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Practical Tips for Care Staff

First day at nursing home or day care centre

For most people, becoming a resident of a nursing home or attending a day care centre is a big change in their lives. They may be afraid of what lies ahead, of settling in and adjusting. For someone with sight loss, there is the additional challenge of getting used to an unfamiliar environment.

You can help make the transition easier for someone with sight loss by providing disability awareness training [ 1 ] to staff members. This will include sighted guide training to enable staff members to guide a person who is blind or vision impaired safely. Visit our section on meeting and greeting people with sight loss [ 2 ] for more general information on meeting people with vision impairments.

A trained member of staff should meet the person, guide them around the building and introduce them to other residents. It might be helpful to tell the person exactly where certain objects are located, including light switches, call system, radio, clock, bed, bedside locker, power points and the telephone.

Other tips to help a person settle in include:

• Describe the room from left to right.

• Show the person the route to the bathroom, toilet and dayroom.

• Ask the person if they need help unpacking but do not state aloud where different personal items are stored.

• If an older person wears glasses, make sure their glasses are cleaned regularly.

• Unless a person with sight loss is quite infirm, they can use the toilet and bath independently. It would be helpful to tell the person the exact position of the toilet and toilet roll. People in their own homes will know where these are already. If it is necessary for the person to have a bath, place the person’s hand on the side of the bath and let them lower themselves into it.

• If the person is taking medication, place the tablets into their hand, rather than leaving them on the locker.

• Many people with sight loss enjoy television, so don’t be embarrassed to ask the person if they would like the TV switched on.

• Large print, talking and tactile watches and big button telephones are available from NCBI resource centres.

• Mark the on and off buttons on the appliances with brightly coloured stickers, or tactile marking such as Velcro or bumpons available from NCBI resource centres.

For more information on ways to make everyday life easier for people with sight loss, see our section on independent living skills [ 3 ].

The environment and everyday tasks

Our staff are available to provide information and advice on caring for a person with sight loss. Some important areas of consideration include lighting, safety, eating and drinking and using the bathroom.

Lighting

There are some general lighting rules that can be helpful to some people with sight loss.

• To avoid glare, seat the person with the window behind them. Otherwise use blinds or curtains to control the light during daylight hours.

• Light from lamps should be positioned directly onto books, newspapers, or whatever task the person is carrying out.

• Lights that are easy to adjust and can be controlled with dimmers are very useful.

• When reading or working outside, a sun visor or anti-glare glasses can shut out sunlight glare.

Safety

Mats and rugs may present a tripping hazard to someone who is vision impaired. There are a few ways to make the internal environment safer for everyone.

• Mark the edges of all steps with a highly contrasting colour tape or paint.

• Remove mats and rugs.

• Avoid coffee tables below knee height and that have sharp edges.

• Let people know when the floor is wet as they may not see a sign.

• Keep passageways clear. Ensure chairs are pushed under tables.

• Mark glass doors.

• Keep cupboard doors fully closed. Place a contrasting coloured tape on the insides or backs of cabinet doors to help identify the door when it is open.

Eating and drinking

• When serving a meal, tell the person that the meal has arrived and has been placed in front of them.

• Serve food on a tray that has a good edge – anything spilled will stay on the tray.

• NCBI resource centres have a range of products which prevent plates from slipping on the table or food from slipping off the plate. A plate surround is a plastic device that helps keep food on the plate.

• You could identify the food on the plate using the clock system. For example, the meat is at 6 o’clock, beans at 3 and potato at 9.

• A glass of water may not be easily seen. Avoid accidents by placing the water in a brightly coloured cup. For example, tea being poured into a white coloured mug is easier to see than in a brown mug.

Bathroom

• Hang brightly coloured towels over the edge of the bath to act as a marker.

• Grab rails in the bathroom and toilet are very useful and can be taped or painted to make them more visible.

• Use a magnetic soap saver or a brightly coloured soap.

• Buy toothpaste and shaving cream in different sized tubes to avoid mistakes!

• Buy toothpaste with a flip-up lid so the lid will not get lost.

• A pedestal mat, with a non-slip backing, around the toilet can be a useful tactile indicator for a man with vision impairment to know where to position himself.

The individual is the expert on what assistance they require. Always ask the person what kind of assistance they need, if any. Only they will know what works best for them and not everyone who has a vision impairment will require the same adaptations.