5N2770: Assisting a Client in Care Nursing Home Report Answer

Assisting a client with a meal or feeding a client a meal

Background of client:

Mr Clark (name changed due to confidentiality and privacy purpose) is an 80-year-old male with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. He was admitted to Lake View Nursing Home six months ago as he required full assistance with daily activities of living. His cognitive ability is declining.

Preparation for task:

Before the procedure, I would gather all materials needed for feeding the client. Secondly, I will knock on the door, courteously introduce myself and seek consent for starting the procedure. I will explain to the client it is time for his meal and if he is ready for it.

Determining the client’s level of assistance:

To determine the client’s level of assistance during mealtime, I will review the care plan of Mr Clark and consults with other involved staff. The primary purpose would be to identify if the patient has any special dietary needs or issues. The food will be chosen after liaising with the nurse in charge (Manu et al., 2020).

List of equipment required:

Clothing protector, diet card, eating utensils, meal, food tray sanitisers or soap, water and spoon

Method of infection control:

I will start the procedure by performing hand hygiene and putting on an apron. I will wipe the table surface of the patient and use a tissue to cover up the area. I will decontaminate my hands while handling food and ask the patient to wash their hands before having the food. All the waste will be safely disposed of in the dustbin and after having food, the linen used for wiping hands will be disposed of in a separate bin for cleaning.

Communication skills during the activity:

I will verbal communication skills to take consent before the procedure. During the process, I will use non-verbal gestures such as smiling, touching and nodding to understand if the client can cut food items or assist them with wrapping the packets. During feeding, I will ask if the patient prefers taking food using a fork or spoon.

Health and safety issues and rationale for intervention

I will assist the patient to sit in an upright position before having the food as it can help with swallowing and protect the airways. I will check if the patient is using any dentures and ask them to insert them during mealtime.

Execution of the task:

I will start the process by decontaminating the eating area and helping the client sit in an upright position. This will be followed by placing a protector on the resident and seeking permission from the client regarding feeding and oral care. I will position myself at the client’s eye level and offer a small amount of food at a reasonable pace so that the resident gets enough time to chew and swallow the food. I will offer fluids frequently or as per client needs. Following this, the resident’s face and hands would be cleaned. After the procedure, I will complete hand hygiene, record intake of food, document any issues during the procedure and check for the comfort of the patient.

Communication with other team members

I will communicate with other team members before initiating the procedure to confirm the diet chart. Lastly, written communication will be done by documenting the intake of food and feeding issues during the process (Anderson, 2017).

Reflection

The task supported me to learn about the importance of effective communication while assisting a patient during feeding. Effective communication can support me in preserving the respect and dignity of clients in practice.

Assisting a client with Personal Hygiene (showering)

Background of client:

Mr Clark is an 80-year-old patient in the moderate stage of Alzheimer’s disease. He tends to wander and needs assistance frequently. As his families were unable to cope with the disease, he was admitted to resident care six months ago.

Preparation for task:

Before getting the client ready for showing, I will review the care plan and arrange the materials needed for the process. I will ensure that the bathroom is empty, dry and in good working order. I will ensure that all toiletry and linen items are in the right place. The environment for showering will be prepared by checking the desired temperature of the water and other cleaning items (Rejno et al., 2020).

Determining the client’s level of assistance:

I will interact with the nurse and other staff to understand if the client can walk or need a wheelchair for transfer to the bathing area. I will also inquire about the comfort and needs of the client during the process. The patient’s dignity such as the types of washed clothing required will be checked with the staff too.

List of equipment required:

I will gather all equipment such as towels, washcloths, soap, shampoo, lotion, nails, hair brush and other toiletries.

Method of infection control

I will put on a clean glove. The patient will be encouraged to clean all private areas. All waste materials such as band-aids, tapes or any other waste products will be safely disposed of in a bin. In case the perineal area needs to be touched, the gloves will be changed again. After the process, all the lines and soiled gowns will be placed in a linen bag. The shower chair or bathtub will be sanitized as per the policy of the resident. Lastly, the gloves will be removed and disposed of (Scerri et al., 2022).

Communication skills during the activity

During the process, I will use verbal communication skills to encourage the client to independently clean their body. In case of any area where the client is not able to reach, I will try to seek permission to clean those areas. I will try to be patient and engage in empathetic interaction throughout the showering and help with the dress change.

Health and safety issues and rationale for intervention

Keeping the bathing area clean and free from any fall risk is important. For this, the bathroom will be inspected before use and checked if it is clean and dry for the resident. Secondly, maintaining infection control is important. To ensure this, it will be ensured that all soiled clothes, band-aids or other disinfected materials are effectively disposed of during the showering process.

