In Home Footcarer on her way to work. She is carrying all
the equipment needed.
The service in progress
Many of us know that as we get older it might be harder to cut our own toenails and care for our feet. Luang Prabang has it’s own “In Home Footcare Program" and there could even be a few tips for Victorian Local Government to pick up from the Laos program.
My observation would be that older people in Laos tend not
to go out a lot. I suspect this could be
because of the many trip hazards in the streets. Laos would be an Occupational Therapists
nightmare. Wherever you walk outside
there are things to trip you up: chords
across the footpath, sleeping dogs, holes, open drains, Motorbikes parked right across the footpath and on it goes.
The ever-thoughtful Laos people have developed their own
footcare program. It has been very
difficult to take photos of these carers as when asked, they refuse to have
their photos taken.
The service can take place any time of night or day. - even at the night market.
Another carer on the way to work
Women ride bikes up
and down the streets. You can just signal to them as they ride past. They have a set uniform and are covered from
head to toe no matter what the temperature might be: long pants, shirt with long sleeves (often of the tartan flannelette variety), gloves
and cloth hat, usually with fabric all the way around the back so that their neck wont get burnt. The reason for such
covering seems to be that Asian people want to keep their skin as pale as
possible. Dark skin, among women
especially, may mean that someone is a labourer and you wouldn’t want to
advertise that fact. (Women here also do
the hard jobs on building sites.)
Materials needed to set your self up as a In Home Foot Care worker.:
- Bicycle
- Shallow plastic bowls for people to soak their feet in. (Just fill them from a local tap.)
- Small plastic stool about 150cm’s high for the worker to sit on. The “client” just puts their foot up on the workers thigh and the service can begin.
- A covered plastic basket which contains, nail polish remover, cotton wool balls, file, clippers, various creams for ailments, nail polish and a cut lemon to rub on toes.
People of all ages can benefit from this program
It appears there are many advantages to the Laos program
that Local Government in Victoria could consider implementing, including:
- There is no need for pre-booking and phone calls to make appointments – just yell out to the woman as she rides past. This would save valuable time for the office staff.
- Equipment is kept to a minimum and is light and easily transported..
- The need for each client to have their own clippers is eliminated as clippers are sterilised between clients with a quick rub of nail polish remover.
- In addition to the basic service, application of nail polish is also offered for no additional charge.
- Carers would maintain their fitness as they ride from client to client.
- The total cost for the entire service per client is around $2.50 Australian, which includes all on-costs.
