Description
The patient presents with dementia, poor posture (her chin close to her chest) and dislikes solids, there for has to be assisted to feed and chooses only to consume liquids. Her communication skills are also poor and doesn’t have the capacity to engage in a flowing conversation but has the ability to answer a question using the words ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or by saying individual words. I was given the task of feeding the patient at lunch time as she requires one to one support at meal times due to her lack of willingness to consume solids and fluids. It is extremely important to maintain good fluid intake to reduce the chance of dehydration which could contribute to increased confusion in a dementia patient. To prevent this,
In order to meet patient’s needs I required a straw, cup, appropriate meal supplement and syringe which are all aids I used during the task. If I hadn’t prepared her meal in liquid form then the patient would have been unable to consume her meal which would result in dehydration, hunger and lack of sufficient nutrients absorbed into her body to enable her to function normally. I felt I could have been more organised with the task as I felt I interrupted the flow of the task by leaving the table on a couple of occasions to retrieve required items. I should have had the meal supplement already poured in the cup with straw to hand at the table along with the oral syringe before directing the patient to get seated in her chair. If I had done this I feel I would have been much more focused on the patient which would have been a more positive experience for the patient.

Analysis
In order to reduce my anxiety of the task I feel it would have been beneficial to have spent more time interacting with the patient on a general basis before supporting her with feeding. This would have provided a more natural transition into the task effectively creating a more relaxed experience for the patient. This would enabled me to have an even better person centred approach as I would have known what works well and what doesn’t work so well in regards to feeding the patient concerned.
Conclusion
I feel that the patient received a good standard of person centred care in