BBC series showcases plight of elderly

A new BBC series entitled Protecting our Parents has highlighted the plight of the nation’s elderly as it depicts the standard of life and care in the country as we experience an increasingly ageing population.

The series shows the state of home care across the nation, which should be working with home mobility aids to assist in creating an independent way of life for the country’s elderly, but instead, it appears that some carers are not stepping up to the mark.

The new series, which aired on BBC Two on the 17th April, showcases what an ageing population means for Britain as there are now more elderly British citizens than there are children living in the UK. Many of the individuals featured in the three-part series wish to remain in their own homes and maintain a level of independence as the programme looks to illustrate the struggle carers and hospital staff face when they try to find a compromise between elderly independence and their health and safety.

Reaching a balance

A number of the individuals featured in the series had recently suffered a fall in their home and were admitted to hospital as a result. While mobility aids such as curved stair lifts for the elderly and handrails go a long way towards decreasing such a risk, the TV series highlights the varying view of maintaining elderly independence from the perspective of the elderly residents themselves, as well as their families and healthcare professionals.

The BBC has been very careful not to take advantage of their position whilst filming the individuals and care professionals in order to depict a realistic and honest view of caring for older people in the country and the nature of working in the care sector.

Elderly residents in the UK can watch the BBC series from the comfort of their homes as it shows every Thursday on BBC Two between 9 and 10 pm for the next couple of weeks. For those watching in discomfort, why not talk to Handicare about their range of electric riser recliner chairs? Available in a range of styles, they are designed to make sitting and using a chair both easy and comfortable.

Image Credit: Elliot Brown (flickr.com)