View/Open - ARAN - National University of Ireland, Galway

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Chapter 5 Findings
Staff participants also spoke about the dilemma of enabling choice whilst
protecting the resident from harm:
“I suppose the first thing you do have to look after there is their
safety isn’t it really? If they’re confused and if they’re going to do
something that isn’t a good idea, there isn’t a choice for them in
that.”
(H03)
A family participant talked about choices they had observed:
“‘Oh, you’re up late tonight or this evening?’ and they’ve said ‘Oh,
we’ve asked him a few times and he didn’t want to go into bed’.”
(F04) (Barthel 2)
One staff participant felt this was not enough and that more choices should be
available to the residents:
“I suppose I would have to say, when I came first I noticed, I really
felt that sometimes patients do not have a lot of choice and I found
that difficult and I sort of wondered should I make a stand about my
feelings?”
(H03)
A family participant felt that a menu would be nice for her relative and a
nurse participant also supported this and felt that food variety was
important. A staff participant also stated that:
“Well maybe people who are in charge of the diet could do a bit
better and give them a second choice, not two rices but something
different.”
(H03)
The observations revealed that there were not a lot of food choices available:
“It is breakfast time. There is porridge and white bread with butter,
jam or marmalade.
It’s 4pm and tea/supper is being served. Residents requiring a soft
diet have been served shepherd’s pie. One female resident gets a
salad and one other lady gets ham as this is what they have
requested. Residents that don’t need a soft diet get rashers and eggs.