Question

Marianna is a support worker for Murray Hills Home and Community Care Services. Marianna has three children, who are all in school. She is married and her husband is in the armed forces, so he spends a lot of time away from home. Marianna works part-time for the personal care agency and does some private cleaning at other times.

Marianna is working in a person’s home. She is running late and needs to get the person showered and dressed before heading off to her cleaning job. The person, Alexia, is sitting in a lounge chair. When Marianna tells Alexia she is ready to shower her, Alexia asks Marianna to help her out of the chair.

Marianna knows she should not help and that Alexia’s personal care support plan directs that she should instruct Alexia about proper placement of her hands and feet, bending and so on, so she can get herself up. However, this normally takes a long time and Marianna is in a hurry. She asks Alexia if she has had help from other workers to get out of her chair. Alexia says she has.

Marianna asks Alexia if she thinks she could get out of the chair alone, but Alexia says she is too tired. Marianna doesn’t think that Alexia is very heavy so she holds her under the arms and lifts her out of the chair. Marianna feels a sharp stabbing pain in her lower back when she does the lift. The pain does not go away even when Alexia is standing unsupported.

When Marianna sees her doctor, she finds that she has done serious damage to her back and is unable to do any physical work for at least three months – probably longer. She cannot sit or stand for very long and often gets pins and needles in her legs and feet.

Question

1. Discuss what Marianna did incorrectly.

2. What information did Marianna have at hand that told her what to do?

3. How did Marianna confirm Alexia's care needs?

Answer 1

1. Marianna knows she should not help Alexia out of the chair and that Alexia’s personal care support plan directs that she should instruct Alexia about proper placement of her hands and feet, bending and so on, so she can get herself up. Marianna's mistake is that even after knowing what she should and what she shouldn't, she opted for what she shouldn't do. Even though she was in a hurry and she didn't have enough time to work according to the instructions in Alexia’s personal care support plan, she shouldn't have helped Alexa out of the chair. Since she is a part-time worker for the personal care agency she is supposed to abide by their rules. That means she should follow Alexia’s personal care support plan. She shouldn't have lifted Alexia out of the chair. Alexia’s personal care support plan directs that Marianna should instruct Alexia about proper placement of her hands and feet, bending and so on, so she can get herself up, which she didn't do.

2. The information Marianna had at hand that told her what to do is Alexia’s personal care support plan.

3. Marianna refers to Alexia’s personal care support plan and she confirmed Alexia's care needs by asking Alexia. Marianna asked Alexia if she has had help from other workers to get out of her chair when Alexia asked for help getting out of the chair and Alexia said she has. Marianna asks Alexia if she thinks she could get out of the chair alone, but Alexia says she is too tired.