Role of Professional Caregivers in the light of Contemporary Socio-Economic Landscape

As founding members of Porosh we have been providing home assistance to the elderly for quite some time now. In course of interaction with several elderly people and their children (who are not members of Porosh) we have observed a very common sentiment getting echoed when it comes to seeking help from professionally managed organizations for the elderly. It is thus - once the situation arises we shall seek help from the organizations specializing in elder care. One is left wondering when will that situation arise!

Our experience suggests that children of aged persons whose children stay away from them more often than not bestow the responsibility of well-being of their ailing parents on a close relative and/ or a maid. Obviously, trust plays a major role in taking such decisions. But the question remains, however well-intentioned it might be, are they competent enough to address critical issues other than performing a set of daily chores?

Let us share with you a couple of instances.

a) Recently we came across an elderly lady, suffering from dementia, bleeding from the mouth. When the situation turned for worse the perturbed son contacted Porosh. We deputed a trained nurse. Soon she realized that force-feeding by the maid led to several cut marks below the tongue. As this practice was continuing for quite some time the wound also refused to heal. Since the maid was not trained to deal with patients suffering from dementia she did what she thought was best by her own estimate. Not only that. Much to the dismay of the nurse, the elderly lady had also developed bed-sore about which the maid was clueless. Gradually the situation improved. So, professional help was sought only when the situation seemed to go out-of-control.

b) A couple of weeks ago we received a phone call from Baguihati. A person enquired if Porosh provided old age home service. Although we said no for an answer yet we asked if we could be of any assistance. Then the person told us that his father was becoming increasingly reckless and forgetful resulting in tension in the family. Therefore, a decision was taken to send him off to an old age home. To them it seemed to be the best solution. We realized that it was an early stage of dementia which could be contained only through love, affection and warmth. Being away from the family members would only aggravate it. We informed him that the need of the hour was a professional Caregiver. However, he seemed to be far from convinced and never got back to us again!

The purpose behind sharing the above incidents is to reiterate that wait and watch policy before a situation spins out-of-control is certainly not wise. An organization like Porosh is capable of stepping-in to contain such situations through timely intervention of trained professionals under its wings.

POROSH MEANS WARMTH & PERSONAL CONNECT

INTRODUCTION

Business can be broadly classified, as we know, under two sectors – manufacturing and services. Although both the sectors are different from each other by nature of their operations yet there are a few commonalities as well. One such aspect is customer centricity which forms the cornerstone of any successful and sustainable business model. That ‘customer is the king’ is not a mere euphemism can be gauged by the growing influence of social media like Twitter, Facebook etc. in forming public opinion. No longer can one afford to brush under the carpet laxity in serving customer expectations. In no time an aggrieved client can vent his/ her frustration online and thus, reach-out to thousands of like-minded individuals. There are also travel portals offering options to share comments about the quality of services offered in a hotel and/or restaurant. Hence, it is of paramount importance to remain ever vigilant in serving customers.

POROSH’S LIVING UPTO THE BASIC TENET OF BUSINESS

Porosh is aware that being in the services sector it needs to be not only alert& proactive but also responsive in fulfilling customer expectations. What assumes a much greater significance in assisting the elderly people is – personal connect. More than anything else, making an ailing and often a lonely client feel loved and cared for is key to Porosh’s business moto.

It is indeed a very gratifying experience to receive unconditional love and tears of joy from the elder citizens after experiencing Porosh’s assistance. What else can be a better gift than receiving ashirwad from the happy clients?

Porosh’s approach to business is not necessarily cold and clinical but warm and personal. The following section offers a glimpse of some of those magical moments.

When The Elderly Are The Target

SECURITY CONTROL MEASURES: A DETERRENT AGAINST CRIMES

The recent spate of heinous crimes committed against the senior citizens of the city of Kolkata has set alarm bells ringing across different quarters. As conscientious member of society Porosh too felt the urge to address the growing menace in a proactive manner by providing 24*7 security support to the elderly citizens from remote location.

A Typical Situation

Very recently, in our locality an elderly person (let us say, Mr. Das) and her daughter were robbed off several lakhs of rupees in cash in broad daylight. Although there was a brief scuffle with the intruders yet the father daughter duo was overpowered. Their hands and legs were tied-up with one of the robbers standing in front of them with a revolver. Once they got hold of the bounty the assailants scampered in their bikes. Yet to recover from the shock by the timeMr. Das raised an alarm but it was too late.

In due course police arrived and investigation started. It was not a complicated case for them to resolve and the guilty were apprehended in a week’s time.

Our Learnings

It is a different story that after the incident Mr. Das installed CCTV to fortify the security of his residence. But this begs a fundamental question. Should we necessarily await a mishap to befall us before realizing the necessity of taking proactive measures for our own safety? In most of the cases it seems to be so.

Generally there is a sense of blissful ignorance. We tend to believe that such incidents will never happen to us. Only when we are at the receiving end that the realization of securing ourselves arises.

Porosh’s experience over the years suggest that CCTv acts as a deterrent even if no one in particular keeps a vigilant eye on the screen round-the-clock.

With 24*7 surveillance there is no assurance of crimes not being committed against the hapless and unguarded. Is it not commonplace,as we get to know through social media, how often CCTV installed at different locations of a house enable pinning down miscreants?

However, it is not uncommon that the CCTV are destroyed, or wires are disconnected to prevent the perpetrators of crimes getting detected. As a result, it becomes indeed difficult to bring to task the wrongdoers.

Conclusion

In the light of above, Porosh has the ability to install intruder alarm control system with panic button facility along with 24*7 surveillance from remote location.