Ogun advocates for establishment of Elderly Care Homes
The Ogun State government has called for more investment in elderly care homes to cater for the phycological and emotional need of the ageing population.
The State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Adijat Adeleye, who made the call at the commissioning of BAYINK Elderly Care Home, in Adigbe, Abeokuta, Ogun State, emphasized that care for the elderly is not just about medical bills, but a collective duty to ensure their well-being and mental health in their old age.
While lamenting that many elderly individuals are often abandoned to by their family members, she stressed that this leads to dementia, other age-related issues, and untimely deaths.
Adeleye attributed this to the changing dynamics of family structures and the need for both parents to work and leaving children to fend for themselves.
She encouraged members of the public to consider elderly care homes as a viable option, citing the benefits of social interaction, companionship and specialised care that the facility provides.
Adeleye suggested that care homes can provide a supportive environment where they can relate with their peers, receive love and affection as well as live a longer and healthier life.
Her words, “the demands of modern life have made it challenging for families to provide adequate care and attention to their elderly loved ones and this leads to detrimental effects on their health and well-being”.
“In the years past, we live community-based life and everyone cares for each other. But unfortunately, the life we live now, the fathers and mothers will to go work, daughters, sons have to source for their livelihood. Our parents have been left unattended to and this is causing untimely death to some of them and to some, dementia”.
“These are the people who had given their best to their children and expect that in their old age, they will be taken care of, but because of the societal demands, having to work both sides, the husband and the wife, even the children”.
There was a period, when parents take their children to live with their parents. But this days, we don’t see such again. This is detrimental to the health and well-being of our elderly ones, that is why we are encouraging the setting up of elderly people care home, where they can find people of their age, people they can chat with, share experience together and by doing this, you don’t make them live alone.
We make mistakes to build big home for our parents without anybody being there with them. At times, we employ house helps, they cannot relate with them like another old people will relate with them”.
“This is why we are encouraging elderly people home to be set up. Now, we have the second one in Abeokuta. I want to encourage our people to take their parents to the elderly care homes. Some will say, I don’t want to take my parent to elderly care home. No problem. What care, what love, what affection are you showing to them at home? Do you even know what they are going through? It is better to take them to where they can find their age mate, where they can find people they can relate with”.
In her address, the CEO of BAYINK Care Home, Mrs. Olayinka Odumosun disclosed that leaving parents unattended to affect their mental health, pointing out that this led her to envision the elderly care home to get support and care they deserved.
She argued that maids cannot look after as expected of them, positing that at the BAYINK Home Care, they have access to total care with accountability and transparency.
He declared that BAYINK care home is God’s vision that aligns with men, assuring that there would be a maximum support for elderly one to ensure their mental health, social well-being and others are secures.
