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Direct Care Workers

CHRONICLE

June 2016

Welcome to

Direct Care Workers Chronicle!

Silvana Petric / Liaison Officer / HR - Brokerage Services SE

Contents Welcome Awareness Month Work Safe Victoria My Story My Aged Care Policies & Procedures Fun Corner

When the client is choosing a service provider or receiving

services, it’s important to think about quality.

Quality is not just about meeting standards. The client

wellbeing, social interaction and health can affect their quality

of life.

Our message to our clients

Happy Reading!

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Bowel Cancer Prevention

Bowel cancer is the most common internal cancer, with about 13,000 new cases each year. Each week approximately 80 Australians die from bowel cancer, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in Australia. Bowel cancer can be treated successfully if detected in its early stages, but currently fewer than 40 per cent of bowel cancers are detected early. Colonoscopy offers the best chance of early detection and cure.

Are You At Risk?

Symptoms

Bowel cancer can develop with few, if any, early warning symptoms. Symptoms of bowel cancer can include:

bleeding from the rectum or any sign of blood after a bowel motion

a recent and persistent change in bowel habit, for example looser bowel motions,

severe constipation and/or needing to go to the toilet more than usual

unexplained tiredness (a symptom of anaemia)

abdominal pain.

Who is at Risk?

The risk of bowel cancer is greater for people who:

Are aged 50 years and over (risk increases with age)

Have a significant family history of bowel cancer or polyps

Have had an inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

Have previously had special types of polyps, called adenomas, in the bowel.

Bowel Cancer and Polyps

Bowel cancer usually starts from a bowel polyp. Bowel polyps are small growths on the lining of the bowel wall. They are common, especially as we age. Polyps are usually non-cancerous. However, some have the potential to develop into bowel cancer in the future.

Colonoscopy is the Best Detection Method

Colonoscopy is currently the best way of detecting and the only means of removing polyps from the bowel.

Approximately half of all Australians are likely to develop a bowel polyp during their lifetime, but the majority of these remain undetected. If polyps are left untreated, a significant percentage of polyps will develop into bowel cancer. Although polyps are very common, they rarely produce symptoms and usually are discovered by chance at the time of colonoscopy. Most polyps can be safely and completely removed during a colonoscopy to prevent development of bowel cancer.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program

Take advantage of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, which is currently in place for screening all Australian citizens aged 50, 55 and 65 without symptoms with FOBT (faecal occult blood test). Ask Direct Endoscopy staff for more detail.

Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

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STAFF MEETINGS

All DCW are required to attend DCW’s meetings.

Each program holds staff meetings on a quarterly basis (every 3 months) and a list of meeting dates will be sent to all DCW at the beginning of each year. Meetings will be run for 2 hours plus 1 or 2 hours in house training. Once a year all DCWs (Footscray & Dandenong ) will have regional meeting together. These meetings are held to enable Line Managers and staff to exchange information concerning the Service delivery. A register is kept of attendance and non-attendance will be addressed by your Line Manager via Supervision.

TASKS OUTSIDE DCW RANGE OF DUTIES DCW’s work should not include tasks that would normally be undertaken by a trained nurse or are not recorded in Consumers Care Plan/Task List. Some enhanced care tasks can be carried out by DCW BUT only where the appropriate training has been received and staff has been deemed competent.

In addition DCW will not spend any part of their time on:

gardening

decorating

cleaning cars Work for able-bodied relatives or lodgers who do not qualify for a service themselves e.g. cleaning after other family members or guests.

If you are approached to undertake any other tasks which you consider inappropriate, your Line Manager should be consulted immediately.

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SAFETY

You are entitled to a safe workplace. The

health and safety of all employees,

contractors and visitors are the highest

priority and cannot be compromised.

You must not take any action that could

threaten the health or safety of yourself,

other employees, customers/clients or

members of the public. At all times you

must comply with any and all state and

federal work health and safety laws and

hygiene regulations. If you have any

concerns about safety or hygiene in the

workplace you should raise them directly

with management without delay.

Personal protective equipment and

clothing may be issued for your

protection because of the nature of your

job and if issued must be worn and used

at all appropriate times. Failure to do so

could be a contravention of your health

and safety responsibilities. Once issued,

this protective wear/equipment is your

responsibility.

You should report all accidents and

injuries at work, no matter how minor,

via the Employer’s incident reporting

procedure.

