Task 1b
For this task I have been asked to identify and give a clear description of relevant factors which influence independence and autonomy in my care setting.
All clients in my care setting have the right to have all there certain individual needs. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) devised a hierarchy of needs which is shown below. Maslow believed that people have a range of different types of need. The goal of human life was personal growth i.e. to develop ability and potential. Self actualisation which is positioned at the top of the hierarchy of needs means ‘becoming everything one is capable of becoming’- Maslow believed that only a few people have the chance to achieve this. People who self actualise achieve a high degree of satisfaction from life. Adults will only live a fulfilled and worthwhile lives when their physical, safety, belonging ad self-esteem needs are met. It is important for the care workers in the residential setting to make sure that these needs are maintained.
I have learnt from GCSE Health and Social Care by Liam Clarke that all individuals need love, security, safety, nutrition, warmth, and intellectual fulfilment. However, people with physical and mental disabilities may have additional needs relating to their condition. Each person will be affected differently by his or her disability. When thinking about support services for people with disabilities it is important to remember that each client is an individual and to focus on their individual needs, both physical and emotional, rather than on their disability.
Many older people require a lot more help and even the simplest illness may be serious for an older person. This is because they may be suffering from other conditions such as:
- Decline of their mental powers
- Loneliness
- Accidents and falls
- Rheumatism/ arthritis
- Foot defects- 50% of older people have foot problems.
- Hypothermia
- Cardiovascular disease
- Hearing loss
- Visual defects
- Nutrition problems
- Bronchitis
- Prostate problems (in men)
All these problems will have an impact on an older person’s independence, some of these problems will require individuals to seek more help in order to help solve the problems. Many older people may not like the idea of having to go into hospital or seeing doctors as that they will feel dependent on others. Many older people have a fear of losing their senses and feel that they cannot carry on, this may lead to having a low self –esteem or depression.
There are certain universal needs which are common to all individuals. These have been defined by Abraham Maslow as:
- To have sufficient food and drink
- To eliminate waste product
- To breathe properly
- To have the body at a comfortable temperature
- To sleep and rest
- To keep clean and maintain health
- To wear suitable clothing
- To be free from pain and discomfort
- To feel safe.
In my care setting all individuals avail of all these needs. However clients with a disability have more additional needs. Many clients can carry out some of these needs themselves whereas people who have a disability will require help when dressing and undressing. They will require help when walking, whether this is in the form of a walking stick or a wheel chair. In a wheel chair situation a carer will have to be available in order t make sure that the client is mobile and can go to wherever they please. They will require help when eliminating waste products due to their weakness and restrictions with their mobility. Immobility, another medical reason for nursing-home residence, involves the loss of movement due to arthritis, stroke, other diseases of the muscles and nervous system, impaired vision, or fragile bones.
Residential homes usually provide more medical services than are available in the home and fewer than are available in the hospital.
Clients with a disability will sometimes require specialist clothing, such as those people who may have lost a leg, they will have to have shoes that are suitable. They will also require emotional help. They may require financial help such as the DLA (disability living allowance). Due to their individual needs they may require medical help. Others may require educational assistance or employment help.
In my case my clients could avail of the following services for disabilities:
- They will have a social worker and a care plan wrote up in order to ensure their individual needs were attended to.
- People with a visual impairment can have access to the talking newspaper, those with slight visual problems can have access to books that have large print. The optician also comes on a regular visit. There is also a talking clock available for clients with a visual impairment.
- There is a limb fitting service available for those who have lost an arm or leg in which they are able to update their original one or have a new one.
- There is financial help available to some clients who may get services paid for them by the NHS.
- They receive emotional support from social workers that visit every week in which all information is kept confidential and makes sure that their individual needs are met.
- Mobility- I noticed in the home that there was a line of wheel chairs available for the clients. The home also had a railing on the wall to help will balance and walking. There is a bus available with access for disable people, in that it has a step that is lowered, it also has railings and bars in that the clients can hold onto for support.
- Physical assistance- carers are available 24 hours a day to help clients with their daily routines. I also noticed that in the bathroom there is shower seats available and there is a lot of railing for clients to hold onto. All switches are down low, which gives an advantage to clients that are in a wheel chair.
- The door at the front of the building is automatic door therefore creating the same access as everyone else.
- There is a loop system in all sitting rooms of the home, for people with hearing disabilities. Specialist people from the Sperrin Lakeland Trust review their hearing.
Clients in this care setting are given the chance to make decisions in their everyday life. Choices regarding their personal care include – they can wear whatever they want, they are not told what to wear. However, problems are created when the person will want to wear an item of clothing for several days, but it may be soiled. In this case, the carers will advise them to wear something else. They have the choice of their meals, the kitchen staff come around every morning with a menu and ask them what they would like, if they don’t like anything that is on the menu then they could choose something else. They can shower and wash at any time of the day, if they please, however most clients prefer to wash in the morning. If they want to get their hair done they can visit the salon which is available in the home. If they feel that they are tired and would like to lie down on their bed for a while then they can do this.
With choices regarding their social needs, family can visit the home at any time they please. They do not have to arrange an appointment. The clients can then take their family to a sitting room in which they can make them tea and have some privacy. They are also wallowed to go down to the shops and do messages, if they like which helps they maintain their independence and freedom. They can go for walks, maintain their current skills by gardening or sewing. There is trips available for the residents from June to August, in which the residents will decide where they want to go. There is loads of entertainment for the clients over Christmas, church groups, school choirs and the folk park all sing in the home. There is Christmas parties and the clients have loads of fun. Residents are also encouraged to pursue their outside interests for example bingo, concerts, day care, shopping and visiting.
The kitchen staff have a list of all the residents birthdays, so they bake a cake for the clients and then they come out with it in the evening tea and everyone sings happy birthday. This helps the clients realise that their birthday is not forgot about and that their emotional needs are met.
Intellectually the clients have access to a library in the home, and the mobile library calls on a monthly basis in which the clients can choose their own books. The newspapers are available for the clients and the audio tape is available for those who have a visual impairment.
There is also a resident’s committee in operation in the home. This gives the residents a forum to put their points of view forward and suggestions that they would like to give.
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