Month: June 2019

It’s always a difficult time when it comes to decided whether your loved one might need some extra help or even go into an assisted living situation. It could be a parent who isn’t ready to be looked after by someone they don’t know, or perhaps it’s a disabled family member who is becoming too difficult to look after with the facilities and finances available. Such situations always need to be handled sensitivity, but it is important to remember that sometimes extra help is necessary for the quality of life of the person in need.

Moving to hiring a carer or to assisted living can be a difficult transition, but every individual is different and such changes depend on factors such as current health status and medical and personal needs.

Here are some points to consider from Forbes for when determining whether your loved one might need some extra help:

1. Worsening health

Your loved one might have some manageable health conditions already, but a sign that extra help is needed could be if their health conditions worsen. If your loved one indicates that he or she has fallen and has struggled to get up on more than one occasion, it’s not safe for them to be living on their own. Nearly one third of seniors fall at least once every year, and the death rate for falls has climbed steadily in the past decade. Look out for suspicious bruising and injuries and go seek a professional to speak to if you are concerned.

2. Money problems

Many vulnerable people struggle to keep up with all their financial responsibilities, and if left unattended bills and financial problems can arise. Diseases like dementia can affect a person’s ability to think logically and handle numbers on a complex level and this can lead to difficulties when doing taxes or taking care of multiple bills at one time.

Older or vulnerable people can also be susceptible to financial scams. These scams can put them in debilitating financial trouble, and can prevent them from taking care of themselves as they could lose their savings, for example, which is sometimes all they have to live on.

3. Feeling lonely

Isolation and poor mental health can be a serious problem for vulnerable people. More than 11 million seniors live alone, and isolation can seriously affect a person’s overall health. When vulnerable people isolate themselves, that means they may stop participating in hobbies they once enjoyed, social interactions with family and friends, or just simply leaving the house at all.

Loneliness can spark depression, as the lack of community or sense of purpose can cause them to become depressed. It can also allow addictions to harbour as vulnerable people who are isolated often develop bad health habits like drinking, smoking cigarettes, and prescription drug abuse to fill the void.

4. Messy home

An untidy and smelly home can indicate that someone may not be able to live on his or her own anymore. These can often be explained with a person’s physical inability to clean up after themselves and it can get to the point where they can’t vacuum the house or clean the dishes. They might not even be able to recognise that thinks have gotten so bad, so it’s vital for someone else to step in and offer them extra support.

5. Poor hygiene

While a loved one may have some level of ability to take care of him or herself, a big sign it may be time for extra help is the lack of motivation for doing so. Some signs of poor hygiene include poor grooming habits when they used to take great pride in their appearance, and bad odour, which could indicate that they aren’t washing as often as they should be. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for disheveled clothing, which could signal that they are unable to wash their own clothes anymore.

6. Forgetfulness

Forgetting to pay bills is one sign that someone might need extra help and another is forgetting to take medication. This is important as some medications, if not taken properly, can have devastating consequences; including death. Check tablet boxes and bottles regularly to see if they are being taken by the person in need.

7. Poor diet or weight loss.

It’s also important for you to look at the food your loved one is eating. Open up the fridge and have a look around on a regular basis. Is there spoiled food in there? Are there a lot of foods past their expiration date? These may be signs that your loved one can’t cook for him or herself anymore or that they aren’t eating healthy food or full meals, which can cause poor health and weight loss.

If the happiness or health of a loved one seems to be being compromised, it’s time to have a conversation about whether it’s time to find extra help for the individual.

It was once widely accepted that as we grew older our teeth would eventually all fall out and we’d all have to wear dentures that we kept floating in glasses of water on our bedside tables. However, with advancements in dental health knowledge and access to free dental care via the NHS, it is now easier than ever to keep our natural teeth and more and more of us are doing this right through to our 80s and 90s.

According to the United Nations, the proportion of older people across the globe is increasing all the time, with around one in 12 people worldwide now being 65 and over; and this is expected to double in the next 30 years. It is estimated that by 2050, almost one in five of us will be over 65. That equates to 1.6 billion people.

Our expanding older generation are extending their lives and at the same time increasing the quality of their lives due to good quality health care and advancements in medicine. However, it appears that in some cases older people who once maintained good dental and oral care are letting this slip as the years continue to pass. Keeping our natural teeth further into life means there is a greater need for support daily, dental treatment and restorative work, as well as more care for unrestored teeth.

According to the Oral Health Foundation, those looking after elderly patients or older family members are more likely to encounter more demands and difficulties when caring for an older person’s oral health because of their reduced mobility, as well as losses in cognitive ability. Elderly people who are suffering with poor oral health could be in pain and discomfort and experience problems their mouth and jaw. They might also have difficulty eating and drinking, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies and this could have a negative impact on their wider health.

There are many factors which may make older people more susceptible to dental diseases, including use of medications. For the best chance of keeping teeth and gums healthy, the NHS says that it’s important to brush at least twice a day with a fluoride-containing toothpaste, floss and to see a dentist regularly. Age UK say that based on the health of your teeth and gums, your dentist will decide how often you should visit them for a check-up; the recommendation is likely to be between 12 and 24 months, although it can be as often as every six months. It’s worth noting when looking after an elderly person that dental treatment is free if you or your partner receive Guarantee credit part of Pension Credit.

