M2, D1 – Asses ways in which health and social care workers
support the independence and wellbeing of older people and
evaluate ways in which the sectors work together to support the
independence and wellbeing of older people:
There are a few strengths and weaknesses of the health and social care
workers supporting and working together the independence and wellbeing of
the older people.
Strengths:
The individuals working in the health and social care sectors have made
massive improvements in the equipment and the medication which the older
people are able to use in order to improve their independence and wellbeing.
For example, the occupational therapist would advise the older person to set
up an electric chair lift if the individual has mobility issues. This has greatly
evolved and had a massive improvement in the lives of those who have
mobility issues and are unable to walk upstairs/downstairs. This could help
them improve their health and prevent future injuries. For example, if a carer
was to take the individual with mobility problems upstairs, there is a risk that
they might drop the older person. This means that in order for the older
individual to get upstairs the carer will need to be strong to be able to pick the
older person up.
Strength is that the older individual is able to live in their home and still be
able to complete things like watching TV, washing, making cups of tea and
more. They are still able to live with those individuals who are close to them
which might make them feel not as lonely compared to if they were send into
a care home where they would only see their relatives when they visit them.
Staying at their own home could make them not as depressed and still they
would be able to live to their fullest and with those that they care about. They
would still be able to live with their partner and have a relationship.
Strength of having people from the health and social care sectors is because
the occupational therapy is free which means that they don’t need to pay for
the support and the advice in how they must change their home to ease their
daily activities.
Strength of the individual staying at home and having a carer help is that, if
the individual has a pet, the carer could help to look after them. For example,
if the pet is a cat, the care could help the older individual to feed it or give
them baths. This is important because some of the older people feel relatively
close with their pets and they would want to still have them in their lives. The