Caring for the Older Person: Practical Care in Hospital, Care Home or at Home(Wiley Series in Nursing)

The number of older people in our society is increasing rapidly and as they age, the demand for safe, effective care is growing. This book offers readers the knowledge and skill to provide all aspects of care. Caring for the Older Person is written in six sections, covering the fundamental needs of an older person: Assistance with personal cleansing Assistance with movement Assistance to maintain nutrition and fluid intake Assistance with toilet needs Assistance with the need for observation and monitoring Care of the person immediately following death Each section starts with an explanation and includes care procedures in a step-by-step format. Written by two experienced nurses, the book is systematic and evidence-based, using up-to-date knowledge and government policy. It is intended to be a practical aid to improve care for the older person, whether in hospital, care home or at home and to give the reader the confidence that the care they provide is safe and effective. Caring for the Older Person is an essential resource for health care professionals, trainees, care assistants, or paid carers, whose work involves caring for an older person; or a lay person – someone who needs to acquire skill and confidence to care for an older friend, neighbour or relative.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements. Introduction: reason for the book. 1 Preliminary considerations and symbols. 2 Care for the older person requiring assistance with personal cleansing. Procedure One: Making or changing the older person’s bed with the person still in bed. Procedure Two: Assisting the older person requiring a wash in bed or chair, including care of hands and feet. Procedure Three: Assisting the older person to wash in the bath or shower, including care of hands and feet. Procedure Four: Assisting the bed-bound older person to wash his or her hair. Procedure Five: Assisting the older person with cleansing of the mouth, including care of dentures. Procedure Six: Assisting the older person requiring eye care. 3 Care for the older person requiring assistance with movement (Vicky MacArthur RGN, BSc (hons), MSc, PGDip HPE). Procedure Seven: Assisting the older person to move up the bed. Procedure Eight: Assisting the older person to move from a lying to a sitting position. Procedure Nine: Assisting the older person with a lateral transfer while they are in a lying position. Procedure Ten: Assisting the older person to sit back in the chair. Procedure Eleven: Assisting the older person from a sitting to a standing position. Procedure Twelve: Assisting the older person to walk. 4 Care for the older person requiring assistance to maintain nutrition and fluid intake. Procedure Thirteen: Assisting the older person to eat and drink. Procedure Fourteen: Nasogastric tube insertion and position checking. Procedure Fifteen: Assisting the older person with nutrition and fluid intake via a nasogastric tube. Procedure Sixteen: Care of percutaneous endoscopically guided gastrostomy (PEG) tube site until stoma well established (1–14 days). Procedure Seventeen: Care of percutaneous endoscopically guided gastrostomy (PEG) tube site when stoma well established. Procedure Eighteen: Assisting the older person with nutrition and fluid intake via a percutaneous endoscopically guided gastrostomy (PEG) tube. 5 Care for the older person requiring assistance with toilet needs. Procedure Nineteen: Assisting the older person to use toilet, commode or bedpan. Procedure Twenty: Assisting the older person requiring bowel care: administration of suppositories. Procedure Twenty-one: Assisting the older person requiring bowel care: administration of an evacuant enema. Procedure Twenty-two: Obtaining a specimen of faeces for observation, assessment and analysis. Procedure Twenty-three: Obtaining a specimen of urine for observation, assessment and analysis. Procedure Twenty-four: Assisting the older person with catheter care. Procedure Twenty-five: Assisting the older person to empty a catheter bag. Procedure Twenty-six: Obtaining a catheter specimen of urine for observation, assessment and analysis. 6 Care for the older person requiring observation and monitoring. Procedure Twenty-seven: Measuring and recording temperature. Procedure Twenty-eight: Measuring and recording temperature using a tympanic thermometer. Procedure Twenty-nine: Measuring and recording blood pressure. Procedure Thirty: Measuring and recording pulse. Procedure Thirty-one: Measuring and recording respiratory rate. 7 Care for the older person at the end of his or her life. Procedure Thirty-two: Caring for the body of the older person following death. References and further reading. Index.

About the Author :
Ann Bradshaw - Oxford Brookes University, School of Health and Social Care and Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, Department of Clinical Geratology Ann Bradshaw has worked as a clinical nurse in medicine and surgery, in palliative care, as a district nurse in the community, and in the care of older people. She has had numerous articles and papers published in nursing journals as well as medical and sociological journals, and has also spoken at many conferences. She has contributed chapters to several edited books. Clair Merriman - Senior Lecturer in Clinical Skills, School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University Clair has a background in neuroscience nursing and first came interested as to how nurses gain and maintain competence in clinical skills when she was a clinical development nurse. She has developed clinical skills teaching and assessing amongst student and post registration nurses at Oxford Brookes University in a project that has been original and innovative and recognises the importance of teaching and assessing the clinical skill of the nurse in order to be a competent practitioner. Clair is a member of an international multi professional clinical skills network, whose purpose is to provide a network for those who teach and assess clinical skills. They have a biannual conference where Clair has presented.