We always ensure that people under our care receive protected confidentiality. Maintaining their safety and dignity is our priority first and foremost. We respect that there may be times when they may not be able to consent to partake in any filming/photographs and the use of their identity in copy. That is why this person has been anonymised for this piece.
Life at risk discovered by the team
When J first moved to one of our supported living flats several years ago, they were not doing well. J’s prior experience had taken its toll on them. It was becoming increasingly unsafe where J lived prior, so the transition to their new home didn’t give them much time to adjust. Those first few weeks were challenging. Our team can’t envision how frightening it must have been for J, and we worked tirelessly to build trusting relationships with them and try to ease their anxiety.
The team explores every option
J has a sight impairment, so their communication needs meant that the team had to find different ways to connect with J. Several strategies were applied to improve communication between staff and J.
The team learned J’s language and spoke it to J. Staff found what music elicited a positive response from J and discovered it was helpful to play the ‘sunshine music’ every morning to let J know when it was time to get up.
It was considered that J might be seeking sensory input as part of their self-harming rituals, so J was offered different smells and noises to increase their sensory input. As the staff got to know J, they understood J’s preferences better and how to communicate with J effectively.
The staff got busy sourcing recipes to reflect J’s cultural preferences, found music they enjoyed and ensured their beautiful hair was adequately cared for. Staff contacted a hairdresser who gave them some great advice.
Health assessment urgent
J continued to present behaviours such as refusing food and drink, disturbing vocalisations, and self-harming. The team felt that this was J’s way of telling us they were not very well. The team continued investigating what it could be and worked alongside healthcare partners to ascertain what was wrong. J had a great advocate who supported them, and the best interest team decided that J should have an investigative procedure. J was assessed to lack capacity in most areas of their life, and unfortunately, there were limited health records to refer to that could have offered vital information.
It was devastating to discover that the root cause of J’s discomfort was tooth decay, so the infection had eaten into their jaw. Our team were relieved to have had the foresight to liaise with the dental department and arrange for J to receive an examination whilst having a general anaesthetic for other investigations.
J woke up from the anaesthetic as a different person, with raucous laughter. J began positively reacting to the staff and expressing themself with happy vocalisations.
In the first week of J’s post-surgery, 3 Trees staff witnessed a massive improvement in J’s well-being. J’s tendency to self-harm had significantly decreased. The multidisciplinary team that had been very involved with J confidently signed off.
A safe, happy home
The staff at 3 Trees felt they were just getting to know the real J as their true personality began to shine. The team discovered J was a night owl; their laughter and ‘happy’ vocalisations began disturbing the sleepy neighbourhood J resided. Therefore, the team decided to build J a bespoke home so J could laugh all they wanted to, without disturbing the neighbours at night. This cosy, happy home is now where J continues to live.
Most of the 3 Trees team have been on this journey with J and share an extraordinary relationship with them. It is always lovely to receive such positive comments about J’s care and support, as the staff truly deserve it.
