No doubt, palliative care services and adequate care for the elderly have provided the needed succour for several families in Nigeria and the world at large. Unfortunately, these services have been lacking in Nigeria.
Stakeholders in homecare services believe that lack of state provision for eldercare in the country has made it essential for families to provide the needs for the survival of the older people.
In an interview with BusinessDay, Jumoke Odunsi, managing director, Wellcare Home Medicals, a pioneer professional home-based caregiver in Nigeria, said that most elderly people including people who are critically ill die due to lack of proper care.
Odunsi said she ventured into the service to ensure that these categories of people get improved care. She however lamented that the decline in the economy, gradual disintegration of the extended family system, unemployment, increasing female employment, and urbanisation have contributed to the noticeable decline in the level of care provided by the family in recent times.
“It is in this regard that Wellcare Home Medicals is making effective contributions to the wellbeing of older people through homecare services. We offer a variety of medical and non-medical related services through our trained
care-givers (trained with the UK Care Modules) that allow older persons to continue to enjoy their independence and live happy and dignified lives,” Odunsi hinted.
According to her, the World Health Organisation (WHO) key fact in 2011 indicates that the world’s population of people 60 years of age and older has doubled since 1980 and is forecast to reach 2 billion by 2050.
Around 4 to 6 percent of elderly people have experienced some form of maltreatment at home which can lead to serious physical injuries and long term psychological consequences and elder maltreatment is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.
She hinted that Wellcare Home Medicals provides home support services to the old and frail, chronically ill, terminally ill, post hospitalisation, nursing care, personal aides/care giver services, doctor’s visit, physiotherapy services and hospice care.
While advocating provision of some form of care for the elderly in the society, she encouraged Nigerians to ameliorate the plight of the elderly by taking care of them.
It will be recalled that Wellcare Home Medicals Limited, the first indigenous professional homecare company in Nigeria, was incorporated in 2005 and in 2007, won an award as one of the 10 brightest business ideas from Diamond Bank plc through their Bright Idea Project.
ALEXANDER CHIEJINA
