Checklist For Post-Operative Caregivers At Home To Support Elderly Patients

The period after an operation is a very critical one, especially for elderly patients. Their hygiene and movement need to be looked after. They also need mobility support and monitoring. For many such patients, major falls occur after the surgery, and these falls can be fatal. It becomes imperative for post-operative caregivers at home to keep a checklist in mind for the wellbeing and support of elderly patients. 

 Things to keep in mind for post-operative caregivers at home to support elderly patients 

1.Prepare the home 

Before the elderly patients return home, the house must be prepped-up for post-operative care and recovery. Post-operative caregivers at home need to ensure that floors are not highly polished to avoid slipping and also the grab bars and railings on the stairs have a good grip. They must also install a night lamp in the room and hallway if the patient uses the washroom at night. It is also imperative that the furniture, especially those with pointed edges, be arranged to avoid accidents. 

2.Planning the meals 

The post-operative caregiver at home must coordinate with the family members and doctors to know the diet chart of the patient. Post-surgery patients have a specialised nutrition plan that needs to be adhered to on time. The caregiver must ensure that the meals have balanced nutrition and are cooked in low spices and oil to prevent digestive issues. 

3.Medicine management  

One of the crucial things that post-operative caregivers at home must keep in mind is the proper administration and management of medicinal prescriptions. Our caregivers administer the medicine at the right time and proper dosage. Taking a note of the medicine’s expiration date and refilling the doses should also be done accurately by the caregiver to avoid any health complications for the patient. The best way to go about it is by setting a reminder or an alarm to ensure the patient takes his meal and his medicines on time. 

4.Close monitoring of sleep schedule 

Many senior patients have trouble sleeping post-surgery. It is essential that caregivers must consult the doctor to reduce the instances of sleeplessness. If patients are heavy sleepers, they might get out of bed half-awake to go to the bathroom which might cause an accident. Caregivers at home must track the sleep cycle of the patient to see what time they get up at night to use the bathroom and assist them accordingly. 

5.Daily routine health checkup 

Post-operative caregivers at home must prioritize doing a routine health check-up of the patient and see if their vitals are functioning properly. They must track the blood pressure, heart rate, appetite and sleep pattern to report any fluctuations to the doctor. It is essential that a blood pressure monitor and thermometers are present in the house to check the blood pressure and see if the patient is having a fever. 

To prevent postoperative trauma amongst patients, an oximeter must be present to check their oxygen level and heart rate. 

Elderly patients with speech and mobility issues should also be given an alarm bell to reach out to the caregiver when they are facing any health difficulty  

At Anvayaa, our postoperative caregivers also accompany the elderly patients for their follow-up health appointments post-surgery. We also strive to ensure that the elderly patients also get adequate emotional support to recover from the surgery and its fatigue.

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