Families’ concern for elderly relatives peaks in January

Online searches, interest, and enquiries into elderly care peak in the first month of the year, older people’s charity and leading care provider Anchor can reveal.

Less than two weeks into January, Google Trends data is already showing a spike in interest of 37%.

A trend which reoccurs year on year, searches for the terms ‘care home’, ‘nursing home’ and ‘retirement living’ almost doubled last year in January 2014 compared with the month before.

Care providers, such as Anchor, see a sharp increase in enquiries each January into specialist housing and care for older people. Anchor’s website statistics already show a 20% increase in visitor numbers in January 2015 compared with December 2014. With 2015 seeing the introduction of changes to pensions and social care budgets, Anchor is anticipating even more enquiries.

Jane Ashcroft, CEO of Anchor, said this peak was no surprise: “Christmas is a time when families reunite, often after spending months apart. Family members may notice for the first time that an older relative is struggling on their own and in need of more support.

“This is often a wakeup call for families, who then decide to take action in the New Year, when we see a significant increase in enquiries. We’re urging families not to leave it until crisis point to discuss these issues but to plan later life and care options.”

Anchor works with families to help them have sensitive conversations about later life and care options sooner. The charity has developed the Grey Matters Guide with specialists to bring together a range of resources to help people look at and think about their options.

For more information, visit Anchor.org.uk/GreyMatters.