You can't be with your care giving clients at all times. Therefore this post is to help determine the steps to take if your client is injured while not in your care. I am going to use my personal caregiving experience as an example.
Two different occasions, I showed up at my work to help my caregiving client get ready for bed. To my surprise, my client seemed to be bleeding from the head when I got there. Client had fallen when not in my care and split his head on coffee table or desk. What should I have done? The list below tells the steps I took.
1. Approach and greet the injured client.
2. Ask the client if he or she is ok.
3. Apply pressure on the wound if the wound is still bleeding. (In my case, the bleeding already stopped)
4. Ask the Client if he or she will go to the hospital. (If client is non-responsive or confused, call 911)
5. Ask the Client if they would like any pain medication to help the pain.
6. Wear gloves and clean the wound the best you can if injured client refuses to go to hospital.
7. Report the accident to the next scheduled caregiver or caregivers.
What steps did I miss if any?
What would you do in this situation?
