hello!!, Can i ask what are your views on Retirement care homes / Old peoples homes also what inprovements are needed in them if any? and does anyone have any stories about them??

@Topic,As long as my parents did not Dump me at a kiddies home or abandon me at creche 6-6,they have no biz living or staying at any retirement/old people home.This is[b] my[/b] stand.

well I dont encourage retirement home pickins should take care of old mama and old papa who cared for them b4 cheers www.moneyjobs24.com

I find the idea of any of my old folks in any home very nauseating.This is primarily a nigerian site and our biases will expectedly be Nigerian.Pls. if this kind of discussion is solicited to test the waters,then know for sure that it is something that is unnatural to us.We look after our old;whether they be parents or relations or even neighbours.That partly defines who we are.

will never work in Nigeria.

Will never in my life dump my parents in such places. NEVER.

md4real:

will never work in Nigeria.

Are you joking ? There are several in Nigeria already

kadman:

Are you joking ? There are several in Nigeria already

i wont be surprised if most of the resisdents are destitutes and people with severe mental illness, including those accused of withcraft.

snowdrops:

i wont be surprised if most of the resisdents are destitutes and people with severe mental illness, including those accused of withcraft.

Actually that's not always true, my friend did his youth service in one in Yaba, he used to tell me how their loaded family showered the care workers with cash when they visited and only came once a month. I believed when I visited him at work and was told there are several others in Lagos.

While I agree that the concept is not the most popular in Nigeria, the poster who said "they will never work" is wrong.

kadman:

Actually that's not always true, my friend did his youth service in one in Yaba, he used to tell me how their loaded family showered the care workers with cash when they visited and only came once a month. I believed when I visited him at work and was told there are several others in Lagos.

While I agree that the concept is not the most popular in Nigeria, the poster who said "they will never work" is wrong.

. . .And if u check very well,some of those old folks dumped at care homes were parents that never had time for their kids.They were so busy chasing their career or whatever that they failed to give their kids the love they so needed.
Now the table is turned.The kids have dumped them too,afterall,they grew up at creches etc hence they see nothing wrong with that set-up.

This concept will work ANYWHERE. Everybody's circumstance is different and some old people may decide or opt to stay in these homes rather than stay in their chilldrens houses - maybe due to family conflicts, personal safety, companionship etc. Again, with the way society is evolving, a lot of elderly people who find themselves 'abandoned' by their children or wards may decide to live in such settings.

Secondly, 'old peoples homes' are not necessarily always a dormitory with rooms where old people who are in wheelchairs or who use walking sticks are confined. Sometimes, old people's homes are blocks of flats or independent self contained units (within estate- like developments) that are assigned to elderly and self independent people. Some examples over here in the UK are 'retirement homes' that are specifically built for the elderly who have retired from active work. These people can take care of themselves and perform some of the basic household chores. The only addition here is that they have frequent visits from medical personnel or domestic staff who help them perform tasks that are too cumbersome or difficult for them to do themselves.

Certainly, we may see more of these in Nigeria someday

Epiphany:

Secondly, 'old peoples homes' are not necessarily always a dormitory with rooms where old people who are in wheelchairs or who use walking sticks are confined. Sometimes, old people's homes are blocks of flats or independent self contained units (within estate- like developments) that are assigned to elderly and self independent people. Some examples over here in the UK are 'retirement homes' that are specifically built for the elderly who have retired from active work. These people can take care of themselves and perform some of the basic household chores. The only addition here is that they have frequent visits from medical personnel or domestic staff who help them perform tasks that are too cumbersome or difficult for them to do themselves.

Certainly, we may see more of these in Nigeria someday

Very correct, estates like that are very popular in Florida USA, probably because of the good weather. I think that's a good idea for Nigeria especially as we have the land for it. A bit outside town away from the hustle and bustle . . . maybe ?

of course it will work, truth be told the reason why some people would never allow their parents there is rather for selfish reasons  i mean who will baby sit for them in the absence of their
aged parents who have nothing better to do , if well organised,  a retirement home is not a bad idea the ones here in the UK are not bad at all it gives them  space to socialise with their mates talk about the good old days , play games, take on new hobbies, attend fitness classes,eat a well balance diet by people who know what people their age should be eating , they watch TV, they have a van that takes them to interesting places,they have away days, sometimes they are visited by school children who perform for them and they have adequate health care as they are visited by a health care workers , they even have hair dressers who come to visit to give free haircuts and hair dos from beauty schools and these people continue living basically .

