Dealing With Incontinence In Your Care Home
Care home staff are responsible for offering their residents all of the support and assistance that they need on a day to day basis, including high-quality continence care. Although dealing with incontinence isn’t easy and can be a struggle for even the most experienced of carers, there are ways that you can ensure that the continence care offered by your care home team is second to none.
Below is a selection of helpful tips and ideas for making dealing with continence care in your care home easier, less awkward, and less embarrassing for your residents.
Compassion and understanding are crucial
Incontinence can be incredibly upsetting and embarrassing for your residents to experience, so taking a compassionate and understanding approach is crucial. Should someone have an accident, you don’t want to make the resident feel as if they have caused you any inconvenience or have offended you in any way. You should ensure that you show understanding and compassion, and although you don’t want to draw more attention to the fact they’ve had an accident, you should take the resident’s feelings into account and check that they are okay. Aim to be as kind, professional, and gentle as possible when dealing with any accidents. It’s important to realise that the resident may be upset about the fact they can’t hold their bladder or bowels like they used to be able to, so it’s important to talk openly and honestly with them, sharing ideas for helping to manage the situation more effectively.
Person-centred continence care is vital
The fact is that when it comes to dealing with incontinence issues in care homes, a one size fits all approach doesn’t tend to work well. The foundation of person-centered continence care is focusing on the cause of incontinence in each individual and using this to work out a management plan. All new residents should undergo a continence assessment, so that your team can determine what causes their continence problems, such as a health condition like dementia or a side effect of their medication. A common cause of incontinence in care homes tends to be not being able to get to the toilet on time due to barriers like steps, for instance. The fantastic thing about person-centered continence care is that it takes each resident’s individual requirements into account, with no blanket approach in place.
Hygiene should be a priority
When providing care to residents who are living with incontinence, it’s crucial to provide them with adequate levels of hygiene. It’s important that not only are residents living with incontinence kept clean but also that hygienic practices are in place when dealing with accidents. Carers should always wear disposable gloves when dealing with an accident to prevent contamination. They should use antibacterial spray or disinfectant to clean areas that bodily waste has come into contact with, and should place all soiled materials into a biohazard bag. It’s also important that hands are washed after dealing with an accident, even when disposable gloves have been worn.
As we get older, we become more prone to problems with incontinence, which is why so many people in care homes suffer from this issue. While incontinence can be embarrassing for residents, by taking note of the tips above you can make dealing with accidents less awkward and upsetting.
