Care for elderly is serious business

Tue, Oct 5, 2010

Editor: Please allow me to publish in your paper, this letter to educate the public.

Now, care of the elderly at any level is serious business and anyone offering a care facility for the elderly should be a registered nurse, who is trained, certified and has some post graduate experience, along with an up-to-date paid license to offer this type of care.{{more}}

Persons who have done any type of personal support work, or home care courses in the USA, Canada or England are NOT certified to work on their own. They must work under a registered nurse from an agency. This type of work does not supply the knowledge and skills needed to operate a care facility, and cannot charge fees for Nursing Care that they are not certified to give.

All care facilities for the elderly must have a Registered Nurse on staff 24/7. Old age brings different conditions in different persons and each has to be assessed individually. Complications must be detected early and the necessary nursing interventions made. Vitals, Medications and Blood Sugar Readings can only be accurately interpreted by a trained, certified and registered nurse.

Doctor’s orders can only be efficently implemented and interpreted by a Registered Nurse. Blood works, results and dietary management is the role of the Registered Nurse. Anyone seeking care facilities for their loved ones is advised to ask for CERTIFICATION AND CURRENT LICENSE FOR A REGISTERED NURSE at that facility or else your loved one’s life will be at a great disadvantage.

I will hope the Ministry of Health and National Council of Older Persons step up to maintain quality care for our elders in their golden years.

Concerned Citizen