There’s a wide range of devices, aids and installations available to improve safety in the home for elderly people. From walking frames and rails in the shower to brighter lighting and personal alarm devices.
We thought a home safety checklist might be helpful to ensure you’ve considered the possible safety hazards in the home for the elderly, so you can continue to live independently for longer.
Home Safety Checklist for Elderly
Elderly Home Safety Tip 1. Remove obstacles in walkways
Side tables that stick out, shoes on the floor, carpet runners and other everyday items prevent a clear path in one of the most frequented areas of the house, and certainly pose a risk to elderly safety in the home.
Storing shoes on a rack, removing floor coverings and reducing the size of furniture can help make space around your home, as well as decluttering items that you don’t use all the time.
An Occupational Therapist (like Sophie at Peninsula Health) can also provide an assessment of your home and help identify the risks you might not always spot yourself.
Elderly Home Safety Tip 2. Keep emergency numbers next to the phone
Keeping a list of emergency numbers, such as for your GP, the Poison Information Centre, and family and friends by the phone means you can read and call them quickly even if you are distressed.
Elderly Home Safety Tip 3. Wear a 24/7 monitored MePACS personal alarm
Calling for help when you’re sick or in pain can sometimes make you feel even worse.
MePACS is a 24/7 fast response personal alarm service based in Australia.
Our service is responded to by a team of trained professionals – keeping communities safe for over 30 years.
With Home, Mobile, and Watch Alarms available, our thousands of clients trust us to keep them safe and secure at home, while helping them feel confident and independent out and about.
Join 45,000 Australians already experiencing the benefits of the MePACS service.
Call 1800 685 329 or Apply Today
Elderly Home Safety Tip 4. Install bright lighting in the hallway
Installing bright lighting in hallways, on stairs or in other main areas of the house can improve elderly home safety, as a night light with sensors or touch lights will make it easier to navigate around your home in the dark.
Elderly Home Safety Tip 5. Secure mats on slippery surfaces
In some cases, it may be best to remove the floor covering altogether to prevent a trip or fall. In others where a rug or carpet takes up a lot of space, securing the corners to the floor with carpet tape or large furniture can reduce the risk to elderly safety.
Want to know more about protecting elderly safety with a personal alarm? Live chat with us now!
Elderly Home Safety Tip 6. Wear a falls detection device
At MePACS, our Falls Detector Pendant, Mobile Alarm and Solo Watch all have falls detection capabilities, but most importantly connect to our emergency response team of trained professionals – available 24/7 to ensure our clients always have access to help when they need it most.
Not all falls will be triggered by these elderly safety devices, so it’s always important to remember that if you are conscious and able to, you should manually press the pendant to send a signal for help.
Read more about falls prevention for elderly safety in the home
Elderly Home Safety Tip 7. Fire safety in the home for the elderly
It’s so important to safeguard against underlying fire dangers around the home, especially for elderly people who live alone.
- Replace electrical appliances that have frayed or damaged cords
- Never leave candles unattended
- Make sure portable heaters are at least a metre away from flammable curtains, bedding or furniture
For your safety as a senior, ensure your smoke alarm is working and replace the battery twice a year.
Elderly Home Safety Tip 8. Set up safety measures for elderly in the bathroom
Slippery surfaces without adequate safety measures pose a falls risk, with the bathroom being one of the rooms in the home where seniors can experience a fall most frequently. As a result, what can you do ensure elderly safety in here?
- Install a rail in the shower
- Secure an absorbent mat to the floor outside the shower
- Install a personal alarm button on the wall
Wondering how a fully waterproof personal alarm can safeguard you in the shower? Call 1800 685 329 for more information.
Elderly Home Safety Tip 9. Keep a first aid kit handy
Keeping a first aid kit in a convenient place like your bathroom or kitchen is a great idea. It allows you to tend to minor cuts, burns or headaches at the first instance of pain or harm.
Firstly, make sure your medication isn’t out of date, you are taking them correctly and that labels are readable also protects your health and well-being. If ever in doubt, speak to your doctor or local pharmacist.
Elderly Home Safety Tip 10. Secure a key safe to your front door
A key safe, attached to your front door with a spare key inside, is an easy way to prevent against potential destruction. MePACS sell a durable key safe that has provided many clients with the peace of mind, knowing that their code is kept confidential by MePACS and only given to paramedics who arrive at the premises.
Have a question for the MePACS team? Send us an enquiry through our ‘Contact Form’ in the main menu.