Employers of foreign domestic caregivers to older people should create standard operating procedures to deal with emergencies, a senior social worker said yesterday.
Huang Kuan-ping (黃冠評), a senior social worker and director of Fuhua Nursing Service Center in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山), told the Taipei City Migrant Workers’ Family Care Project’s online workshop that foreign caregivers should have a system to handle crises.
An estimated 291,961 people aged 65 or older are living with dementia, accounting for about 7.71 percent of the older population, the Taipei Department of Labor said, citing last year’s demographic data from the Ministry of the Interior.
The data suggests that about one in 12 older people, and one in five people aged 80 or older, live with dementia, it said.
The Taipei Migrant Workers’ Family Care Project — commissioned by the Taipei Foreign and Disabled Labor Office, the Jian Shun Senior Day Care Center and the Taiwan Association of Family Caregivers — said that the two most common illnesses that its care recipients have are hypertension (32.8 percent) and dementia (31.9 percent).
Huang said that foreign domestic workers should practice the “five dos and three do nots” of caregiving.
The “five dos” are “smiling, speaking at eye level, speaking with a comforting tone of voice, asking for agreement and obtaining understanding,” while the “three do nots” are “do not scare, do not force and do not fear,” he said.
As an example, Huang said that older people who do not like taking a bath might feel attacked if a caregiver forces them to undress, so the caregiver should try to negotiate with them, slowly and calmly, using the “five dos and three do nots.”
He said that employers of foreign domestic workers should create a standard operating procedure for handling emergency situations when taking care of older people.
These guidelines should address dealing with common accidents including when a client falls down, is lost, or an emergency injury or illness occurs, he added.
As many foreign domestic caregivers are left alone to care for older people, their employers should teach them how to clearly describe a crisis — such as providing who, what, where and when information — should an emergency occur.
Taiwan Association of Family Caregivers secretary-general Chen Ching-ning (陳景寧) said that standard operating procedures should outline what types of situations to consider an emergency and who the caregiver should call, and should be posted at home so that caregivers can be prepared to immediately act according to the procedure.
The online workshop was organized to share tips with foreign domestic workers and their employers, and addressed that the workers might have to overcome language barriers, have insufficient knowledge about illnesses or lack the skills to handle sudden incidents, such as a client falling down or becoming lost.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS