A9 Flashcards
The NHS long term plans sets out these health inequalities as
-poor living environment
-poverty
-lack of life chances
-poor educational opportunities
World class care for everyone
-quicker diagnosis of cancer
-well-being programmes for patients with heart problems
-more community based physical and mental healthcare
-increased spending on mental health
-diagnosing lung complains quicker to prevent hospitalisation
-prevention of strokes, heart attacks and dementia
-more therapy for anxiety and depression
Help and support to age well
-recognition of carers
-more money for primary care
-professionals working together for more coordinated care
-supporting more people to live at home for longer
-rapid community response teams to prevent hospital admissions
-upgrading NHS staff and support to care homes
-people at end of life have more say in the care they receive
-improved care for people with dementia
How to support a persons health, comfort and well-being
-collaborative approaches across the healthcare sector
-encouraging active involvement of individuals to self manage their health and well-being
-encourage individuals to make decisions about the care, support and treatment they receive
-adopting a person centred approach to support an individuals physical, intellectual, emotional and social well-being
Collaborative approaches across the healthcare sector
Lots of healthcare workers from different professional backgrounds work together with the families patience carers to deliver the best quality of care
Encouraging active involvement of individuals to self manage their health and well being
This allows them to feel empowered by their choices making them much more likely to change their negative lifestyle and if someone else tells them they need to do so
Encourage individuals to make decisions about the care support and treatment they receive
Making decisions about their own care support and treatment is it right that individuals have in law as set out in the standard of person centred care
Adopting a person centred approach to support an individuals physical intellectual emotional and social well-being
Supporting an individual involves giving them relevant and accurate information so that they can make informed choices about their life and this is an important part of the person centred approach
Person centred care
To see the person as an individual focusing on their needs wants goals and aspirations
Key concepts of person centred care
Empowerment and power
Knowing person as an individual
Respecting the individuals values and preferences
Choice and autonomy
Respect and dignity
Empathy and compassion
Two types of pain
Chronic and acute
Acute pain
A sharp pain that comes on suddenly
Chronic pain
Ongoing pain which can last for months even after the cause of pain has gone
Physical signs
Physical ticks
Altered baseline observations
Skin condition
Repeatedly touching or guarding part of the body
Moving slowly
Wringing or clenching
Physical tics
They are in voluntary movements which can include grimacing or frowning, blinking ,jerking and coughing
Altered baseline observations
-Heart rate ~ The heart rate is normally 60 to 100 times a minute
-Respiratory rate ~ Use your breathing rate for an adult is 12 to 20 breaths per minute but infections increase the rate
-Blood pressure ~ Normal blood pressure for adults is in the range of 110/60 and 120/80
-Level of consciousness ~ Patients can be alert with eyes open or confused with eyes open. As well as verbal responses if available patients can respond to voice of pain stimulus
-Oxygen saturation ~ Normal oxygen saturation is at least 90% with 94 to 100% seen as normal
-Temperature ~ The average temperature of an adult is 36 - 37°C. A high temperature is called hyperthermia. A low temperature is called hypothermia
Oxygen saturation
Level of oxygen deliver to red blood cells through arteries and deliver to internal organs
Skin condition
Skin colour:
If skin looks blush or purple this can indicate a problem with oxygen
Paler skin the normal can be a sign of shock or dehydration
Flushed skin can be an indicator of a fever or high blood pressure
Skin temperature can indicate various health conditions:
Skin that looks cool and wet can suggest a significant problem
Skin that feels hot could be an indication of a fever
Moisture is also important:
What skin should be noted if it is dripping of feels wet to the touch. It can indicate an infection, shock or heart attack
Very dry skin is noticeable especially when is scaly. This can indicate dehydration
Repeatedly touching or guarding part of the body
An individual may repeatedly touch part of the body which is painful almost as if they can protect the painful area from further pain or massage the pain away
Moving slowly
Individuals with pain move slowly and carefully to reduce the impact of pain on their bodies
Wringing or clenching
Wringing the hands and clenching the fists can be a method that some individuals use to control pain
Verbal signs
Self report
Crying out
Groans and grunts

Self-report
A self report of pain is one individual tells a healthcare professional about their pain
Crying out
Crying and screaming can be an important indicator of pain as can groaning and sobbing 
Groans and grunts
If individuals have limited verbal skills they may express discomfort by groaning or grunting and this could be the only method they have of alerting healthcare professionals to their pain
Non-verbal signs
Facial expressions:
Those individuals are unable to verbally communicate the pain are totally dependent on others to be attentive to non-verbal signs of pain. 
Behavioural signs
Altered energy levels:
When someone is experience significant pain or discomfort the energy levels would drop as they will not feel like doing anything because they will not be able to stop thinking about their pain
Altered character:
Pain can alter a persons character by making them feel stressed, anxious, agitated and irritable
Changes in usual eating/sleeping pattern:
Pain can cause interruption of sleep and the effect on an individual is for them to wake up during the night. This means there is a charge in the day and feel less able to deal with problems and issues. Pain is sometimes accompanied by nausea which limits the amount of food the individual can eat

Ensuring effective nutrition and hydration
-Providing food and drink that meets individual needs
-Ensuring food and drink provided doesn’t have contraindications with any medicine individuals taking 
-Supporting individuals who might experience difficulties in eating or drinking
-Providing equipment to support individuals in eating and drinking independently
-Ensuring individuals are provided with sufficient time to eat and drink
-Close monitoring of nutrition and fluid intake
-Communicating with individuals to identify any barriers in relation to eating and drinking
-Promotion of the value and importance of effective nutrition and hydration to overall well-being
-Working in partnership with carers or family members to ensure affective nutrition and hydration of the individual
-Working in partnership with other healthcare workers to ensure effective nutrition and hydration of the individual
Providing food and drink that meets individual needs
Providing a good balance of nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Poor nutrition can cause malnutrition and obesity as well as vitamin and mineral deficiency diseases
Vitamin and mineral deficiency diseases
-Iodine can cause Goitre
-Iron can cause anaemia
-Vitamin A can cause poor night vision
-Vitamin B-1 can cause Beri Beri
-Vitamin C can cause scurvy
-Vitamin D can cause rickets
-Calcium can cause osteoporosis and tooth decay
Ensuring food and drink provided does not have contraindications with any medicine the individuals taking
Please can affect some medicines taken by individuals depending what individuals eat or when they eat it
Supporting individuals who might experience difficulties in eating or drinking
The care plan should tell the healthcare work at an individual needs support as well as the type of support needed. Never impose help or support and an individual
Providing equipment for individuals in eating and drinking independently
There are many different aid available to help individuals with themselves. These include:
-Different types of cutlery, plates, bowls, trays and drinking aids
-Using a straw
Individuals with arthritis of the hand can use
Cutlery with thick handles
Individuals who can only use one hand can use
Plates with rubber bases to stop the plate moving
Ensuring individuals are provided with sufficient time to eat and drink
It is important you do not rush the individual so they don’t feel hurried and then given enough time to eat
Close monitoring of nutrition and fluid intake
Monitoring of food and drink helps healthcare workers to ensure that the individual has the proper intake of fluid and other nutrients
Communicating with individuals to identify any barriers in relation to eating and drinking
If an individual is not eating the best way to deal with it is that ask them what the issue is and then tried to sort it out with them
Promotion of the value and importance of effective nutrition and hydration and overall well-being
Without good nutrition which includes the right balance of protein for growth, preparing recovery; carbohydrates and fats for energy; and vitamins and minerals to strengthen the immune system they don’t have good health
Working in partnership with carers or family members to ensure effective nutrition and hydration of the individual
Family members and carers can help by reinforcing what the healthcare professionals has said to the individual about their feeding habits.
Working in partnership with other healthcare professionals to ensure affective nutrition and hydration of the individual
There is a wide range of professionals who could work together to help with affective nutrition and hydration. They can help sort out any issues that the individual may have with eating
Change in the approach to healthcare and how to support a persons health, comfort and well-being
-Policy changes to focus on the promotion of health and well-being and prevention of ill health
-Change in approach from treating illness to promoting well-being
