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Specialist behavioural support following a brain or spinal injury
Specialist nursing care provider, Exemplar Health Care, has the in-house skills and expertise to support those who display complex behaviours of concern arising from a brain or spinal injury.
Exemplar Health Care is a specialist nursing care provider that supports adults living with complex and high acuity needs. They specialise in supporting those who display complex behaviours of
Julie Booth concern.
Serious injuries, such as those to the brain or spinal cord, may result in people experiencing changes in their physical and cognitive functions, behaviour and personality. In this article, Julie Booth, Head of Quality, talks about how Exemplar Health Care support people who display behaviours of concern following a brain or spinal injury.
SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENTS
As part of the assessment process, we do a ‘community fit’ assessment which looks at whether our home is the right ‘fit’ for the individual, and if they’d be a good ‘fit’ for the home and the people who already live there.
We carefully plan our care to minimise risk to everyone, and have stringent safeguarding procedures in place.
Our high staffing levels, often 1:1 or 2:1, enable us to build trust and work at people’s own pace.
Our homes in-house Life Skills Teams empower people to take part in everyday activities that are meaningful to them and to be meaningfully occupied. This helps to reduce feelings of frustration for people who display behaviours of concern.
Alongside many of our homes we have OneCare services, which offer specialist nursing care in a single or dual occupancy domestic living environment, that’s separate to the main care home. They’re ideal for adults who have complex needs that cannot be met in a group setting.
PERSON-CENTRED APPROACH TO BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT
Many of the people we support have been deemed to display ‘behaviours’ that are considered ‘too complex’ for mainstream nursing and care services.
There are many reasons why people display behaviours of concern, which is why our approach is personalised to the individuals that we support.
We work with them, their loved ones and professionals to design a care plan that’s tailored to their needs and goals, and that’s enhanced through meaningful activities.
Our approach to behaviour support focuses on how we can prevent the need for restrictive practices and reduce the frequency and intensity of behaviours of concern, so that people can live a fulfilling life and integrate with society without their ‘behaviour’ restricting what they can do.
Our trained teams work with individuals to understand the reasons for their behaviour, to learn the skills to manage their own behaviour, to identify, remove and reduce any trigger factors, and to implement strategies to reduce the frequency, duration and impact of incidents of behaviours of concern.
There are many reasons why people display behaviours of concern, which is why our approach is personalised to the individuals that we support. JULIE BOOTH, HEAD OF QUALITY COLLEAGUE SAFETY AND WELLBEING
Our care and nursing colleagues complete Exemplar Positive Behaviour Support (EPBS) training that’s been certificated by the British Institute for Learning Disabilities Association of Certified Trainers (Bild ACT). We also have a central team of Mental Health and Behaviour Support Specialists who support colleagues and service users, including crisis or rapid intervention when a person’s behaviour is escalating. The team is supported by a Consultant Psychiatrist. ■ Tel: 01709 565777 | Web: www.exemplarhc.com
