Care of the elderly...
Care of the elderly is an important component of Free State Care’s service
delivery, and takes place at four levels.
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Elderly persons with social problems
In the first instance, social workers provide services to elderly
persons with social problems. |
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Clubs and community centres
Clubs and community centres represent a second level of service delivery
where active elderly persons are given the opportunity to socialise with one
another and to make use of services such as the following: health services,
transport, domestic help and meals. A total of 20 facilities are run for this
purpose.
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Retirement homes
The third level of service delivery is the running of retirement homes
where safe and affordable housing is offered to self-supporting elderly persons.
The association runs 20 of these homes, where accommodation is provided to 359
elderly persons.
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Although provision is made for elderly persons from all economic levels, Free
State Care mainly provides accommodation for sub-economic elderly persons in its
retirement homes. |
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Single-room, one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats are available. Most
of these flats are on the same premises as a Free State Care retirement home,
and this makes the transfer from a flat to the home easier and a more natural
process for the elderly person.
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Retirement home care
Retirement home care, the fourth level of service delivery, is (in many
cases) the last home for elderly persons, and it is therefore very important to
Free State Care that its homes provide a excellent care service that will ensure
optimal quality of life for all residents right up to the end; it is therefore
important that the care programme is determined by the individual care plan of
each person.
In view of the fact that mainly frail elderly persons are admitted to retirement
homes nowadays and that a large nursing corps is required to care for them,
retirement home care has become a very expensive service.
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Although retirement homes’ boards of control actively endeavour to keep
accommodation fees as low as possible, it remains an expensive service. The
involvement of the community, whether in a financial or practical sense, is
therefore always welcomed.
Free State Care’s 14 homes provide care to 760 elderly persons. The Department
of Social Development only (partially) subsidises 200 of these elderly persons,
and their children and relatives must therefore cover the deficit in their
accommodation fees.
In many cases, children and family members contribute to the accommodation fees
of residents who are not subsidised, and the home has to cover the deficit in
cases where the relatives cannot provide these funds. This has serious financial
implications for homes, as it amounts to thousands of rand per month. |
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Over the last few years, Free State Care’s homes have developed into community
forums and services are no longer focused only on residents in the home. Today,
homes also provide services to elderly persons in the community, particularly in
the black community – mainly in the form of supplying meals, providing
information and training family members as caregivers.
A total of 1562 elderly persons in the community benefit from this type of
service delivery every year.
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