Some even do volunteer jobs at churches, charities , they have that sense of belonging even at their age, they are of course allowed to visit their family when they like

In naija ,some parents dont even have their space and almost never leave the house and are literally stuck at home all day all in the name of that  they are living wth their children , its not just eating food and sitting on the balcony that elderly people require ,they require many other things which some children really dont have the time to give. Thats why some itch to go back to the village where they are busy doing one or two things , attend meetings, church functions etc

i volunteered at one in the UK, quite an amazing experience for me, i got to know the 82year old man and he was quite happy to stay there he said as he had made new friends, he even had a girlfriend, his kids used to come and see him with his grandkids. He had his well furnished room- self contained , filled with pictures and his basic stuff no hassles, absolutely  no clutter and occupants used to visit each other, not bad at all

Except there is no money, and time to take care of them at home, while the Old people's home will be able to deliver some medical attention that is needed and necessary, The parents should be at home.
That is the advantage of being in Nigeria, cos the old people's home is at home, cos cost of taking care of them is not much at all, can even afford to have a doctor to come and check on them on regular basis.

old people's home is a sign of bad omen in the family.

Ayowumie:

old people's home is a sign of bad omen in the family.

haba! This is 2010 nao.

We need to change our mentality about these homes. They are not meant to be a dumping ground for destitute, sick and childless adults.

Like Chaircover said, their is nothing bad if the place is tidy, clean and with enough care facilities and professionals to cater for these old people.

It might even be better to have them among their age-mates for better interactions.

The important thing is not to abandon them there, there is need to visit and communicate with them regularly

Nigeria is a country with mostly alota young people and maybe dats why we see the crime rate very high cuz alota youths don't have jobs.

Am actually shocked retirement homes are already in naija, but i think it will be very slow to spread all across the country cuz there are many youths out there who still take care 4 older folks in the villages.

And finally, the mortality rate in naija is high due to lower life expectancy. Dat means u live up to 70 in naija then you should be grateful to God. Our older population is the smallest percentage compared to the entire population of the country.

I think Nigeria is definitely heading towards that direction but there are a few issues that will need to be resolved to make it work:

1. The life expectancy in Nigeria is relatively low and people tend to die before they become incapacitated. I think the life expectancy is about 48 years. Nursing homes are mainly for incapacitated people.
2. Labor is relatively cheap in Nigeria which means that one can hire 24/7 maids or family members to care for aged parents. The only downside to this is that the care givers are not trained to provide medical emergency.
3. There’s stigma attached to sending one’s parent to a nursing home.

I think the mortality rate will get better once the healthcare delivery improves. As for the other issues, they can be resolved by building a nursing home that rival hotels and has a bunch of activities geared towards adults - adults will voluntarily check themselves in.

The main issue then will be that of cost. How can you build such a long-term facility that will be affordable to the upper middle class?

i'll never ever send my Mummy to a care home NEVER and I'll rather die than being taken to a care home especially some of the care homes I've seen in the UK here. Yuk! I'm goinng back to nigeria anyway so i reckon i'll be growing old in Nigeria.

haba! This is 2010 nao.




I like this answer. Based on the arguements here, this concept is something to watch out for in the next few years. Yes, some say that they are already around in Naija but give it another 10 years. More homes such as these will be more rampant.

I would not want to go into a retirement home. I will just have to go the way of the eskimo, in the cold blizzard.

I am not Nigerian. I am African American. My grandfather just died of cancer. I moved in with him and my grandmother to care for them through his illness. Granddad got very ill and got very, very weak; however, he refused to stop walking. He fell and hurt himself and spent his last days in the hospital. The hospital and doctors kept trying to get us to send him to a home but I could not do it. They were very very close and had been married one month short of 65 years! We looked at some homes and the doctors finally told us he must go to a home. We told them to send him back home for us to care for him. They opposed our decision and made it sound as if we had no choice but to go to a nursing home. I just could not take my grandfather from my grandmother like that. I also knew it would break his heart to go to a nursing home. On the day they told us we had to move my grandfather to a nursing home, he died. Sometimes they are necessary but I prefer to see people stay at home with their loved ones as long as possible.

Retirement home in nigeria, NEVER EVER, even  in the US and the UK, you find elderly abused in such homes every now and then sometimes not turned on their beds, MY GOD in nigeria they will probably feed them rodent droppings, never ever.

[size=18pt]THEY ARE AWFUL AND ABSOLUTELY UN-AFRICAN.[/size]

The OP beat me to it!! ARGH!!!

Anyways!! I'll be back with my comments!

Old Peoples Homes in Nigeria?

Any good Home will only be affordable to the rich making it a veritable ground for Kidnap activities!

my 2points on this is, I agree that sometimes care homes (retirement or not) are definitely a necessity. It doesn't mean you care less for a loved one. There are good and bad care homes all over the world. We hear more about the bad examples.