When a loved one is affected by dementia but still wants to maintain their independence, you'll want to do everything you can to help them while still keeping them safe. Electrical safety becomes paramount when someone has dementia, and there are a few simple modifications that can be made around their home to ensure the utmost possible level of safety.
Individual Electrical Devices
Consider frequently-used electrical devices such as electric kettles and irons. Do these have an automatic shut-off feature? If this is not the case, replace them with models that have this feature so that they're not turned on and then forgotten. You should also think about necessary safety devices that are more-or-less autonomous (as long as the batteries are in good working order). Make sure that all smoke alarms are functional and that the batteries are periodically changed as per the manufacturer's instructions.
Additional Electrical Outlets
Those affected by dementia can have problems with balancing. To minimise the chance of a fall, it's important to remove potential key tripping hazards. Such a hazard is the use of extension cords and multiple outlet power strips throughout the home. It's a fairly straightforward job for an electrician to install new wall-mounted electrical outlets, thus removing the need for extension cords and power strips. It's a small modification that can make a huge difference.
Extra Lighting
You should also consider whether the existing lighting is sufficient. It might be beneficial to install motion-activated lighting in key hallways, to ensure that your loved one can always see where they need to go at night. This can be set to a timer so that it only operates outside of daylight hours.
An Oven Guard
The oven can potentially be dangerous to someone affected by dementia, simply by the act of forgetting that it has been turned on. Electrical contractors can easily install an oven guard. This is a small control device that is attached to an existing oven and essentially operates as a timer, meaning that the oven can only be used for a predetermined length of time. Of course, it can be overridden by turning the oven back on again, but the oven guard will always turn the oven off once the predetermined length of time has been reached.
With a few basic electrical modifications, you will ensure that your loved one is still able to live safely while maintaining their independence. Talk to an electrical contractor.
Share21 December 2017
Most modern Australian homes rely heavily on electrical power. Unfortunately, not many people realise just how much they rely on electrical power until the power supply to their home is disrupted in some way. There are a number of steps you can take which will help to protect the electricity supply to your home. I am not an electrical contractor, but after a couple of power failures, I have learnt an awful lot from the professional contractors who came out to repair the wiring and fuses in my home. I hope this blog will help you to keep the lights on in your property.