Amcare reaches out to the elderly

THIS week in our journey with Amcare we joined them to have a look at their Elderly Care Programme which was established when a need was identified by Amcare for home-based care for elderly people who are unable to look after themselves.

Further services provided by the Elderly Care Programme is transport services to clinics and back as well as community-based care. According to Nokthula Mtshali, project coordinator for the programme, the support given to the elderly clients is to provide them with a measure of independence. The programme allows clients to be less dependent on family, and to be able to organise their own lives.

Initial aim

The initial aim of the home-based care was to help elderly clients unable to wash and bath themselves. Caregivers from Amcare visit home-based clients two times a week helping them to bath and clean themselves. This task is vitally important as the older people and their caretakers are not able to handle this task themselves. Further support given to home-based care clients is ensuring that the clients take any medication they need to take as well as to identify problems that the elderly clients deal with. This includes things like taking a blood pressure test and to advise the clients to go to the clinic.

Another branch of the programme is community-based support within areas surrounding Alberton. The community-based support is psychosocial in nature, supporting the elderly in the townships with basic needs, and with technical and document support. “As a lot of the community members we work with are illiterate, we help them with, for example, checking their appointments,” said Nokthula. Amcare also assists the elderly patients with an application for grants. Food parcels are given to the clients in need for a period of three months. Another facet of the community care is the active ageing activities. Once a week the clients of Amcare come together to sing and pray together and to do physical activities such as playing with balls. “It’s a bit of fun for them, to be more active and get together instead of just sitting at home. They enjoy it very much,” said Nokthula.

One of the most important facets of the programme is the transport service provided by Amcare to elderly clients. Doctors book transport services with Amcare for elderly clients who are unable to make their appointments at clinics. Amcare has started a new programme in partnership with Ligstad to provide a shopping transport service for the seniors. The service transports elderly clients to shopping centres on the first Wednesday of every month to give them the opportunity to do their monthly grocery shopping. Nokthula hopes this programme will grow and provide a good service to people in the future.

Speaking to the Elderly

During our day with Amcare and the Elderly Care Programme, the RECORD got to speak with some of the clients that Amcare has touched with their services.

Henry Mncube (67) is a resident of the Alberton North squatter camp. When he started his journey with Amcare he was very sick. Henry suffered from TB which had gotten to the point that he could not walk anymore. “Amcare helped me so much,” said Henry, who was very emotional about their help. “They helped me with a wheelchair and with food all to help me get healthy again.”

Henry is now healthy and enjoys the weekly meetings with Amcare. According to him, the meetings give him an opportunity to meet with other people and be civil with them. He says this is contrary to the usual environment of being worried the whole time.

Shelly Short spoke to the RECORD about the care given to her mother, Roma Joubert (90) by Amcare. Amcare has been helping Roma with her baths since an operation she had in June. “They helped so much because I can’t move her,” said Shelly. They helped her with advice on how to care for her mother, and she says it is wonderful to just have them around to help.

Yvonne Lombard (70) has been with Amcare since 2011. Amcare helps her weekly with her transport to hospitals in Johannesburg for various medical conditions she lives with. According to her, the transport she receives is a necessity. Recently, Yvonne has asked the ladies to assist her with bathing. “It’s a godsend,” said Yvonne. She is unable to reach her hair and nails. Amcare assists her with bathing and cutting her nails which has drastically improved her quality of life.

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