You must ensure that you are aware

of our fire and evacuation

procedures and the action you

should take in the event of such an

emergency.

BEHAVIOUR AT WORK

You should behave with civility towards

fellow employees, clients and members

of public, whilst at work. Rudeness will

not be permitted. Objectionable or

insulting behaviour or bad language may

result in disciplinary action up to and

including dismissal.

You should use your best endeavours to

promote the interests of the Employer

and shall, during normal working hours,

devote the whole of your time, attention

and abilities to the Employer and its

affairs.

Any involvement in activities which could

be construed as being in competition

with the Employer is not allowed.

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If you have low back pain, then you understand how the pain can make many basic tasks difficult to perform. Simple things like sitting, bending, or walking can become almost impossible, and performing work and recreational activities may be limited.

Sometimes trauma such as a fall or automobile accident may cause your low back pain. But often your pain may appear out of no-where. Your pain may strike when you first wake up in the morning, or it may suddenly start when rising from a chair.

Back pain can be confusing enough as it is. Sometimes it may be difficult deciphering if the pain is even coming from your back, and trying to figure out what causes it can be mind bog-gling. And many expert recommend focusing on mechanical sources of your back pain rather than anatomical sources of your pain. Is it a herniated disc, bulging disc, or facet joint arthri-tis causing your problem? It can be hard to decider, so focusing on what you are doing and the positions you put your back in may be the best way to determine the cause of you back pain.

Common Causes of Low Back Pain

Poor Sitting Posture: The correct position of your low back should have a slight forward curve called a lordosis.

Frequent Forward Bending: If you spend a lot of time performing repetitive tasks that re-quire forward bending, you may be placing increased pressure on your spine, and this may be a cause of your pain. Learning to bend properly at your knees to help keep pressure off of your spine can help you decrease your back pain.

Heavy Lifting: Jobs that require heavy lifting can place incredible stress on your spine. This stress can lead to muscle strains, and it can also increase pressure in your intervertebral discs. This pressure can cause low back pain or sciatica. Learning to lift properly is essential to controlling or preventing your pain.

Trauma: Sometimes trauma may cause your low back pain. There is no mystery here-a

fall, a car accident, or trauma during athletics can all cause low back muscle strains.

Degenerative Conditions: Sometimes, degenerative conditions that are the normal

result of aging may cause your low back pain. Conditions like spinal stenosis, arthritis, or degenerative disc disease can all cause pain.

By understanding the cause of your back pain, you can take steps start changing your lifting, posture, or bending habits that may be preventing your back from healing properly. You may also learn to stop doing things that may be preventing your back from feeling better.

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Beatrice's story

Beatrice, or Betty as she prefers to be known, lives on the Gold Coast. Since retiring 10 years ago, she’s been enjoying life, volunteering at her local charity shop and seeing her grandkids when they visit from Sydney. Betty often plays bridge with her friends. Recently, she went to a friend’s place for tea and noticed that the back garden looked beautiful. Her friend mentioned she’d been getting some gardening help through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, which means her yard can look lovely without her having to do work where she might hurt herself. Although Betty feels comfortable at the moment, it’s nice to know help is available so she can enjoy living at home for as long as possible.

Betty's friend Enid recently told her about a young man who comes around once a fortnight to help with the mowing and keep the garden tidy. Enid said she gets help through the Commonwealth Home Support Programme, which means some of the cost is subsidised by the government.

Another friend mentioned that her husband's arthritis is so bad he now gets a Home Care Package of services to help him stay at home longer.

Although Betty feels she's doing okay at the moment, she's pleased to hear that should she ever need it, there are options for getting help at home.

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Newsletter Contributions

You are invited to contribute articles. Topics may be related to:

Your life experiences (work, family, neighbours and community

groups)

Your perspective as a carer

Poems, articles, special events

Cultural traditions and experiences

Refer a client to My Aged Care Clients should be registered with My Aged Care before they can receive non-urgent services. If a client approaches you directly to organise services, you can:

use the referral form on http://www.myagedcare.gov.au to help them register with My Aged Care. You should tell the client that the My Aged Care contact centre may call them (or their representative) to discuss their needs, OR

help them to call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 for registration and phone screening.

Get their contact phone number and forward it to Silvana (email or call silvanap@accs.asn.au/0421 566 041) for registration with My Aged Care.

New worker Katie Jukic with the client