Having removed the nurse call bell for safety reasons, how can we ensure the resident’s needs are still met?

Answered by Rachel Griffiths

Reading this I think you should not try to manage this alone, but should notify the person’s GP, social worker if any,  commissioners of the resident’s service, and perhaps also the local safeguarding team and, of course, their relatives or friends might well be a mine of information about how best to communicate with the resident.

Possible options to be considered must be completely person-centred and focused on this individual. Hence what follows are just matters to consider.

This person must of course be enabled to express their wants and needs.

• Does the resident have mental capacity to know their own thoughts and needs, but has a problem with expressing themselves and being understood? If this is the case, they need a SALT urgently to assist with communication
• Was this thought to be a deliberate attempt to kill themselves, or an accident? If it is thought to be deliberate, mental health expertise is urgently needed, to assess if the resident is depressed or actively suicidal; and if this might be the case then their setting must be risk-assessed to remove other potential hazards
• If this was (as is more likely I would suggest) an accident, can they have a shorter cord, or have the cord attached to a rigid handle?