Stacy0122 Asked April 2021
What is a "reasonable" amount of toilet paper and other supplies for an incontinent person and a 7.5 hour a day to use?
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I am back to toilet paper, paper towel, kleenex and handsoap that I pay for. The main CG is here 5 days a week. I say 3 rolls of TP, a box of Kleenex, a roll of paper towel and a handsoap is unreasonable on her days and she is probably stealing. It's locked up so she needs to ask. I am told, I am too concerned with bathroom habits and since she actually shows up for her shift, to drop it. I said the worker can bring her own crap if she goes thru that much.
Am I being umreasonable?
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I am going for guardianship, just to get her placed since SW doesnt follow the rules. The guardian ad litem was here today as was SW, cameras Medicaid installed, I heard everything, she wants a trial by jury under advice of SW. There are no jury trials now due to the County shutting it down over Covid. It is only judge, Zoom hearings. So, I sent the camera backup to my lawyer. He had said she has no expectation of privacy since Medicaid installed the cameras due to her need for 24/7 and she did not shut them down during meeting. So, idk, crazy.
The coffee. Tell them for client only. And, that the client should not be drinking a lot, if like my Mom, it makes for a messy BM.
Now why isn't this person in a NH?
So, a few months ago, I went up to the primary lady and said did you put the Swiffers somewhere, the Thurs night lady said there were none. She was real short with me and said we are out. I said, thats odd, I just bought 2 boxes at Sams a week ago, how are they gone.
Then, my township has a fishing festival and garage sales. I do not do garage sales, but use that as my declutter motivation and drop things off at a shelter or goodwill and have been doing this the last few months.. So, one of the things sitting on the table outside was a Keurig, there is no reason for 3 in any house. She asked if she could have it, yeah, I dont care.
I try to limit leaving the house to work and shopping once a week. If anything is needed, I am shopping 6 am Sat morning only. Have the crap together. I went to the one store and bought the patient 5 boxes of k cups. I physically filled that drawer under the Keurig. So Sunday morning, worker texts me...almost outta coffee. Walked up and there were 2 k cups left. Wth! Her answer, other workers must be drinking it, its her weekend so, nope!
So her agency called yesterday, she is throwing every other worker under the bus. The last batch of workers were all dismissed from the house after the patients credit card had unauthorized charges.
The only consistent thing in all of this is the worker.
Bridger, I do not have time for any of this...which includes the daily calls and texts for papertowel, tp and kleenex.
Bed bound lady, catheterised, faecal incontinence including blood in the stool (black, tarry, sticky), requiring 2:1 care. I attend the call with my co-worker. The lady that day is unable to transfer to commode with hoist because of pain in both legs. There are no wipes in the room, we have no toilet paper, my co-worker steps out to ask a family member for supplies. She returns three minutes later, looking a little shaken, holding about half a roll and - remember the client is present - quotes the family member verbatim: "can we not use too much because they're not going shopping 'til tomorrow."
Fortunately we know to keep our sense of humour when this kind of thing happens, and besides I was pretty much speechless. We did our best not to use too much. There's a 24 hour supermarket a two minute drive from this family's house, by the way.
Well, now. You say the care receiver is incontinent. How much in the way of supplies it is reasonable to use depends on several factors, including the type of incontinence, the person's bowel habit, the person's ability to transfer to toilet, commode or bedpan, and what other means of cleaning her might be available.
At lunchtime today the only way I could effectively clean up my client was to persuade her she wanted a shower; but if things had been less dramatic I might well have used up to half a roll, plus wipes, for just one transfer. A whole cake of soap seems a lot. They're not leaving it in water, are they? - that will soften and use it up extremely quickly.
I don't quite know what to advise, but I will say this. I work for a short-term service, public sector, free of charge to the client. We see people from all walks of life, from very well-off indeed to a long way below the breadline. We rapidly develop the skills to get somebody at least visibly clean with one manky flannel and three inches of tepid water. But if you want your loved one not to develop uti's or skin problems or a disagreeable odour, you can make our lives a lot easier by not skimping.
But actually, the main question is - why is this cost coming out of your pocket?
PS I don't know if this is true for your c.g.'s agency, but we're prohibited from bringing "our own crap." a) We can't be responsible for allergies and other sensitivities and must use only what the client supplies; and b) it goes against reablement principles to change the client's habitual preferences and routines. If it weren't so, I'd be trotting into clients' houses with not only my own unscented soap, paper towels and disposal bags (some households, you really wouldn't want to touch the soap) but also a suitcase of Senset cleansing foam, soft dry wipes, large Conti or Tena wet wipes AND A DECENT NAIL BRUSH for God's sake! And enough towels! And no rinse shampoo caps! And an electric shaver..!
You say here so this is your home? Paper towels not needed for the physical caring of someone. Just spills and wiping of hands. Tissues only disappear quickly if someone has a cold. What I would do is only put out what is needed for the day. No one should go thru a roll of toilet paper in a day. I assume u have wipes available. These you can put in one of those travel cases used for babys. I have taken an empty tissue box and split a full one between the 2 boxes when getting low to have them in 2 different rooms.
I would tell her you are trying to conserve because of the large cost to of these supply's. You feel they are being wasted. That you have figured out how much is needed daily.
The supplies are either being wasted or stolen. Good for you you lock up. If you have a freezer, I would lock that up. I would maybe set aside a cabinet with stuff need for the client. Same with fridge. Only this shelf is for you and client, the rest of the frig is for me and my family.
Oh yeah, I think she is stealing.
Find another caregiver, because that's probably not the only thing she's stealing.