Sometimes an elderly person is unable to maintain daily dental care, and so carers or family member will have to help by flossing and brushing their teeth for them and making sure that they attend the dentist. There are special toothbrushes that are curved and ergonomically designed to be more comfortable for brushing someone else’s teeth. The Amercian Dental Society says that if your loved one is having difficulty with brushing and flossing, talk to a dentist or hygienist who can provide helpful tips or a different approach. There are dentists who specialise in caring for the elderly and disabled and you can locate a specialist through the Special Care Dentistry Association’s referral directory.

For those who wear dentures – and lot of elderly people do – it’s important to pay close attention to the wearers eating habits. According to Mouth Healthy, if they’re having difficulty eating or are not eating as much as usual, denture problems could be the cause.

Here are a few tips from WebMD for keeping dentures in great shape:

• Handle dentures with great care. To avoid accidentally dropping them, stand over a folded towel or a full sink of water when handling them.
• Brush and rinse dentures daily, but not with toothpaste. Like natural teeth, dentures must be brushed daily to remove food and plaque. Use a brush with soft bristles that is specifically designed for cleaning dentures. Gently brush all surfaces of the denture and be careful not to damage the plastic or bend attachments.
• In between brushing, rinse dentures after every meal.
• Clean with a denture cleaner. Hand soap or mild dishwashing liquid can be used for cleaning dentures. Household cleansers and many toothpastes may be too abrasive for dentures and should not be used.
• Dentures need to be kept moist when not being worn so they do not dry out or lose their shape. When not worn, dentures should be placed in a denture cleanser soaking solution or in water. However, if the denture has metal attachments, the attachments could tarnish if placed in a soaking solution. Your dentist can recommend the best methods for caring for your particular denture.
• Dentures should never be placed in hot water, which can cause them to warp.

Vulnerable patients and those in need of extra care often feeling scared, vulnerable or intimidated by the uncertainties they face during their health journeys. Nurses and care workers are in the privileged position of being able to ease those negative feelings by showing true kindness and compassion on a daily basis.

According to the Patient Empathy Project, 96% of patients suffer from healthcare-related fears, and one of the top patient fears is having a rude or unhelpful nurse. It’s no wonder that patients are scared, as only recently ten staff members at a learning disability hospital were arrested after a BBC Panorama programme showed footage of staff appearing to mistreat patients. Following an investigation into alleged abuse of patients at Whorlton Hill psychiatric hospital, Durham constabulary confirmed it had arrested seven men and three women in connection with the undercover recording, which showed carers being violent towards patients.

When nurses and care workers are in their training, applying evidence-based research, critical thinking and scientific knowledge to the delivery of healthcare are the main focuses to their study. Nurses also gain a deeper knowledge of medical equipment and technology. However, kindness is the foundation of their work.

Nurses and those working in care should be nonjudgmental, supportive and understanding in order to gain the trust of those they are caring for. Maintaining a kind and respectful approach to health work has many benefits, including improved nurse-patient relationships, increased patient compliance with care plans and treatments, improved patient outcomes and increased patient satisfaction. Open communication and mutual respect can also result in shorter hospital stays, relieving pain, decreased anxiety and an optimistic outlook on recovery. Each person in need should be treated as a unique individual and should be supported in their spiritual beliefs as well as their emotional, psychological and cultural needs.

The University of Texas explains that providing patient-focused care and forming relationships based on kindness and empathy gives nurses the opportunity to directly impact their own happiness and fulfilment too. It is proven that nurses and care workers who have greater job satisfaction tend to be more productive, motivated and committed to quality care.

To stay focused on providing kindness through care work and nursing, staff should be mindful of the patient’s needs, such as their individualised care and listening to their concerns, taking the time to introduce themselves as well as other nurses or healthcare providers who will interact with the patient, address patients by their name and make frequent eye contact. Maintaining ongoing communication with patients, family members and caregivers also helps to build a good rapport. Care givers and nurses should encourage patients and those around them to ask questions, and take the time to answer them to their satisfaction. It’s important to always be respectful and courteous, even when faced with unhappy or demanding patients.

The 6 C’s are the foundations for kindness in nursing and care work:

According to NHS England, the 6 C’s are considered crucial to improving patient relationships. They stand for the professional commitment to always deliver excellent care. Not one is more important than the other and they focus on putting the person being cared for at the heart of the care they are given.

Care: The care nurses and care workers deliver helps the individual and improves the health of the whole community. People receiving care expect and deserve for this to be consistent and correct.

Compassion: Compassion is how care is given through relationships based on empathy, respect and dignity – it can also be described as intelligent kindness, and is central to how people perceive their care.

Competence: Competence means all those in caring roles must have the ability to understand an individual’s health and social needs and the expertise, clinical and technical knowledge to deliver effective care and treatments based on research and evidence.

Communication: Communication builds successful caring relationships. Listening is as important as what we say and do. Communication is the key to a good workplace with benefits for those both in care and the staff too.

Courage: Courage enables nurses and care workers to do the right thing for the people they care for, to speak up when they have concerns and to have the personal strength to keep going when things get tough.

Commitment: A commitment to patients is a cornerstone of what nurses and care workers do. They need to build on their commitment to improve the care and experience of patients.