Advice for Planning a Holiday for Disabled or Elderly Relatives

Now that COVID restrictions have largely been relaxed, more of us are thinking seriously about our next trip away or will be travelling to attend family weddings and events. However, in the rush to plan a long-overdue holiday, it’s easy to forget the specific needs of disabled and elderly individuals. To ensure your break goes as smoothly as possible, a little planning goes a long way. Need some help putting your travel itinerary together? Read on for our essential guide on what you need to think about when planning a holiday for a disabled or elderly relative to ensure a comfortable stay.  

Assess Accessibility and Specific Care Needs 

This is arguably the most important thing to consider when planning a holiday for disabled or physically impaired relatives. Some travel companies offer supported holidays for physically disabled customers. While practical, they’re not always affordable. As such, it makes more sense to assess the needs of relatives yourself so you can plan for a disabled-friendly holiday.  

Does your relative suffer from limited mobility? If so, wheelchairs and walking aids will be essential additions to your travel itinerary. Although accessible accommodation is fairly easy to find, you make need to use a rental service to secure short-term use of things like commodes and shower chairs.  

Holidays for elderly parents can also be complicated by persistent injuries. Every year in Ireland, 10% of older people require medical treatment following an injury. The majority of these injuries are related to falls. Access to hoists and standing aids are a must for holidays for the elderly with limited mobility.  

Make a List of All Medications 

If you’re planning a holiday for disabled relatives, make sure you make a full list of any medication they’ll need during your travels. At a minimum, this should include all prescription medications they require regularly. However, you’ll also want to think about over-the-counter medications, such as pain relief.  

If you’re travelling further afield, make sure you can access prescription medications abroad in an emergency. Using a pillbox and medication schedule will also help you keep on top of timezone differences.  

A holiday for disabled relatives often involves carrying medication for complex medical needs. Are insulation injections and syringes a staple of daily routines? Make sure you have a doctor’s note to let airlines know there’s an approved medical requirement for the relatives you’re travelling with.  

Choosing a Holiday for Disabled and Elderly Relatives with Limited Mobility

Once you’ve outlined medical needs and accessibility requirements, you can start planning a holiday for disabled or elderly relatives. Consider what type of holiday is best suited to your travelling companions. Is limited mobility a major concern? You’ll probably want to avoid international travel. Accessing primary care and sourcing medication may be difficult if you’re travelling abroad. 

In almost every case, a domestic getaway is the best course of action. Keep things simple with a relaxing spa break that won’t put a strain on physical fitness or existing medical conditions. If you want to be able to enjoy activities during a holiday with disabled relatives, research these ahead of time. Package holidays for the disabled and carers tend to offer activities geared around specific needs. Additionally, you’ll usually benefit from secondary support from volunteers and caring assistants. This puts less strain on you as a carer, freeing up to enjoy a long-overdue break.  

Finally, think carefully about accommodation. An enjoyable disabled holiday hinges on choosing suitable accommodation. Make sure every aspect of holiday accommodation is accessible. Holidays for the elderly usually only require a user-friendly bathroom and lift access. However, those with more advanced care needs will need more than this. 

Finding Accessible Accommodation in Ireland 

It’s easy enough to find holiday accommodation in Ireland. However, finding a suitable hotel room for a holiday for disabled persons is more difficult. Accessible accommodation varies when it comes to disabled-friendly facilities. As such, don’t assume an accessible hotel room will have all the features you’re looking for.  

If you’re travelling with an elderly relative that’s used to an adapted bathroom, look for rooms offering walk-in showers or baths. Most accessible rooms will also feature support rails and wider doors as standard. Accessible accommodation also tends to be larger than standard hotel rooms. This provides sufficient clearance for wheelchairs and other mobility aids.  

Struggling to find suitable accommodation for a holiday for disabled relatives? O’Flynn Medical has created an extensive Guide to Disabled Holidays Around Ireland, which includes an up-to-date list of hotels and guest houses providing the best disabled holidays Ireland has to offer. 

Medical Equipment Rental for Disabled Holidays 

In many cases, it’s not practical to travel with bulky medical equipment. However, this doesn’t need to put the brakes on your holiday plans. At O’Flynn Medical, we offer a range of medical equipment rental services to cater to disabled holiday requirements.  

Looking for a wheelchair rental? We offer a range of self-propelled and transit wheelchairs, as well as transfer chairs. Worried that your hotel of choice isn’t equipped to deal with the mobility needs of a disabled relative or elderly parent? Our hoist rental offerings mean tackling everyday tasks is straightforward, even when you’re away from home.  

Sometimes, even the most accessible accommodation can’t cater to advanced care requirements. That’s why we stock an impressive range of hospital beds and bariatric beds that can be returned for the duration of your stay. Medical air mattresses are also available to those looking for a more practical option.  

All of these products can’t be easily rented, with no minimum period to worry about. Before each rental, our equipment is decontaminated and inspected to ensure that you are never dissatisfied with the quality of your medical equipment rentals. Furthermore, these products can be delivered and installed in hotels and holiday accommodations throughout Ireland. All you have to do is turn up and enjoy your stay.  

Start Planning Your Next Getaway 

Scheduling a holiday for disabled travellers used to be difficult. Nowadays, however, enjoying a welcome break with disabled or elderly relatives couldn’t be simpler. To get started, consider the specific needs of your relatives. Are they visually impaired? Is mobility a major issue? All of these factors will ultimately determine the type of holiday you can enjoy. Furthermore, you’ll need to plan when it comes to medication. Make sure you have sufficient supplies of prescription medication, as well as any over-the-counter pain relief your relatives regularly depend on.  

You can now start thinking about the specifics. Decide on a holiday that can work around the needs of your relatives. A relaxing spa break might be the best fit for those who can’t get around much. If you want to enjoy activities during your trip, investigate disabled-friendly package getaways that cater to specific needs. You’ll also want to factor in travel times and transfers.  

Finding disabled-friendly accommodation isn’t as straightforward as standard hotel booking, but it doesn’t need to be difficult. Make sure you’re choosing hotels and guest accommodations that are accessible to disabled guests. If there are multiple needs to consider, look for accommodation that has been specially adapted for disabled guests.  

Disabled holidays will ultimately require some form of medical equipment. This typically includes things like wheelchairs and mobility aids. In some cases, however, families may need access to profiling beds and medical-grade equipment. Travelling with this equipment isn’t always practical. To make life easier, rent what you need instead. Medical equipment can be rented for as long as you need it, with products delivered to your accommodation ahead of time.  

Contact O’Flynn Medical  

Looking for medical equipment to make a disabled holiday go as smoothly as possible? At O’Flynn Medical, we offer an extensive range of medical equipment and mobility products. Whether you need short-term wheelchair rental or mobility aids to assist with longer getaways, we can help. Make sure you contact us today for more information on our medical equipment rental service.