Bath Aide Protocal
I hope I’m in the right place for this… I was just wondering if someone could tell me if this is normal practice for a Bath Aide. I work for a lady that is receiving hospice care in her home. She is 89 years old. Her health is fine. She suffers from SEVERE Alzheimer’s and Dementia. She can’t walk long distances because she simply just doesn’t know how to anymore. She will stand with assistance to get from her chair to her wheel chair or vice versa and she will stand with assistance to get from the wheel chair to the toilet. Now my question/ concern is that her Bath Aide is not giving her a proper sponge bath (2 basin, wash down in her bed). Instead she is taking her to the bathroom and wiping her down while the elderly woman is sitting on the toilet. She uses the sink and a washcloth. She has never washed her hair in the three plus months she’s been coming, not even a waterless shampoo cap. The family was made aware and they spoke to the Bath Aide. She said that since the elderly woman is “mobile” it’s okay to do it with running sink water. (I feel like I need to add that this tiny bathroom only has a very small sink and a toilet. Is this right? Can she do that? If they request that she have a sponge bath the way they prefer (in the bed, covered up) does she have to listen to them? Thank you in advance. I’m sorry this is so long I just wanted to try to get in as many details as I could.