You have gone on your manual handling training and done all the safety stuff and correct procedures. Signed all the relevant forms and helped yourself generously to the 'buffet' provided on the lunch break!
It doesn't stop there. Each service user is an individual, their needs are individual, their whole care package is individual.
You may have used a hoist many, many times but each persons level of mobility varies. This is why there is even more training you have to go to, so you can be 'signed off' and be put down as part of the team to carry out the care.
Very often it will take place of an afternoon after your morning visits and before t-time starts. You are usually starting to feel tired by now after your early morning start and just want to get home, BUT it is neccessary to get trained for a forthcoming visit.
My advice, make sure in the session you do actually have a go. Its worth it because (and it really does happen) when the time comes to do it for real, there is usually something that can be forgotten.
With all this in mind and advising the 'have ago' approach, I came across some video clips which I thought you might like to have a peek at. Even if it's to shout at the screen 'But we don't do it that way....where's your gloves!' at least it shows , you took onboard more than you thought in your training sessions. See, it is worth it and you are as good as you think.
Click on the 'How to...see how its done' at the top of the page. Enjoy.
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/carerscoffeep-21
Thursday, 7 June 2012
Warning 1961
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
- Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
- Jenny Joseph
Friday, 1 June 2012
Don't forget your toothbrush!!
I'd arrived at the visit and straight away I had to get into action. I'd let the paramedics in, the warden was on their way and I was trying to not get in the way but be helpful where I could be.
It's very strange when this kind of thing occurs.Which is why I always had the attitude of not taking each visit for granted. You never knew what was going to happen and when it did, it happened quickly.
So instead of the usual duties required, I hear the words from the paramedics saying 'we are taking her in....Could you get some things together?'
Packing! You don't find details of this in the notes! Health and safety and duties etc are all covered, but packing a hospital bag at short notice ? Nah! Nothing to say what a service user would require in such an event.
On a personal note, I always found packing for myself would take a lot of preparation, a few weeks beforehand. Lots of 'packing lists'.Sorting out your toiletry bag because you always came across something in there you'd forgotten you had. Planning your laundry schedule so that everything you want to take is clean and dry to pack in good time. Oh, and then there's all the stuff for 'just in case' (pardon the pun)!Books,crosswords, music,extras. The list goes on! ( Talking of 'cases', its also nice to get a new bag of some kind whenever you go on a trip, don't you think???!!!!)
Back to the hospital bag. I decided to go down the route of having enough to get by for a day or two. It went something like this:-
Nightie's
Cardigan
Slippers
Underwear
Specs
Wash bag..Including toothbrush!
Medication had already been dealt with by the paramedics.
Handbag
Housekeys
This would obviously, vary slightly for the gentlemen,but you get the gist!
On reflection I think it would help if this kind of thing was recorded somewhere in each persons notes.At the very least you would be able to make sure they had the bare essentials and be as comfortable as they could be in such an eventuality.
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/carerscoffeep-21
Franklin D. Roosevelt
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
It's very strange when this kind of thing occurs.Which is why I always had the attitude of not taking each visit for granted. You never knew what was going to happen and when it did, it happened quickly.
So instead of the usual duties required, I hear the words from the paramedics saying 'we are taking her in....Could you get some things together?'
Packing! You don't find details of this in the notes! Health and safety and duties etc are all covered, but packing a hospital bag at short notice ? Nah! Nothing to say what a service user would require in such an event.
On a personal note, I always found packing for myself would take a lot of preparation, a few weeks beforehand. Lots of 'packing lists'.Sorting out your toiletry bag because you always came across something in there you'd forgotten you had. Planning your laundry schedule so that everything you want to take is clean and dry to pack in good time. Oh, and then there's all the stuff for 'just in case' (pardon the pun)!Books,crosswords, music,extras. The list goes on! ( Talking of 'cases', its also nice to get a new bag of some kind whenever you go on a trip, don't you think???!!!!)
Back to the hospital bag. I decided to go down the route of having enough to get by for a day or two. It went something like this:-
Nightie's
Cardigan
Slippers
Underwear
Specs
Wash bag..Including toothbrush!
