week 4

Today i went on a home visit with patient s. Patient s is due to be discharged in a few weeks to the community with his wife as the primary care giver. The Physio's and OT staff however are concerned about the patient's 'safe' ambulation in the house. We needed to assess whether a wheel chair would be needed in doors, whether the 2 wzf would fit in all of the rooms and whether the lounge chair was comfortable and safe to transfer into and out of. I set out with another physio student the OT and patient s to the house where we met the wife. The first discussion was in regards to the front door step. Patient s is not always steady on his feet and would need assistance stepping over the door frame however it is a very narrow confined corridor and it is difficult for his wife to guide him through. We then discussed putting in a ramp, so that the patient could use his wheel chair to get into the house. Due to L hand weakness however the patient cannot wheel independently and would need his wife to push him up the ramp. The wife would then not be able to squeeze past him in the corridor to assist sit to stand.We decided that this was not going to be a safe or realistic transfer and that we would need to introduce a handle at the front door which he could hold onto and step over the door frame. The wife could supervise from behind and ensure the patient did not fall backwards.