Trips are fun for everybody, but they add a certain degree of challenge for those who organise the journey. The logistics for the journey must be worked out beforehand, and to the last detail. Apart from having the shortest route to the destination, a good start and end point, booking a travel bus for rent and arranging for water and snacks, the tour organiser must also provide information about the journey, and be responsible for the group’s safety and wellbeing.
Are you about to accompany a senior citizen tour for the first time? Working with senior citizens can become challenging owing to the health concerns many of them have, apart from restricted mobility. These are 5 easy tips to ensure that senior citizens are well provided for during the journey:
#1 Get a proper head count of how many seniors are there in the group.
You can hire a travel bus on rent based on the overall seating capacity. For this, you must know the size of the group, so that you can book the traveller bus on rent to account for extra seats. When you get a head count, find out how many of the group are senior citizens. This is important information, so that you can assign the roomier seats with more legroom to the seniors in the group. Do not assign seats over the rear tires or right at the back to senior citizens – the former might give them motion sickness, and the latter might make emergency evacuation difficult for an aged person.
#2 You must have every person’s health issues and medical history on file.
Now that you have the count of how many senior citizens are there in the group, get information on any illnesses or ailments that you must know about. Some seniors might have asthma, while others might have joint pain. Those with arthritis, rheumatism or another type of joint pain should be assigned seats that are not directly under the air-conditioner vents. Also, inquire if any of the senior citizen group is prone to motion sickness, or needs a ramp to get into the bus, or whether any emergency medication needs to be kept on board for the journey. It is better to take traveller buses on rent that can add ramps, have recliner seats and ample leg room.
#3 Break the journey into stops if it is a long drive.
Many senior citizens are unable to wait too long before they must use the restroom. Though many take the precaution of wearing adult diapers for a journey, many senior citizens are uncomfortable with the idea of doing so. This just means that you might have to break the journey every couple of hours at public restrooms or malls so that the seniors may relieve themselves or get a bite to eat.
#4 Have a doctor on speed dial for emergencies.
Though you are not legally culpable in case a senior citizen feels ill during the journey, such incidents can certainly mar the mood of the trip. Though you may have all the necessary information on hand, it is better to have a doctor on speed dial who can advise you on what to do if any of the seniors feels ill during the journey. Better still, try and arrange for a doctor to accompany the group, provided the group foots the bill for the same.
#5 Ensure that the driver knows about disaster and emergency procedures.
Always enlist the help of a leading company when renting the traveller bus. The company ensures that the driver that comes with the vehicle is well trained not just in driving, but also in emergency procedures. Check the route map that the driver is using, making notes of where hospitals are on the way. If a senior citizen falls ill during the journey, the driver must be able to quickly detour to the nearest hospital using the shortest routes. The driver is also expected to be able to help in evacuation measures during natural disasters/riots.
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