Medication had already been dealt with by the paramedics.
Handbag
Housekeys
This would obviously, vary slightly for the gentlemen,but you get the gist!
On reflection I think it would help if this kind of thing was recorded somewhere in each persons notes.At the very least you would be able to make sure they had the bare essentials and be as comfortable as they could be in such an eventuality.
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/carerscoffeep-21
Franklin D. Roosevelt
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Reablement?
I remember this one. It caused so much confusion among the team as to what to do and how to go about it. For years we had toddled along 'providing homecare' very much with the attitude of doing as much as you could in a visit so that the service user didn't. After all, didn't they deserve to be pampered and looked after?
So, reablement....whats it all about?
' developing specialist home care re-ablement teams that worked intensively with new service users to increase their skills, confidence, and ability to live independently.-Social Policy and Research Unit'
As a carer you had to have a change of mindset as to how the service was delivered.Admittedly, it was hard to begin with to take a step back and not get towels ready, or have breakfast waiting on the table...would it be a role reversal and the carer saying, 'Come on Gertie get the kettle on, i'm parched!'
I loved it. There is so much satisfaction having encouraged someone to do as much as they are able to do. That is the key to getting it right and making it work.However, the rest of the team going in also have to be consistent with the progress. This can only be attained by reading the notes in each visit to see how things are going. Of course it doesn't help if all you see is 'made c.o.t, got breakfast, helped to dress'!
Who made the tea? Who got breakfast? What did they have? How much of getting dressed did the service user do on their own? The notes aren't about what you as a carer does....it is about how the service user is progressing.As a carer you need to know this information and the notes are the only contact you have between yourselves. It was so easy to be doing the first few days and getting a routine together and a real picture of ability. You have a day off and the next time you are in... you see that most tasks have been done for them. How frustrating this could be!
I hope things have changed. I hope that with each person the time is taken to continue to encourage.I hope communication between teams and officers or supervisors is acted upon. After all, its not about the paperwork and emails its about the service users....People.
'Individually, we are one drop.Together, we are an ocean.' - Ryunosuke Satoro
http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/index.html SPRU Social policy research unit
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/carerscoffeep-21
So, reablement....whats it all about?
' developing specialist home care re-ablement teams that worked intensively with new service users to increase their skills, confidence, and ability to live independently.-Social Policy and Research Unit'
As a carer you had to have a change of mindset as to how the service was delivered.Admittedly, it was hard to begin with to take a step back and not get towels ready, or have breakfast waiting on the table...would it be a role reversal and the carer saying, 'Come on Gertie get the kettle on, i'm parched!'
I loved it. There is so much satisfaction having encouraged someone to do as much as they are able to do. That is the key to getting it right and making it work.However, the rest of the team going in also have to be consistent with the progress. This can only be attained by reading the notes in each visit to see how things are going. Of course it doesn't help if all you see is 'made c.o.t, got breakfast, helped to dress'!
Who made the tea? Who got breakfast? What did they have? How much of getting dressed did the service user do on their own? The notes aren't about what you as a carer does....it is about how the service user is progressing.As a carer you need to know this information and the notes are the only contact you have between yourselves. It was so easy to be doing the first few days and getting a routine together and a real picture of ability. You have a day off and the next time you are in... you see that most tasks have been done for them. How frustrating this could be!
I hope things have changed. I hope that with each person the time is taken to continue to encourage.I hope communication between teams and officers or supervisors is acted upon. After all, its not about the paperwork and emails its about the service users....People.
'Individually, we are one drop.Together, we are an ocean.' - Ryunosuke Satoro
http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/index.html SPRU Social policy research unit
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/carerscoffeep-21
Monday, 28 May 2012
Carers Week 18th - 24th June 2012
Carers week this year is 18
carersweek.org/
carersweek.org/
Friday, 25 May 2012
Is it ok to grieve?
It was just gone 7.00am, spring in my step,sun shining,a beautiful start to the day. I'm about to set off for my first visit of the day. The mobile rings. I'm told to cancel the visit..... the service user has died.
