Want to help elderly parents move into aged care? Read this useful advice

The move into residential aged care is often a sudden one – a fall or unexpected illness means that mum or dad can no longer stay living at home and leaves both the person and their family dealing with the stress of moving house.

Waiting lists for some facilities can also be quite long so if a place does become available, you may only have a few days to make the move happen.

These are both scenarios we hear about at agedcare101 so this set of tips from Brisbane removalist Platinum Furniture Removalists on how you can make the transition easier caught our attention:

1. Start sorting early

If you do start working about your family member’s health and safety, they suggest taking steps to start sorting through possessions early, starting with smaller items and working your way up to larger pieces.

“The last thing you want to do is to force your family member to let go of years of memories in just a few days.”

“If there are any items that can’t be relocated you may wish to talk to other family members about taking on some of the excess stuff. It can be helpful for your elderly loved ones to know that their beloved possessions will stay in the family.”

2. Budgeting & paperwork

Gather all of the necessary forms for moving into an aged care facility – you can find a comprehensive list on agedcare101 here – and try to get them signed in one or two sittings.

If your family member isn’t up to the task of signing paperwork and allocating finances, it may be time to organise a Power of Attorney.

This will enable you to act on their behalf when it comes to moving tasks like:

• Organising change of address forms
• Signing agreements with the aged care facility
• Allocating funds towards moving costs
• Setting up BPAYs and direct debits for ongoing costs

It’s good advice – and well worth talking about with your family now rather than later.