I’m the daughter of a 71-year-old dad with Parkinsons’s. He was diagnosed about 10 years ago but until recently led a fairly normal and indepedent life. Recently, his symptoms have worsened after a diagnosis of heart failure and the removal of ropinerole due to hallucinations and paranoia during a hospital stay. Since then, his mobility has become much weaker.
My mum and I are now helping him with standing, getting in and out of bed, using the toilet, and tasks like pulling up trousers. We are starting to feel the strain in the our backs, and we’re concerned about safety for him and us.
We’re looking for advice on transfer aids, espeically ones that help with getting up from chairs or going from sitting to standing. I’ve seen some transfer aids mentioned online (e.g. a PEPE brand for example) - are these suitable for someone with Parkinson’s, or is there a better option?
Any personal experiences, recommendations, or tips would be hugely appreciated. Thank you so much!.
Hello @jacquelinediaznieto , thank you for your first post, and welcome to the forum. We hope you find the community a helpful place to ask questions, get support, and read other people’s experiences supporting loved ones with Parkinson’s.
Thank you for sharing your dad’s experience. We understand it must be hard for you and your mum to see his independence and mobility decrease. It’s great that you are looking into tools to help make it easier and safer for him to transfer. There are lots of things you can use to make daily life with Parkinson’s easier. We’ve shared a variety of equipment to help carry out tasks more easily on our website: Equipment, living aids and technology | Parkinson's UK
Bed raisers and mattress raisers might be helpful for your dad to support him in getting in and out of bed. Grab rails around the house might also help with this.
We hope the community can share what they’ve personally found helpful. We’re also here if you want to discuss options in more depth.
We hope you find something that works well for your dad
I would strongly recommed you seek a moving and handling assessment from the adult care services at your father’s local council. Usually the assessment will be carried out by an occupational therapist, Moving and handling is a major issue with any condition. At its most basic where the issues are not overly concerning, it is perfectly possible to sort things out with limited knowledge and a bit of research because it is mainly commonsense. Your post however, suggests to me that your dad is past this stage, that his moving and handling needs are more complex and it is important that you not only get equipment that is right for him but also that you know how to use it correctly and safely. There is an element of risk in many areas of life but, in my opinion, dealing with moving and handling issues potenially carries a high risk of injury to anyone involved if the wrong equipment is used or not used correctly. In addition, depending on local policy, equipment may be provided by the adult care service. Again it depends on how things are managed locally but generally speaking, assessment of moving and handling issue are usually given a high priority so hopefully would mean he is not having to wait too long for an assessment.
