Reassurance that Mrs Reynolds can manage back at home

Mrs Reynolds lives in a spacious two bedroom bungalow in a village. She has a urostomy, and needs help with some household tasks so receives four homecare calls each day.  Her son, recently retired, lives nearby and visits daily.

Mrs Reynolds was admitted to hospital with an infection, but became very confused and disorientated. Her son doubted whether she would be able to manage back at home.  An occupational therapist suggested installing the Just Checking system to assess Mrs Reynolds as she returned home. The son was sceptical that the system would be of any assistance, but he was prepared to cooperate.

When she first came home Mrs Reynolds went to bed at varying times, and got up several times for the bathroom. Occasionaly she was up for an extended period but she always went back to bed eventually. Within a few day she seemed to ‘settle down’ as she was re-orientated by her familiar surroundings.

The system recorded the times and duration of home care calls and showed that these varied and, occasionally, did not happen as they should. After a month the OT and the son reviewed the position. The son said the system had been very useful and he was reassured that his mother’s activities at night were not a cause for concern. He had analysed the data and seen some patterns. In his words "good days mean good nights". In particular he and the OT concluded that an earlier first call could reduce the incidence of wet bedding, and the timing of care calls has been adjusted.

The OT observed that the relationship between the son and the professionals had improved notably, a consequence of sharing common information.

"Just Checking has greatly helped us form an accurate picture of what is going on."

Kay Saul, Occupational Therapist, Wrexham County Borough Council

The system was left in at the request of the son, to help him support his mother on a day to day basis. Mrs Reynolds remained in her own home for a further 16 months.