How to manage an elderly parent's health at home

If you look after an elderly parent at home, "managing their health" usually isn't one big job. It's a dozen small ones that nobody wrote down: which tablet is taken when, where last year's blood report went, which doctor said what, and who is supposed to call whom. This guide is a plain way to get those small jobs under control.

It's about organising: knowing what is taken, when, and what the records say, so every conversation with your parent's doctor or pharmacist starts from facts.

The short version

1. Keep one current list of medicines, with the dose and the time of day.
2. Keep every prescription and report in one place, in date order.
3. Take one page of notes to every doctor visit, and write the answers down.
4. Set up a simple daily routine so nothing depends on anyone's memory.
5. Know who to call and what to have ready when you call.

1. One current list of medicines

Most mix-ups at home come from not knowing what is currently being taken. Old strips sit next to new ones, and a medicine a doctor stopped is still in the cupboard.

Write a single list, and keep it where everyone in the family can see it:

• the medicine name exactly as printed on the strip or prescription
• how much, and how often (our guide to prescription abbreviations explains "BD" and "TDS")
• the time of day, in plain words: morning, afternoon, evening, bedtime
• whether the doctor said before or after food, or if it wasn't mentioned
• who prescribed it, and the date

When the doctor changes something, update the list the same day and remove the old line. How to build and check this list. If two medicines look alike or you are unsure whether both are meant to be taken, don't guess; ask the doctor or pharmacist.

2. One place for every prescription and report

Keep paper copies in a single folder, newest on top. Take a phone photo of each one as well, in good light, flat on a table, with all four corners in the frame. Photos on a phone get lost in the gallery, so put them in one named album or folder.

Reports are most useful when you can look at them side by side. If your parent has regular tests, a simple table (date, test, value as printed) lets the doctor see the pattern in seconds. Copy values exactly as printed, and don't add your own ranges or conclusions.

3. Before every doctor visit

Doctor visits are short. A few minutes of preparation makes them count.

• Bring the current medicine list and the folder of recent reports.
• Write down the three or four things you most want to ask.
• Note anything you have seen at home since the last visit: changes in appetite, sleep, mobility or mood, with dates. Describe what you saw rather than what you think it means.
• During the visit, write the doctor's answers down, or ask permission to record them. Read the changes back before you leave.

If your parent lives far from you, ask a sibling or neighbour to go, or join by video call. More in managing a parent's medicines from abroad.

4. A routine that doesn't depend on memory

• Ask your pharmacist whether a weekly pill organiser suits each medicine. Some need to stay in their original strip. For those that can go in, use morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime slots, filled once a week by the same person from the current list.
• Tie doses to something that already happens: breakfast, the evening news, brushing teeth.
• Plan refills early. Count what's left each week, and order before the last strip, not after it.
• Keep it kind. A missed dose is information, not a failure. Note it, and tell the doctor if it keeps happening.

5. Safety at home

A fall or a scare is more likely to happen in the same few places, so look at them once with your parent:

• Good light on the way to the bathroom at night.
• Non-slip mats in the bathroom, and nothing loose on the floor.
• Medicines stored away from heat and damp, in their original packs.
• A list of emergency numbers beside the phone and saved on the phone.
• A written summary: name, age, conditions the doctor has told you about, allergies, and current medicines. Paramedics and emergency doctors ask for exactly this.

When to get help

Call an ambulance (108 or 112) straight away if your parent has chest pain, sudden weakness on one side, difficulty speaking, a serious fall, or trouble breathing. Don't wait for a call back.

For anything that worries you but isn't an emergency, such as a new symptom, a medicine that seems to disagree with them, or a sudden change in behaviour, call the doctor who knows your parent and describe what you've seen.

How PURE Care fits in

If keeping all of this up to date by hand feels like a second job, that is what we are building PURE Care for: send us prescriptions and reports, and everyone in the family sees one current record on their phone. Join the waitlist.

Written for families. For any decision about a medicine or a result, your parent's doctor has the final word.