Committed to human rights
Safiya
Safiya can do a lot for herself but, due to her dementia, sometimes struggles with communication.
The Experts-by-Experience Viewpoint…
Our Expert by Experience Panel (EEP) agreed that Safiya’s autonomy should be respected and that the care worker needs to be creative and find the best ways to communicate with Safiya so that her wishes are taken into account.
Talking to Galal about possible approaches was seen to be a positive option, as was using body language and hand gestures to ‘check in’ at each step of delivering Safiya’s care. Any action which ignores Safiya’s wishes in the name of ‘getting the job done’ was not supported by the EEP.
Josie
Josie prefers to be independent and receives support reluctantly. In this scenario, Josie says that she has already had a shower but you are not convinced that is true.
The Experts-by-Experience Viewpoint…
This scenario generated a lot of discussion amongst the Expert by Experience Panel (EEP). They strongly emphasised that the key aspect of the scenario is that Josie has the capacity to make her own decisions and, if Josie says she does not want help on any particular day, this should be respected.
Suggested positive actions included asking if Josie would like help with anything else instead or letting her know that the care worker can help her with a shower on their next visit, if she would like that. Any confrontational actions such as challenging Josie, insisting that she must have a shower or threatening to escalate the situation were seen to be bad by the EEP.
Miss Holtby
The scenario indicates you have been supporting Miss Holtby for some time now and that, while she loves baking, she has lost confidence since a fall.
Care work often involves dilemmas caused by the need to balance the risks and benefits of activities.
The Experts-by-Experience Viewpoint…
In person centred care, the individual being supported is presumed to have autonomy to make decisions about their valued activities, and the care worker should support them to do so in the safest way possible.
The Experts by Experience acknowledged that time pressures meant you could not assist Miss Holtby with baking, but that it was important to minimise risks she may face. Taking out heavier ingredients would be a good way to do this. Offering to bake alongside Miss Holtby at the next visit would also be a positive suggestion, that would allow her to undertake her valued activity, but in a safe manner.
Telling Miss Holtby that she cannot bake would undermine her autonomy, and providing a shop bought cake would miss the point of baking being an enjoyable activity that Miss Holtby values.
