The Implementation of a Model of Person-Centred Practice In Older ...

The implementation of a model of person-centred practice in older person settings
“… on getting older – you just have to get on with it. You can’t turn the clock back. I
have retired but I would still rather be working. I am happy here. I have been here
almost a year now. I get plenty to eat and enough cigarettes. I would like to get
outdoors more. The staff are alright. They have rules and you have to abide by
them, but I get on ok with all of them. I spend a lot of time on my bed but I don’t
sleep well at night. I miss my family” (Resident story)
Paying attention to narratives and stories enabled the sense of older people being
voiceless to be addressed. Some facilitators viewed the sense of hopelessness as a
bleak view of residential care and despite the range of activities put in place to
address these issues, recognised that instilling a sense of hope needs to be a key
strategic issue for the ongoing development of residential services for older people.
The following poem by a programme participant, illustrates the heightened
awareness that occurred regarding the need to pay attention to people’s lives and to
continuously facilitate them having meaningful lives:
Person-Centred Care
(by Mary Kinnaird CNM1 St John’s Hospital, Enniscorthy, Wexford)
How would it feel if you or me,
Were suddenly known as ‘pet’ or ‘dearie’.
Are we aware of what we say, When
we do our work from day to day.
The language we use may sometimes offend,
The people we care for and attend.
How would it feel if you or me,
Were suddenly the stroke down in bed three,
Who wears a nappy and needs a feed, That
wears a bib, ‘an important need’. Lying there
unable to say
I don’t feel like porridge today.
Or, I don’t eat fish and can’t you see,
The tea is too hot it’s burning me.
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