Day in the Life

A generic worker
Lynn Roberts is a Generic Worker with the Intermediate Care Team in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd

am a generic worker working in the intermediate care team in a rural community in North Wales. We cover an area of approximately 25 miles circumference and so travelling takes up a lot of my time. Our service is to facilitate hospital discharges, prevent hospital admission and perform falls prevention assessments. The aim of the service is to provide short-term intensive rehabilitation and maximize independence. Intervention is limited to a period of 6 weeks but, depending on the needs of the client, often only lasts a few days. We have three nursing homes and two residential homes where we spot-purchase beds if a client requires admission but not hospitalization on a short-term basis. We are a new team which has been in post for 18 months. The team consists of seven members: sister, staff nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist (OT), part-time social worker, administrator and myself. The team provides a 9am-5pm service from Monday to Friday. We have a weekly team meeting where all the clients and their progress are discussed and date of discharged is agreed where applicable. Prior to this post I was a physiotherapy assistant for 14 years and have nearly completed my NVQ 3 in physiotherapy. As a generic worker I perform various tasks relating to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and nursing tasks which make my work very enjoyable as each day is different. Below is a description of each area with examples of clients and situations I may have to deal with.

programme of 8 weeks of 2-hour sessions. This includes a physiotherapy session for the first hour and a talk on various topics for the remainder, e.g. medication, health and safety, diet etc.

Occupational therapy
My role in helping the OT is to collect, deliver and fit equipment within the clients home environment as recommended by the OT. I also assist in maintaining stock records of equipment, ensuring adequate supplies at all times and that the stock room is kept neat and tidy. We have a van which enables us to go out in an emergency and provide the necessary equipment immediately following the initial assessment, thus it is important that the van is kept well stocked at all times. Mr B who has chronic low back pain was finding it increasingly difficult getting up from a chair. I delivered and fixed the toilet seat, chair raiser and shower stool and assessed Mr B in their use to ensure that they were the correct height and Mr B was comfortable.

Physiotherapy
Following an initial assessment by the physiotherapist I will visit the clients and help them with the necessary exercises. Exercises can vary from progressive exercises to mobility programmes, e.g. gait re-education, stair practise, indoor and outdoor mobility and car transfers. I

also provide appropriate walking aids and give instruction in their use. I sometimes assist the physiotherapist in treatment which requires two people. As we are a rehabilitation team we have many patients who have had a hip, knee or even shoulder arthroplasty (joint replacement). Mrs R received a knee arthroplasty and I visited her twice weekly to monitor and aid her in her exercises such as flexion exercises (the aim is to gain 90 flexion), extension static quads and straight leg raisers to strengthen the thigh muscle. Each exercise is performed sitting down and performed 10 times. Mrs R had oedema of her knee and was advised to elevate on a stool when sitting and to apply ice packs four times a day for 20 minutes as this is quite soothing and helps reduce oedema. I see all kinds of ice packs ranging from proper ice packs to frozen peas! Before leaving Mrs R, we discuss and arrange our next appointment. I then document my visit and the tasks undertaken in her notes. I also help in the falls programme in the local community hospital which is a set

Nursing
I have attended courses to learn new nursing tasks, e.g blood glucose recording, international normalized ratio (INR) recording, and venepuncture. Following completion of the competencies I am able to perform these tasks confidently and competently. Mrs P had a total hip replacement and was anaemic post-operatively on iron supplement, she required a repeat blood test to check that her haemoglobin had risen and was within normal limits. The procedure was explained and consent gained from the client and a venous blood sample was obtained. I then proceeded with her prescribed exercise routine. In the near future I am hoping to enrol on the NVQ 3 in care course to further my nursing knowledge. BJHCA

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British Journal of Healthcare Assistants October 2008 Vol 02 No 05 British Journal of Healthcare Assistants May 2008 Vol 02 No 10