No other information was given. No details. No sincereity. From the progammers view, it was a case of 'cross off the timesheet for the rest of the week.'
Sounds cold for a caring profession eh? I agree, however from their point of view they have a job to do and visits to cover at very short notice or to cancel.
Of course I had to carry on with the rest of my morning visits.Being cheerful and positive for others while I helped them get ready for the day. I had to keep this sad news to myself and get used to the idea very quickly of not seeing this person again.
I had been in most days for the past nine months and I had been in the previous day. A normal visit, nothing out of the ordinary and oh how quickly it all changed. Even though death was expected at some point, it still threw me.
So, how was I going to deal with this? First off, I wasn't going to cross them off my timesheet until the end of the week! My little way of recognising them as a person and not just a name on a list.Secondly, I would attend the funeral.Thirdly, I'm gonna have a good cry.
The only support I got from colleagues was at a meeting in the afternoon. It went along the lines of..Who was the last to see them- me...how did they look-fine...Are you ok-yes...Moving on, about elastic stockings...! That was it! No offer of talking to a supervisor if I needed, no offer of anything.
Definately on my own with this one. So, I'm here to put the record straight.
Yes I cried. Yes I thought about this person and their young family. Yes I went to the funeral.
I allowed myself to grieve, albeit in my own time.
It was ok, behind close doors no one was going to judge me or tell me Im not tough enough.I questioned my own morality, I wondered if I had done enough in the visits, I hoped the family didn't think I was being rude by not sending a condolence card (I was told it was not the thing to do and not part of the job- too personal).I did want to talk about it to someone at work but it wasn't going to happen.
This was my first experience of a death in my job. Sadly, one of many over the years. I learnt how to cope with it and kept it on a private and personal level. For each person, I had always gone home and lit a candle. I would admit to myself any sadness I felt and if I needed to cry I would.
“It's so curious: one can resist tears and 'behave' very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer... and everything collapses. ”
― Colette
www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk/
.http://astore.amazon.co.uk/carerscoffeep-21
No other information was given. No details. No sincereity. From the progammers view, it was a case of 'cross off the timesheet for the rest of the week.'
Sounds cold for a caring profession eh? I agree, however from their point of view they have a job to do and visits to cover at very short notice or to cancel.
Of course I had to carry on with the rest of my morning visits.Being cheerful and positive for others while I helped them get ready for the day. I had to keep this sad news to myself and get used to the idea very quickly of not seeing this person again.
I had been in most days for the past nine months and I had been in the previous day. A normal visit, nothing out of the ordinary and oh how quickly it all changed. Even though death was expected at some point, it still threw me.
So, how was I going to deal with this? First off, I wasn't going to cross them off my timesheet until the end of the week! My little way of recognising them as a person and not just a name on a list.Secondly, I would attend the funeral.Thirdly, I'm gonna have a good cry.
The only support I got from colleagues was at a meeting in the afternoon. It went along the lines of..Who was the last to see them- me...how did they look-fine...Are you ok-yes...Moving on, about elastic stockings...! That was it! No offer of talking to a supervisor if I needed, no offer of anything.
Definately on my own with this one. So, I'm here to put the record straight.
Yes I cried. Yes I thought about this person and their young family. Yes I went to the funeral.
I allowed myself to grieve, albeit in my own time.
It was ok, behind close doors no one was going to judge me or tell me Im not tough enough.I questioned my own morality, I wondered if I had done enough in the visits, I hoped the family didn't think I was being rude by not sending a condolence card (I was told it was not the thing to do and not part of the job- too personal).I did want to talk about it to someone at work but it wasn't going to happen.
This was my first experience of a death in my job. Sadly, one of many over the years. I learnt how to cope with it and kept it on a private and personal level. For each person, I had always gone home and lit a candle. I would admit to myself any sadness I felt and if I needed to cry I would.
“It's so curious: one can resist tears and 'behave' very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer... and everything collapses. ”
― Colette
www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk/
.http://astore.amazon.co.uk/carerscoffeep-21
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