Working environments for carers are often the living environments for care receivers. What are the issues raised by this statement?

University Degree Subjects allied to Medicine

Katherine Jones K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care PI: B7902913 TMA06

Part A

‘Working environments for carers are often the living environments for care receivers.’ What are the issues raised by this statement for the different aspects of the environment underpinning Block 4? Illustrate your answer by comparing two of the following settings: (a) family home (b) extra-care housing (c) care home (d) hospital (e) other health settings as discussed in Block 4.

Caring for an individual can take place in various surroundings such as the family home, extra care housing, hospital and other health settings. However, it should be remembered that ‘working environments for carers are often the living environments for care receivers’. In this assignment I will discuss this, comparing two case studies to illustrate the issues that this can raise. The first case study is that of a family home care situation featuring Veronica, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and David, her carer whilst the second is an example of extra-care housing, Sonali Gardens.

Following the move away from institutional care, an increasing number of individuals now receive complex and involved care in the home, usually by informal care givers such as David. However, this often impacts on the person being cared for and their carer in terms of their relationship and in their view of home life generally. For example, Veronica and David lived in a three bedroom house which was unsuitable for her wheelchair use. She found everyday tasks such as washing and showering extremely difficult and always had to have help from David despite his own health concerns. She needed to be carried upstairs and she could not even go outside her home because the garden was unsafe for wheelchair use. The home environment is intricately linked to an individual’s sense of identity and privacy but the limitations of their home meant Veronica was losing control over her life. Similarly David felt less able to leave the home in case she fell and needed him so it interrupted his shopping trips. He also found it difficult to have other outside interests as his role was a source of incredible stress and this impacted on his own identity.

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In order to preserve Veronica’s privacy and autonomy and to ensure that their home life was not eroded, they applied to Social Services and received grant funding of £20,000 to have house adaptations done(k101,DVD,unit 13 Activity 1 ). When these were completed Veronica could move between floors, getting up and down stairs using a stair lift and this gave her direct access to a private area including a shower with glass door and curtain. She also had a waterproof wheelchair so David no longer had to help her wash and shower, thus giving her privacy and preserving her dignity. David also installed a ramp so she could not only undertake domestic tasks such as hanging washing up but also sit in the garden and enjoy freedom. Through the use of a power chair Veronica also had access to the outside community, enabling her to shop on her own.

Not only had the physical environment improved by having the adaptations carried out, Veronica was able to take back control of her own life, allowing her to make choices concerning her everyday living thus changing the previously disabling environment to that of an enabling one (k101 unit 13 pg. 11). Veronica and David were also able to enjoy each others company as a family unit rather than viewing their relationship as that of care receiver and care giver.

In situations where individuals are not able to live in their own homes because either it isn’t suitable or they lack sufficient support, like that provided by David, a possible alternative is that of extra-care housing. The advantage of this is that it provides a living environment specifically designed to support individuals who are able to maintain a certain degree of independence whilst also providing varying degrees of professional care and support to meet the specific needs of the individual.

Individuals living in extra-care housing, such as Sonali Garden, have their own self contained home complete with bedroom, lounge, kitchen and bathroom, affording them the opportunity to continue living independently and maintain their autonomy and sense of identity. However, in addition to this, the availability of communal facilities combined with the high level of support care and links to the outside world not only provides a more secure and safer environment than home but also creates an environment for individuals to build on their daily living skills and confidence.

The example used in the course materials is that of Sonali Garden, an extra-care housing development for elderly Bangladeshi people consisting of thirty, one bedroom apartments and ten, two bedroom apartments. Each of the homes is designed with the needs of elderly and disabled people in mind and is equipped with walk in showers, tracking hoist and accessible kitchens. They are designed to be fully accessible for wheelchair users and meet all the necessary requirements. For example, the kitchens are designed so that a wheelchair user can get their knees under the counters, the shower rooms have slip resistant floors with level access to the shower so that they do not have to step in and out and also all doors are free swings doors which enable them to be opened with ease.

The communal areas consist of large open spaces with links to the main residence lounge room which has glazed doors so that tenants can see who is in the room, affording them the choice whether or not to join other people already there. Similarly, tenants are able to choose whether they stay in their flat to cook their own food or whether they go to lounge and join others if they fancy company while eating. The corridors all have hand rails to help people move around safely to other areas and to stay mobile on their feet. There is a shared laundry room, treatment room, prayer room and lounge where tenants have the choice to join their friends on the social activities which take place.

Sonali Garden also has its own garden with direct access from the main lounge. It has been suitably designed for anybody with mobility issues with the footpaths also suitable for wheelchair users. The garden is enclosed, providing an outside space which is safe, enabling tenants the freedom to enjoy the garden in the nice weather without the fear of being harassed or fear of wandering too far away.

The first floor houses the staff area with changing rooms for staff privacy, bedroom for ‘sleep-over’ staff and a small bathroom. Although adequate, suggestions have been made by the staff for improvements such as brighter rooms and tiles in the bathroom to create a more pleasant working environment. The staff members are on hand twenty four hours providing practical help and support such as offering information and guidance. They also help tenants manage their hospital and G.P. appointments; provide domestic assistance by going shopping; assist tenants with dressing, feeding and washing if required; and, provide encouragement, emotional and psychological support. They are also able to speak Bengali and other languages required thus respecting the cultural diversity of the tenants. Even though a professional distance is maintained, staff members are considered to be friends to the tenants rather than just care worker staff fit in with daily lives of tenants and their relatives promote tenants connections with local clubs mosque and shop.

I think that the second example shows that, even though the relationship between the care worker and care receiver is a professional one there is still an element of familiarity present. Both have their distinctive living / working areas but the boundaries are blurred as the care workers are, to all intents and purposes, entering the homes of individuals and sharing communal spaces.

1235 words

Part B

Care skills: Promoting healthy and safe places and practice.

My garden does have stones and gravel so have to be care full with a child don’t fall over make sure gate are closed at all times because my drive is straight onto the main roads.
In living room have a fire so make sure have a fire guard up at all times also in living room a stair gate so they can’t go up the stair fall down them.
I also have cleaning stuff under sink so I make sure that there locked on cupboard doors so children can’t mess with clearing stuff.

Self-reflective notes

I enjoyed reading about the different settings that are around.
I was not sure about what I was asked to do and didn’t understand the question so found it hard.
I am not sure yet about which block to use for the exam but I am going to read all about it over the Easter term I want to be ready for the exams and pass be proud of myself for work I have done in the last few months.

REFERENCES:

THE OPEN UNIVERSITY (2011) Unit 1, K101 an Introduction to Health and Social Care Milton Keynes: The Open University

The open university(20011) K101 an Introduction to Health and Social Care,DVDunit 13,Activity 1 Milton Keynes: The Open University.