Question

One of Lotus Compassionate Care’s newest residents in its Residential Care Unit is Mariana Lopes, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who has only been living in Australia for a year. Six months ago, she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, a disorder that causes widespread and chronic muscle pain, fatigue, sleep problems, and memory problems. This condition makes it difficult for her to move around at home and carry out her activities of daily living (ADLs), such as taking a shower and dressing up. Mrs. Lopes is a widow and lives with her only son, Anthony, who recently got divorced and is childless. She is left alone at home most of the day when Anthony is at work. Because of this, she decided to move into Lotus Compassionate Care three weeks ago to access their residential care services.

Two weeks ago, Mrs. Lopes’ Fibromyalgia worsened due to the low winter temperatures, triggering increased pain in her legs and hips, as well as increased fatigue. She can barely get out of bed without the assistance of Laura, her individual support worker. According to Dr. James Campbell, Lotus Compassionate Care’s general practitioner, Mrs. Lopes’ condition—called Fibromyalgia flare—can last throughout the winter season, and she needs a high-level of assistance with her activities of daily living during this time.

Also, Mrs. Lopes’ native language is Spanish, and she knows little English. This has caused her to feel loneliness and social isolation because this language issue prevents her from building good relationships with Laura and other residents of the facility.

The problem is, although Lotus Compassionate Care has the capability and facilities to meet the needs of a client with Fibromyalgia, it no longer has access to:

⦁   professional interpreting and translating services,
⦁   ethnic/multicultural organisations to source and employ bilingual staff who can address language issues and provide comfort and social support to clients who are non-native English speakers, and
⦁   organisations that can provide language lessons and cultural awareness training for its staff so that they can better meet the needs of clients who are non-native English speakers.

Lotus Compassionate Care must immediately address these gaps in its networks and collaborative partnerships in line with its policies and practices which include:
⦁   Anti-discrimination practices
⦁   Code of Ethics for Residential Aged Care, particularly:
⦁   The right of individuals to be treated with respect.
⦁   The right of individuals to have their religious and cultural identity respected.
⦁   The right to an appropriate standard of care to meet individual needs.
⦁   The recognition that human beings are social beings with social needs.
⦁   Code of Conduct, particularly:
⦁   Promote and protect client’s right about diversity and equity.
⦁   Provide person-centred care that considers the individual’s culture, religious, social, emotional, and physical needs.
⦁   Training and development for staff to achieve the organisation’s goals and objectives

For the purpose of this assessment, this case study scenario is located in your state/territory. （ I live in Ashfield   NSW )

⦁   Based on the scenario, identify three (3) needs of Mrs. Lopes and list them in order of importance.
Guidance:
⦁   The first priority must relate to Mrs. Lopes’ need for daily self-care.
⦁   The second priority must relate to Mrs. Lopes’ communication needs.
⦁   The third priority must relate to Mrs. Lopes’ emotional needs

Answer 1

The three priority needs of Mrs. Lopez are as following

1. Pain management :This has to be done first because pain can interrupt her both physically and mentally. This can limit her from doing her basic daily activities and hence decrease the quality of life. Ensure proper support person are there to help her.
2. It is important for the staff who cares for her should be able to communicate .If not a translator has to be arranged to make communication smooth. Meanwhile communication app, videos, images can be used to establish rapport with the patient . This can increase the comfortness of the patient .
3. The spiritual and cultural competent care has to be provided. This can be offered by chaplain visits, respecting her prayers and rituals and providing timely to it. Also engaging her in group therapy, encouraging to move around can enable her to cope up with situations and overcome emotions.