Three situations in a social care setting

Essay by greekqueenUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, November 2002

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Describe at least three situations in a social care setting where challenging behaviour could arise.

My setting is based in a mental health ward of an NHS hospital.

An elderly patient is in hospital in a public ward, she has a diagnosis of dementia, which causes her to suffer from periods of paranoid delusions. She is in hospital for a brief visit as she has just suffered a bad episode. Her husband is finding it more and more difficult to cope with her behaviour. Her social worker is thinking of looking into long-term care in a nursing home, if the situation does not improve..

When she receives her meals. her illness is at it worst. She becomes suspicious of the staff, who she thinks are trying to poison her. She frequently throws her tray down, and also head bangs the wall when staff leaves the room.

When she has visitors in the evening, she gets agitated, if there are too many in the room, She starts to become hostile when other patients have visitors; she listens in to their conversations and becomes convinced they are talking about her.

She also shows aggression to others when they ask her questions and may also eyeball them from afar. She asks repetitive questions to staff and argues frequently with them.

These behaviours are caused mainly because of her illness, but other causes are also because she needs to be separated from others at times.

There is a lack of privacy as there is in most other N.H.S public wards.

Her medication might either need changed, merged with another, or reviewed. Routine is very important, since changes in schedule or rushing can cause extreme disappointment, frustration, or fear. A physically comfortable environment is important for her too. Noisy, poorly lit, or improperly heated...