seen a little more reserve and restless as Puan Aminah is usually the life and soul of the party.
As Jannah is only able to visit her parents on weekends, she has a high dependency on the maid to watch over her parents and the house, make sure meals are prepped, and assist Puan Aminah in her hygiene care. With her maid going away on a pilgrimage for a month, there was a dire need to seek a temporary care option. That’s where her journey with Homage started.
What our Homage Care Specialist Suggested
An in-person care assessment was done at Jannah’s parents’ house by our Care Specialist. After understanding their medical condition and living environment, they developed a thorough care plan, prioritizing the family’s requirements and needs.
Here are the care instructions for our Care Professionals to follow during their shifts:
- Check-in Visit
- Start each visit by checking in on Puan Aminah and Encik Jamil’s general well-being. Engage with them in conversations about the current news and past life events.
- Monitor and record Puan Aminah’s vital signs like her blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, and oxygen level.
- Assist Puan Aminah in her personal care and hygiene
- As Puan Aminah is unable to bear weight on her own, the Care Professional is required to safely transfer and wheel her to the bathroom for a shower. Care Professional can go for bed sponging instead if Puan Aminah is not feeling well.
- Monitor her skin condition and make sure to apply lotion after to reduce skin breakouts or lesions.
- Ensure her oral care is being taken care of using toothpaste and mouthwash.
- Change her diaper and bed linen often when soiled.
- Assist in nail care and grooming once a week.
- Simple meal preparation for Puan Aminah
- Jannah stocks groceries every week and Homage Care Professionals are required to meal prep for Puan Aminah. She can be a picky eater who only accepts oats, bread, and milk. However, our care specialist encouraged the family to introduce a balanced diet by incorporating fruits and veggie puree, and meat (cut into small pieces).
- Wheel her to the dining table and encourage her to feed herself. On weekends, take her to the garden outside her house for breakfast to have a change of environment and improve her emotional wellness.
- Medication reminder
- Jannah organizes both her parents’ medication in a separate pillbox. The Care Professionals are required to follow the medication time and crushing method when serving the medicines to Puan Aminah and Encik Jamil.
- Staying active (afternoon shift only)
- Our Care Specialist has introduced a range of movement exercises for the caregivers to conduct during their visit. This is to keep their joints mobile and flexible and prevent joint stiffness.
- To motivate them, put on their favourite Aretha Franklin’s songs to get them started.
- Light massages (night shift only)
- To ease them into bedtime, Care Professional can perform light massages using the ointment for both Puan Aminah and Encik Jamil.
Jannah’s Feedback
Jannah’s initial priority is to have a part-time caregiver to stand in for her maid on her parents’ basic needs and physical aspects, but instead, the family has gained much advice, professional and skilled caregiving, and emotional care support from the Care Professionals in return.
With the part-time assistance that she receives from Homage caregivers 3 times a day, Jannah is able to elevate some of the pressure while focusing on her own households and work. Not only that, her siblings who stay out-of-state can also have the visibility of their parent’s condition and visit summary through the Homage App after each shift.
Today even with the return of her domestic helper, Jannah continues to engage Homage, while her maid prioritizes the house chores. She is on her 5th 60-hour care plan with us, entrusting their parents’ ageing journey into our care.
Hiring Part-time Caregiver for Your Loved Ones
We understand that many family caregivers in Malaysia have personal commitments and hence would often resolve to care facilities such as nursing homes, or like Jannah, a live-in maid, to keep an eye on their senior loved ones. While these caregiving options fit the bill, personalized care and keeping the seniors meaningfully engaged are also important for their mental and cognitive aspects in the long run.
At Homage, we provide customized care plans for each care recipient, where activities of daily living like hygiene care, exercises, meals, and activities are made to fit your loved one’s needs, even for bedridden individuals. Our part-time caregivers are able to pay close attention to the care recipient’s well-being on top of offering specialized and skilled assistance, based on your flexibility from 1-hour onwards to round-the-clock care.
Get in touch with our Care Advisor today for a free consultation by filling up the details below and let us jaga your pa and ma whenever you need help.
