This question is almost self-explanatory if we replace the terms ‘Elderly’ and ‘Old age’ with other interrelated subsets of living creatures and their preferred environments. Imagine asking “Do birds prefer to live in aviaries?” or if this comparison seems a bit odd, then “Do children prefer to live in boarding schools?” Through these rhetorical questions, it should have become somewhat clearer to you that old age homes in Kolkata are not really the best options for caring for the elderly and those with dementia.
The answer is a resounding NO.
All things alive would wish to live freely and comfortably as nature meant them to exist. We additionally have created creature comforts that we enjoy in the privacy of our homes. Getting older does not change the way we feel about our preferred environment. Which is why it is astounding how some people think that putting the elderly in old age homes in Kolkata is acceptable. When it clearly is not!
On the contrary, as we grow older, our capacity to adapt to change diminishes and we start to crave for everything to remain just so. Therefore, the often extreme dependency on things from our past starts to dominate our lives, even as our productivity takes a beating due to the slow but sure decay of our minds and bodies.
So, what do the elderly prefer? Do they really prefer to live in old age homes in Kolkata or not?
It’s a fairly simple but often ignored situation. Older people prefer familiarity, not old age homes, where the ambiance as well as the personnel are unfamiliar and often somewhat hostile. The presence of the people they have known all their lives, their favourite corners of their homes, even the decrepit and perhaps now useless items such as an old cassette recorder or a favourite pair of shoes worn over the years.
old age homes in Kolkata do not provide best solutions for the elderly
Why do they feel this way? Again, the reason is quite straightforward. As they watch themselves getting older and less useful, they do not want to be ignored and thought less of, in the same way that people start ignoring worn out items lying around the house. So, they start to feel a special fondness for all things that are aging with them. It’s an unspoken association of having each other’s back!
Also, as newer technologies take over our lives, the elderly find that the comfort or convenience that these provide to the newer generations do not apply to them in equal measure due to their different values, goals, and definitions of success and happiness. Hence, even when they can adapt to the changing lifestyles, it does not bring them the same satisfaction. Old age homes in Kolkata fail to take these finer points into consideration.
As our population ages, with more and more people living well beyond their 80’s and 90’s, it is important to consider home health support as an important tool for allowing the elderly, the familiarity that makes them feel cared for and secure. With the advent of companies such as Healthcare at Home and Care Continuum, this is no longer a distant dream. Even for seniors who want to or need to live alone, they provide medical and social support right from running the household work, to taking care of banking, property, and holidays, not to mention timely health reviews and round the clock emergency standby.
To sum up, Aviaries, Boarding schools, and Old Age homes are really great for the health, safety and development of the boarders but they are restrictive & regimented, denying individual freedom & exploration. We all want to be free first and foremost and if we are assured of a safety net, within the comfort of our own environment, nothing can better that. So if healthcare services or nursing care services at home need to be provided, it should be done within the confines of the home itself. Old age homes will prove to be counterproductive and result in deterioration of the mental health of the old and sick.