SUPPORT IN PRACTICE
More than just a daily ritual Healthcare assistants play a vital role in ensuring hospital patients maintain personal hygiene, says Letitia Agbegah Personal hygiene is fundamental to patient care, improving self-esteem and physical wellbeing. Most of us go through personal hygiene rituals before leaving home in the morning to face the day, and so we may take this process for granted. However, when patients are admitted to hospital, their control over these rituals is taken away. This is where healthcare assistant (HCA) can help. Maintaining patients’ personal hygiene is certainly a nursing function, but HCAs often have the opportunity to attend to patients’ needs more quickly. Application of the 6Cs is essential in ensuring patients’ personal hygiene experiences in hospital are positive: Communication introduce yourself to patients with a smile. Ask them how and when they
Compassion try to understand the patient’s perspective, by thinking how you might feel in their situation. Commitment all health professionals have a duty of care to patients and that involves a commitment to apparently mundane tasks such as personal hygiene. Courage HCAs should act as advocates for patients who are unable to speak for themselves. It is important to ensure that you are competent in every element of care delivery. Competence new HCAs can work with nurses to become competent in all aspects of personal hygiene care NS Letitia Agbegah (pictured) is an HCA at Kings College Hospital, London RESOURCES
would like their personal hygiene tasks performed. Care personal hygiene care should be carried out respectfully. It also presents an opportunity to assess the patient’s skin for breaks or soreness.
RCN Principles of Nursing Practice tinyurl.com/RCNPNP Compassion in Practice www.england.nhs.uk/ nursingvision
‘A FEW GRATEFUL WORDS CAN MAKE YOUR DAY’ David Fairweather offers some reasons why being a carer can be such a fulfilling role Caring can be an excellent career choice that can synchronise with employees’ family and other commitments. Here are five reasons why being a carer can be so fulfilling and rewarding: Flexible hours: as a carer, it is possible to agree hours that fit around personal commitments while also meeting the employer’s requirements. Job satisfaction: the satisfaction of helping an older person through
their day is one of the great benefits of the job. Going home at the end of a day knowing that a client is more comfortable and content as a result of your efforts is a reward not found in many occupations. Companionship: every care home resident or individual in their own home has a unique, and sometimes fascinating, story to tell of lives richly lived and loves won and lost. Carers must have time to give their clients the attention they often desperately need. Regular training: good employers hire carers because of their kindness and compassion, but they
will also want to increase their carers’ skills and their future employability. Practical skills backed up by progressive qualifications can turn a job as a carer into a career. Client feedback: the genuineness of an older person’s smile, a few grateful words – can make a carer’s day. David Fairweather, pictured, is staff training and development co-ordinator for home care service provider Bright Care in Scotland
NURSING STANDARD 18 other :: voluses 29 no 25 ::permission. 2015 71 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 12, 2015. For personal february use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
More than just a daily ritual Healthcare assistants play a vital role in ensuring hospital patients maintain personal hygiene, says Letitia Agbegah Personal hygiene is fundamental to patient care, improving self-esteem and physical wellbeing. Most of us go through personal hygiene rituals before leaving home in the morning to face the day, and so we may take this process for granted. However, when patients are admitted to hospital, their control over these rituals is taken away. This is where healthcare assistant (HCA) can help. Maintaining patients’ personal hygiene is certainly a nursing function, but HCAs often have the opportunity to attend to patients’ needs more quickly. Application of the 6Cs is essential in ensuring patients’ personal hygiene experiences in hospital are positive: Communication introduce yourself to patients with a smile. Ask them how and when they
Compassion try to understand the patient’s perspective, by thinking how you might feel in their situation. Commitment all health professionals have a duty of care to patients and that involves a commitment to apparently mundane tasks such as personal hygiene. Courage HCAs should act as advocates for patients who are unable to speak for themselves. It is important to ensure that you are competent in every element of care delivery. Competence new HCAs can work with nurses to become competent in all aspects of personal hygiene care NS Letitia Agbegah (pictured) is an HCA at Kings College Hospital, London RESOURCES
would like their personal hygiene tasks performed. Care personal hygiene care should be carried out respectfully. It also presents an opportunity to assess the patient’s skin for breaks or soreness.
RCN Principles of Nursing Practice tinyurl.com/RCNPNP Compassion in Practice www.england.nhs.uk/ nursingvision
‘A FEW GRATEFUL WORDS CAN MAKE YOUR DAY’ David Fairweather offers some reasons why being a carer can be such a fulfilling role Caring can be an excellent career choice that can synchronise with employees’ family and other commitments. Here are five reasons why being a carer can be so fulfilling and rewarding: Flexible hours: as a carer, it is possible to agree hours that fit around personal commitments while also meeting the employer’s requirements. Job satisfaction: the satisfaction of helping an older person through
their day is one of the great benefits of the job. Going home at the end of a day knowing that a client is more comfortable and content as a result of your efforts is a reward not found in many occupations. Companionship: every care home resident or individual in their own home has a unique, and sometimes fascinating, story to tell of lives richly lived and loves won and lost. Carers must have time to give their clients the attention they often desperately need. Regular training: good employers hire carers because of their kindness and compassion, but they
will also want to increase their carers’ skills and their future employability. Practical skills backed up by progressive qualifications can turn a job as a carer into a career. Client feedback: the genuineness of an older person’s smile, a few grateful words – can make a carer’s day. David Fairweather, pictured, is staff training and development co-ordinator for home care service provider Bright Care in Scotland
NURSING STANDARD 18 other :: voluses 29 no 25 ::permission. 2015 71 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 12, 2015. For personal february use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