Execution of the task:

During the procedure, the dignity of the patient will be considered. The client will be encouraged to start cleaning his body on his own. His comfort and needs will be checked and he assisted to clean difficult-to-reach areas (Hammar et al., 2021). After cleaning and showering, I will pat dry his body and check for this preference in using any creams of body lotion. I will offer him his dress to wear and attend to his hair care.

Communication with other team members

I will get in touch with the nurse to understand the special assistance and needs of Mr Clark during showering. In addition, the staff member will be contacted if there is any issue during the process.

Reflection

The experience gave me knowledge about supplies and infection control practices during showering. This will aid me in preparing patients for showering in clinical settings without any risk of hazards.

Assisting a client to a commode or assisting with toileting a client or emptying a catheter bag

Background of client:

Mr Clark is dependent on activities of daily living due to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. He wanders and needs to be reoriented. As his family were not able to cope with daily care, he was admitted to the Lake View nursing home for assistance in daily care.

Preparation for task:

The most important preparation will be to check with the nursing staff regarding the type of toileting assistance needed. I will confirm if Mr Clark uses a bedpan, walk independently to the toilet or if they need to be pivot transfer with assistance. I will be able to make preparations accordingly. Mr Clark needed assistance in walking to the toilet to ensure he doesn’t wanders and there is no fall risk. I will also inquire about any urinary incontinence or other issues (Abney et al., 2021).

Determining the client’s level of assistance:

As mentioned above, I will consult the on-duty staff to understand ways to assist the client during toileting and understand if any other device or equipment is needed during the process.

List of equipment required

Apart from commodes, I will ensure that the toilet has access to adequate water, tissue, gloves, antiseptic liquids and soaps after using the toilet. All other special needs will be reviewed.

Method of infection control

Before the procedure, I will put on the hand gloves and help the patient towards the commode. After the procedure, I will remove the gloves and wash my hand.

Communication skills during the activity

Interaction and communication are important to explain the procedure, seek the client’s permission and encourage the client to give signals. The client will be explained the importance of hand hygiene after the procedure.

Health and safety issues and rationale for intervention

To avoid health and safety issues, I will ensure that the client maintains hygiene before and after the procedure. Before leaving the toilet, I will inspect the area to ensure that the area is clean for other patients to use (Lindberg & Skytt, 2020).

Execution of the task:

I will seek the client’s permission regarding his need for going to the toilet and explain to him my role in assisting the client to the commode. I will encourage the client to wear appropriate footwear and assist him to the commode. A curtain will be raised after that and I will ensure that the toilet tissue is within the reach of the client. However, I will give them as much privacy as possible and encourage them to call if needed (Pressbook, 2022).

Communication with other team members

Any issues or observations will be reported to the agency. In addition, communication will be done to understand the need for support during taking to the commode.

Reflection

The above activity has helped me learn about the importance of preparation and effective communication to support patients in safely going to the toilet. Patients with dementia need assistance to prevent any fall issues or avoid wandering of the patient on way to the toilet (Lee et al., 2019).

References:

Abney, S. E., Bright, K. R., McKinney, J., Ijaz, M. K., & Gerba, C. P. (2021). Toilet hygiene—review and research needs. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 131(6), 2705-2714.

Anderson, L. (2017). Assisting patients with eating and drinking to prevent malnutrition. Nursing Times, 113(11), 23-25.

Hammar, L. M., Alam, M., Olsen, M., Swall, A., & Boström, A. M. (2021). Being treated with respect and dignity?—perceptions of home care service among persons with dementia. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 22(3), 656-662.

Lee, T. W., Yim, E. S., Choi, H. S., & Chung, J. (2019). Day care vs home care: Effects on functional health outcomes among long‐term care beneficiaries with dementia in Korea. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 34(1), 97-105.

Lindberg, M., & Skytt, B. (2020). Continued wearing of gloves: a risk behaviour in patient care. Infection Prevention in Practice, 2(4), 100091.

Manu, E. R., Fitzgerald, J. T., Mullan, P. B., & Vitale, C. A. (2020). Eating Problems in Advanced Dementia: Navigating Difficult Conversations. MedEdPORTAL, 16, 11025.

Pressbooks (2022). Assisting Client to a Commode or Toilet Performance Checklist. Retrieved from: https://pressbooks.nscc.ca/cca-lab-skills/chapter/assisting-client-to-a-commode-or-toilet-checklist/

Rejnö, Å., Ternestedt, B. M., Nordenfelt, L., Silfverberg, G., & Godskesen, T. E. (2020). Dignity at stake: Caring for persons with impaired autonomy. Nursing ethics, 27(1), 104-115.

Scerri, A., Borg Xuereb, C., & Scerri, C. (2022). Nurses’ experiences of caring for long-term care residents with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 8, 23337214221077793. 

You May Also Like:

Nursing Dissertation Help

Adult Nursing Dissertation Topics, Ideas & Examples

Professionalism in Nursing Legal and Ethical Issues Essay Answer