SUPPORT IN PRACTICE
Blood glucose checks
strip code matches the meter code and that the strip is untouched where blood is to be applied. Ask the patient to wash and dry his or her hands thoroughly. Alcohol wipes should not be used. Wash your hands and use protective gloves. Take a small sample of blood from the side of the finger. Modern strips are hydrophilic: they suck up the correct volume of blood. Insert the strip into the meter and record the reading. Dispose of the lancet in a sharps bin. Be aware of normal blood glucose values (see table) so that you can report unexpected or abnormal results. Always return to the patient to check he or she is comfortable NS
Measuring blood glucose in patients with diabetes by taking a sample of capillary blood is a safe method. It is also good for detecting hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia, and managing complications of diabetes. Capillary blood samples are obtained from a finger prick with a spring-loaded, single-use, retractable lancet and the results analysed with an electronic meter. All hospital patients with diabetes need regular monitoring because acute illness can seriously affect blood glucose levels. Frequency of monitoring should be decided by a qualified colleague but should be done routinely before a meal and last thing at night. Ensure you are familiar with the meter. Prepare it according to the manufacturer’s instructions, check the expiry date of strips, that the
JASMINE CHIN
Robin Lewis explains how to take a capillary blood sample and how to read the test result
Robin Lewis is research fellow at Sheffield Hallam University
What the values mean Blood glucose measurement 7.0mmol/L
Higher than normal blood sugar
Legal advice Richard Griffith on the importance of dignity Maintaining patients’ dignity underpins support workers’ duty of care to their patients. Dignity is fundamental to best practice in nursing and the RCN considers that it lies at the heart of everything healthcare assistants do. The college defines dignity as concerning how people feel, think and behave in relation to the worth or value of themselves and others. To treat someone with dignity is to treat them with respect, as valued individuals. The legal basis for this concept of dignity is derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 1 that says: ‘All human beings are born 66 february 26 :: vol 28 no 26 :: 2014
free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’ In practice, respect for dignity places a duty on HCAs to treat people as individuals. People require care underpinned by understanding, empathy and compassion. This duty is all the more important where the patient has a disability that makes him or her vulnerable and at risk of having their dignity disregarded. When caring for the vulnerable or incapacitated, HCAs should respect the patient as a unique individual. HCAs are asked to care for patients in the most fundamental everyday way by feeding and toileting those who need help. These mundane but intimate and sensitive activities are the very ones where respecting dignity is
Clinical description Hypoglycaemia Normoglycaemia or euglycaemia Hyperglycaemia
most important. Unhappily, the Mid Staffordshire trust inquiry found that these are also the activities where the dignity of older or vulnerable people can be ignored, resulting in abuse of the most deplorable kind. Two HCAs were imprisoned and a third given community service for ill-treating and neglecting vulnerable patients in their care at a London hospital. They were found guilty of shouting at patients and handling them in a rough and aggressive manner. Ensuring proper care and dignity is fundamental to the HCA role and as the head of the Court of Protection has stressed, ‘compassion as a carer is itself a vital aspect of our society’s humanity and dignity’. Richard Griffith is lecturer in law at Swansea University
NURSING STANDARD
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Blood glucose checks
strip code matches the meter code and that the strip is untouched where blood is to be applied. Ask the patient to wash and dry his or her hands thoroughly. Alcohol wipes should not be used. Wash your hands and use protective gloves. Take a small sample of blood from the side of the finger. Modern strips are hydrophilic: they suck up the correct volume of blood. Insert the strip into the meter and record the reading. Dispose of the lancet in a sharps bin. Be aware of normal blood glucose values (see table) so that you can report unexpected or abnormal results. Always return to the patient to check he or she is comfortable NS
Measuring blood glucose in patients with diabetes by taking a sample of capillary blood is a safe method. It is also good for detecting hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia, and managing complications of diabetes. Capillary blood samples are obtained from a finger prick with a spring-loaded, single-use, retractable lancet and the results analysed with an electronic meter. All hospital patients with diabetes need regular monitoring because acute illness can seriously affect blood glucose levels. Frequency of monitoring should be decided by a qualified colleague but should be done routinely before a meal and last thing at night. Ensure you are familiar with the meter. Prepare it according to the manufacturer’s instructions, check the expiry date of strips, that the
JASMINE CHIN
Robin Lewis explains how to take a capillary blood sample and how to read the test result
Robin Lewis is research fellow at Sheffield Hallam University
What the values mean Blood glucose measurement 7.0mmol/L
Higher than normal blood sugar
Legal advice Richard Griffith on the importance of dignity Maintaining patients’ dignity underpins support workers’ duty of care to their patients. Dignity is fundamental to best practice in nursing and the RCN considers that it lies at the heart of everything healthcare assistants do. The college defines dignity as concerning how people feel, think and behave in relation to the worth or value of themselves and others. To treat someone with dignity is to treat them with respect, as valued individuals. The legal basis for this concept of dignity is derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 1 that says: ‘All human beings are born 66 february 26 :: vol 28 no 26 :: 2014
free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’ In practice, respect for dignity places a duty on HCAs to treat people as individuals. People require care underpinned by understanding, empathy and compassion. This duty is all the more important where the patient has a disability that makes him or her vulnerable and at risk of having their dignity disregarded. When caring for the vulnerable or incapacitated, HCAs should respect the patient as a unique individual. HCAs are asked to care for patients in the most fundamental everyday way by feeding and toileting those who need help. These mundane but intimate and sensitive activities are the very ones where respecting dignity is
Clinical description Hypoglycaemia Normoglycaemia or euglycaemia Hyperglycaemia
most important. Unhappily, the Mid Staffordshire trust inquiry found that these are also the activities where the dignity of older or vulnerable people can be ignored, resulting in abuse of the most deplorable kind. Two HCAs were imprisoned and a third given community service for ill-treating and neglecting vulnerable patients in their care at a London hospital. They were found guilty of shouting at patients and handling them in a rough and aggressive manner. Ensuring proper care and dignity is fundamental to the HCA role and as the head of the Court of Protection has stressed, ‘compassion as a carer is itself a vital aspect of our society’s humanity and dignity’. Richard Griffith is lecturer in law at Swansea University
NURSING STANDARD
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 21, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
