Reassurance that Mrs Reynolds can manage back at home

Mrs Reynolds lives in a spacious two bedroom bungalow in a village. She has a uromstomy and cannot always manage to empty the bag at the right time or without spilling it. She tends to fiddle with the bag and loosen the fitting thus wetting the bed at night if the bag is full. She requires help with some household tasks and receives four homecare calls each day, to deal with the bag and other tasks. Her son, recently retired, lives nearby and visits daily.

The occupational therapist installed the Just Checking system to assess Mrs Reynolds as she returned home after a hospital admission. The son was concerned that it might not be feasible for his mother to remain at home. The son was sceptical that the system would be of any assistance, but he was prepared to cooperate "if the OT wanted to experiment".

The Just Checking system showed that Mrs Reynolds went to bed at different times, ranging from 7.00pm to nearly midnight. The frequency and extent of her getting up at night also varied with between 1 and 6 visits to the toilet. On a few occasions she was up for an extended period but she always went back to bed eventually. As time went on, she seemed to ‘settle down’, possibly as she was re-orientated by her familiar surroundings.

The system recorded the times and duration of home care calls and showed that these varied and, occasionally, did not happen as they should despite the care workers being told about the system from the outset.

After a month the OT and the son reviewed the position. The son said the system had been very useful and he was much reassured that his mother’s activities at night were not a cause for concern. He had analysed the data and seen some patterns. In his words "good days mean good nights". In particular he and the OT concluded that an earlier first call could reduce the incidence of wet bedding, and the timing of care calls has been adjusted.

The OT has observed that the relationship between the son and the professionals had improved notably, a consequence of sharing common information.

 "Just Checking has greatly helped us form an accurate picture of what is
going on." 

Kay Saul, Occupational Therapist, Wrexham County Borough Council

The system was left in at the request of the son, to help him support his mother on a day to day basis. There is no talk at present of Mrs Reynolds not staying in her home.

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