NATIONAL elderly at-home care company, Home Instead Senior Care, is urging people in communities across the UK to pop in on their elderly neighbours to check they are keeping safe and well during the prolonged heatwave.

As a nation we are much more aware of the health of our elderly during cold winter months and will regularly check up on their wellbeing, but it’s just as important that we consider how older people are fairing in the hotter temperatures we are currently experiencing.

The elderly are particularly vulnerable because they are unable to regulate their body temperature, medications can have a significant impact on this, especially when the temperature is warm during the day and carries on throughout the evening.

Older people with dementia are most at risk as they can sometimes forget to do simple things such as eat and drink.

Home Instead has taken special measures to make their caregivers aware of these dangers and are ensuring that their clients are well prepared to cope during this type of weather.

When he was out visiting one his client’s Mark McGlade from Home Instead’s Exeter office encountered an elderly lady propped up against her door when he passed by her home and went to see if she was alright, he explains: “When I came across the elderly lady I found out that she was locked out and had been standing there for nearly four hours in the sweltering heat with no shade or water and was quite obviously distressed.

"Not only was she sweating but she was confused and completely exhausted - classic symptoms associated with dehydration and heat exhaustion. I took her to my air-conditioned car and gave her a bottle of water before trying to get back into her home.

"When I had no luck I used the lady’s ladder and with her permission, I resorted to climbing in an upstairs open window. Once we were both in the house I made sure the lady was comfy and gave her several glasses of water, a large mug of tea and a sandwich. I also cooled down the house by opening all the windows and closing the curtains and reported her condition to the local GP surgery, who organised for a community nurse to come and check on her. I called the lady the next day to make sure she was feeling better and she couldn’t thank me enough.

“Although this an unusual example of the effects of heat, we’re calling for people across local communities to be extra vigilant about the wellbeing of their elderly neighbours, especially at this time of year.”

National elderly at-home care company, Home Instead Senior Care, is urging people in communities across the UK to pop in on their elderly neighbours to check they are keeping safe and well during the prolonged heatwave.

As a nation we are much more aware of the health of our elderly during cold winter months and will regularly check up on their wellbeing, but it’s just as important that we consider how older people are fairing in the hotter temperatures we are currently experiencing.

The elderly are particularly vulnerable because they are unable to regulate their body temperature, medications can have a significant impact on this, especially when the temperature is warm during the day and carries on throughout the evening.

Older people with dementia are most at risk as they can sometimes forget to do simple things such as eat and drink.

Home Instead has taken special measures to make their caregivers aware of these dangers and are ensuring that their clients are well prepared to cope during this type of weather.

When he was out visiting one his client’s Mark McGlade from Home Instead’s Exeter office encountered an elderly lady propped up against her door when he passed by her home and went to see if she was alright, he explains: “When I came across the elderly lady I found out that she was locked out and had been standing there for nearly four hours in the sweltering heat with no shade or water and was quite obviously distressed.

"Not only was she sweating but she was confused and completely exhausted - classic symptoms associated with dehydration and heat exhaustion. I took her to my air-conditioned car and gave her a bottle of water before trying to get back into her home.

When I had no luck I used the lady’s ladder and with her permission, I resorted to climbing in an upstairs open window. Once we were both in the house I made sure the lady was comfy and gave her several glasses of water, a large mug of tea and a sandwich.

I also cooled down the house by opening all the windows and closing the curtains and reported her condition to the local GP surgery, who organised for a community nurse to come and check on her. I called the lady the next day to make sure she was feeling better and she couldn’t thank me enough.

“Although this an unusual example of the effects of heat, we’re calling for people across local communities to be extra vigilant about the wellbeing of their elderly neighbours, especially at this time of year.”