SA advice on how to help elderly during heatwaves

Aged and Community Services SA has joined calls for advance notice of blackouts in times of power load shedding, according to an ABC  online report. Association chief executive, Alan Graham, says sudden blackouts during extreme heat put residents at risk where its centres have no back-up power generation.

“Any advance notice of any power shedding would be really useful for providers so that they can plan accordingly and, for example, they could make sure that various residents have been appropriately fed and showered and perhaps moved into the coolest part of the building in anticipation of that shedding actually occurring,” he said.

During the recent heatwave Premier Mike Rann appealed to the community to reach out to the elderly and the very young to ensure they were keeping cool, hydrated and indoors during the intense period of heatwave.

The Premier said the first priority was to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable South Australians.

“All of us have an obligation to check on our elderly family members and neighbours and their pets, to ensure they are being cared for.”

The Health Minister John Hill also told health officials to ask all GPs to contact their vulnerable patients to ensure they are coping in the heat.

He says people should call the Healthline – 1800 022 222 – which is staffed by qualified nurses to deal with heat-related inquiries.

Families and Communities Minister Jennifer Rankine says her officials are monitoring about 50,000 elderly people through the State’s Domiciliary Care and other aged services.

“Domiciliary Care staff has also been given approval to purchase fans and coolers for clients in need.

“They are also:

• Arranging additional check visits and telephoning at risk clients to make sure they are keeping hydrated and using air conditioning or other cooling

• Encouraging clients who have no air conditioning to seek support from their carer networks (eg could they stay with a relative who has air conditioning for a few days)

• Calling all Dementia Day Program Clients in the morning prior to picking them up, and arranging a home visit for clients who prefer to cancel their Day Centre.

“Newspaper and radio ads will alert people to what services are available and reinforce our message about what services are available and what people should be doing to stay cool and safe.”