Mental health: Explain how these conditions may influence a person’s needs in relation to the care that they may require;
Experiencing Psychosis, the patient may experience it once, have short episodes throughout the patient’s life or live with it most of the time.
The patient seeing faces of loved ones or hear their voices they may find this comforting.
If the patient hallucinates or delusions this could make the patient feel anxious, scared threatened or confused if the patient has delusions about certain people or organisations the patient may find it hard to trust them.
This can leave a sense of shame and guilt for the patient leaving the patient enable to function day to day as an adult leaving the patient feeling isolated and aggressive to those who cared and wanted to cared and wanted to help.
I could remind the patient they are not alone and do not have to put up with people treating you badly.
The patient could talk to other people who experience psychosis by going to a support group.
Get involved in awareness raising about psychosis. mind publishers.
The patient could share their experience by blogs and video blogs mental health selfies.
Experiencing Depression this affects all age groups and is more common due to increasing levels of stress that we are all confronted with daily.
My role as a health care assistant is to have immense patience and perseverance.
This could prove essential to a patient’s recovery this could even save the patient’s life.
I understand however sympathetic and up to date doctors and nurses maybe they cannot be there 24 hours a day to observe every small alteration in the patient’s behaviour and mood.
This where I can help as the health Care assistant to observe and note in any changes in the patients’ health and care requirements.
Depression is different from most medical conditions suffers with depression rarely seek or welcome support.
Together with emotion numbness, self-imposed isolation and pervasive gloominess, the depressed patient state of mind is very hard to get through to my offers of help and support may be hard for the patient to accept.
Recognising depression and the symptoms and know how best to deal with them when nobody else wants to no these helps with many of the barriers which can help make the patient face assistance.
Anxiety I could understand the behavioural, physical or psychological signs as early indicators of the presence of an anxiety disorder in family members yet mostly these signs are only recognised in hindsight.
Understanding there is barriers preventing me from noticing the development due to the feelings of shame and fear lack of awareness of anxiety disorder symptoms or incorrectly attributing the symptoms to a phase of adolescence, naughtiness, eccentricity or personality traits.
Offering the patient more information as to where to go for help, access to treatment.
Offering the patient family support not leaving the patient overwhelmed and unsupported.
Dementia is often regulated to the status of object rather than legitimate contributor to the research process and much can be gained from a patient view regarding their illness and care dementia patients experience behavioural and psychological symptoms BPSD such as aggression, agitation, loss of inhibitions and psychosis delusions and hallucinations these symptoms can be destressing for the person and their carers as well as putting the person as risk.
People with Dementia are often prescribed antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia.
Antipsychotic drugs do reduce psychotic experiences such as delusion.
But these are linked to serious side effects, have a moderate benefit and do not address underlying causes of BPSD.
Inappropriate prescription of antipsychotic drugs is extremely harmful with a nine-fold risk of the patient having a stroke in the first four weeks.
Patients with learning disabilities will need special consideration to ensure that they receive care and treatment which meets their specific needs and maintains their safety.
The patient will be less able to understand and retain new or complex information.
They will require that you use simple language and explain things that may be unfamiliar.
They may be at greater risk of swallowing difficulties.
The person be less able to communicate pain or discomfort.
May rely on others to meet some or all of their basic needs or to maintain their safety .
