Health and wellbeing Changes in an individual that

Health and wellbeing

Changes in an individual that would give cause for concern breathing difficulties or change in breathing pattern increasing reliance on alcohol, drugs, over the counter medication, cigarettes signs of sepsis (slurred speech or confusion, extreme shivering or muscle pain, passing no urine in a day, severe breathlessness, skin mottled or discoloured) social isolation, reluctance to interact with others signs of stroke (uneven face, drooping arm, slurred speech) loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed signs of heart attack (pressure/tightness in chest or arms, nausea, shortness of breath, cold sweat, fatigue, dizziness) work performance dipping extreme pain recurrent and unexplained aches/pains difficulty in mobility mood changes high temperature/low temperature expressing suicidal thoughts unexplained cuts and bruises lack of care for personal care, appearance and responsibilities change in toilet habits, loss of bowel or bladder control changes in sleeping patterns, disrupted sleep increased thirst weight gain or loss unexplained bleeding irritable, aggressive or over-sensitive confusion/memory loss difficulty in concentrating.

Observing, monitoring, recording and reporting changes Where an individual has a diagnosed health condition it is important that their condition is observed, monitored and recorded for a number of reasons: to monitor the individual’s overall well-being (physical and mental) monitoring and observation enables early identification of changes in an individual’s daily routines, communication, behaviour, mood to check on any changes in health e. g. shortness of breath, rashes to monitor any changes in personal care by the individual (e. g. a previously neat and tidy individual appearing unkempt) to monitor the effectiveness of medication being administered to identify if there any side effects from medication to indicate if any changes in medication are needed to ensure a duty of care towards individuals is met to identify concerns about an individual’s health to ensure conditions (e. g. diabetes/blood pressure) are being controlled by medication to monitor whether an individual is developing any mental health issues as a result of a physical condition (e. g. anxiety or depression) to identify the needs of an individual and create and amend care plans to share information with the individual to promote joint decision making.

Observing, monitoring, recording and reporting changes it is important that clear records are kept with full details e. g. date/time for a number of reasons: Any concerns or changes in the health and well-being of individuals should be reported for a number of reasons: to support consistent, safe and high-quality care to access specialist support, enable hospitalisation to identify any trends, patterns or concerns to be able to contact family members to evaluate and to amend care plans to adjust medication to seek advice from professionals such as doctors to avoid the spread of any infection/infectious illness to be able to make decisions about medication to be able to increase observation and monitoring to clarify any complaint issues to investigate any possible neglect of duty of care or abuse to enable effective handovers to other staff and provide consistent round the clock care. to amend care plans to facilitate changes to routines for the individual to plan and implement activities and routines to support mental well-being to be able to access any specialist equipment required to identify and record any near misses or mistakes.