Crutches

Crutches are used to remove weight from one or both of your legs and they are available in different sizes and must be adjusted to fit you. To be safe when you are wearing crutches it will be best if you:

• wear flat, non slip shoes
• keep your pathways clear of clutter, rugs and other loose floor coverings
• rest when you are tired
• use caution on wet, slippery or uneven surfaces
• walk using short even strides
• check that hand grips and underarm pads are secure

When you are climbing the stairs you need to step up with your unaffected leg and then follow with your unaffected leg.

When you are going downstairs step down with the affected leg and the crutches, then follow with your unaffected leg.

If you are using a bag when using crutches it is not suitable to use a handbag, instead it would be better to use a side bag or a rucksack.

We was given a pair of crutches that wasn’t suitable for a service user to use so we had to adjust them and find out what was safe and what wasn’t. For example one of the crutches didn’t have any grip on the bottom so it was unsafe.

Wheelchair

Wheelchairs are used for people that unable to make use of their legs. It is important to be safe when using a wheelchair by doing a variety of things like:

• always keep the speed reduced

Edith is an elderly women with slight memory loss and her carer doesn’t care for emotions and treats her badly. Here is a list of the things her carer does and how she might of felt.

1. Put Ediths coat on - she might have felt like she doesn’t feel independant anymore
2. Make her wear wellies because its raining - she might feel like she is being treated like a child
3. Put Ediths bus pass in her pocket because she thinks Edith will lose it - she might feel like she is not trusted with anything
4. Call a cab because Edith sometimes sings on the bus and people stare - she might feel quite humiliated and embarassed
5. She takes Ediths purse and puts in her bag - she might feel like she can’t be trusted
6. Use Edith’s money to pay for both of them to play bingo - she might feel quiet annoyed
7. Calls a cab to take Edith back to the home after bingo while she goes to the pub - she might feel as if the carer doesn’t care about her or her safety

In my scenario I was caring for Frankie, a 19 year old girl, who had a broken leg and we was going to the cinema. I let her do most things on her own, but some things I had to do for her for her own safety.

The things I let her do was:

• Let her choose what film she wants to see
• Let her choose her clothes
• Let her choose how she wanted to get there

The things that I did for her:

• Helped her choose suitable shoes to wear for the day

‘Empowerment is getting them to help themselves where they can so that they can develop their confidence.’