Huntingtons audio1

The transcription discusses the importance of mental health and its connection to overall well-being. It focuses on the clinical area of a mental health ward and specifically discusses Huntington's Disease as a long-term condition. The transcription mentions the various ways to screen for Huntington's Disease and the support services available for patients. It also emphasizes the need for person-centered care and highlights the importance of communication and compassion in healthcare interactions. The transcription mentions the challenges of limited time and staff in providing adequate care. Overall, it provides information about Huntington's Disease, its impact on patients, and the support and care available for them. Welcome to my PPU assessment. My panel ID is B0079526A. The World Health Organization states that the mental health is a state of mental well-being that allows people to cope with the life's pressures. It is also vital aspect for overall health that supports our well-being as individuals and as society. World Health Organization 2022. This links to my clinical area as I was in Mental Health Ward at Dyke Park Hospital which is in Renfrewshire. The main conditions present for Parkinson's, Huntington's Disease and Cystinopenia. In this presentation, I will discuss the clinical area I worked in and the long-term conditions I came across. In particular, for this assessment, I am going to focus on Huntington's Disease. Huntington's Disease is a long-term condition which affects several areas of the brain. This condition damages the nerves in the brain causing them to stop working properly. According to NHSN form 2023, it also affects the ability to move, understand, think. Other long-term conditions that I came across were depression, ARBD, alcohol-related brain disease and psychoaffective brain disorder. In that placement, I also found out that most of the patients were alcohol and prosthetics. In Scotland, around 800 people are affected and living with Huntington's Disease. Scottish Huntington's Association 2023. Huntington's Disease can affect both male and female. If the parent carries the Huntington's Disease gene, their children have a 50% risk of developing the condition. This ward had some services available to support the patient. For example, occupational therapy, counselling, shopping, going out for food, neurologist etc. which are common support mechanisms for demographics. NICE 2024. Heart Screening Strategy aims to identify the condition of the patient so it can be treated earlier and provide better outcomes for individuals and health service. NHSN 2023. According to NICE 2024, repeat Huntington's Disease is the risk factor of upcoming generation as it is projected that the upcoming Scottish population will have more Huntington's patients. Screening for Huntington's can be done in several ways. Firstly, there will be a neurological exam which means that the neurologist will have an interview with the patient and the family medical history will be reviewed. A physical exam can also be taken which may include movement, hearing, mental status, balance. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 2023. Secondly, there can be a CT scan or an MRI scan can be carried out to see the brain averaging. As the patient's health deteriorates, the scan might show shrinkage in parts of the brain which can be a sign of Huntington's Disease. And finally, genetic testing which can reveal the development of Huntington's Disease. Patients with this disease must be referred for a blood test showing the number of CAG segments that can confirm the Huntington's Disease. NICE 2024. Lastly, the cellulose risk factor originates mainly from the defective gene. Individuals are unlikely to get it if they do not carry this gene. Mayo Clinic 2020. Patients aged between 30 to 50 will start developing symptoms of Huntington's Disease and it gradually worsens over time. NHSN Form 2024. Huntington's Disease can affect patients daily living over time and it gets extremely challenging for them as this can reduce their mobility, giving the balance to their feet, topium, swollen, unwanted movements and having trouble understanding. Sekou et al. 2021. This affects their quality of life as there is no cure for this disease. Crowell et al. 2021. The NICE guidance suggests that if the patient is concerned about this disease, the patient should consult with their GP and they might be able to help them by referring them to the neurologist and by getting some tests done. That might be able to show the disease. NICE 2024. However, the National Health Services and NHS offers various forms of support to Huntington's patients. This includes walking with a walking stick, exercise plans by physiotherapists, high-calorie diets to prevent weight loss, ways to make food easier to chew and swallow, textured diets, picture charts for alternative communication, medications to reduce unwanted movements and weight swings, and a free bus pass across the city. Patients also receive some benefits through the council that have kept up AWI from less mental capacity. And nurses can help them by shopping or supporting daily tasks. NHS Choices 2019. According to Randa Zuan et al. 2022, patients with this disease can walk if they want to. And if it is not affecting them physically or cognitively in work. Although after some time patients will find it difficult and might not want to walk anymore. Therefore, they must live on benefits. Working might help Huntington's patients as it can slow the effects of disease and keeping the patient alive mentally and physically. Jones et al. 2021. Health Care Model. It's the strongest care planning model made for patients with long-term consult conditions, which fulfills patients' requirements. This model evaluates the patient's and community's skills and resources, as well as how they might be used for the better result. Health and Social Care Alliance 2018. Strategies that can be used for a patient with Huntington's disease can be maintaining a good quality of life, for example, having good hygiene and personal care if needed. et al. 2022. Patients with this disease who find everyday tasks difficult to work with can discuss that with occupational therapists. And those therapists will be able to help patients by giving them advice on how other ways they can do tasks. Claremont Clinic 2023. For a Huntington's patient as stressed out, it is crucial to provide them with sustainable support outside the care setting. The NHS will send appointments that will be due in GP, OT, or physiotherapist, etc. They will also install grab rails at the bedside and the chairs. Dieticians can provide dietary plans that can help maintain weight. Physiotherapists can make plans that will be useful for moving joints and stay active. NHS 2022. These mechanisms can support self-management for Huntington's disease patients outside of the healthcare setting and contribute to person-centered care. Person-centered care is about meeting patient needs and wants by providing them with the best care, guiding them with their clinical decisions, and treating them with respect, dignity, health, education, and warmth. 2023. Person-centered care is crucial for Huntington's patients as this can strengthen their social life. Getting emotional support will also help individuals as they will be able to make right decisions for themselves. Their feelings can change as they will be able to build more trust in healthcare professionals, so therefore the patient will be less offensive. Green Street, et al. 2021. One of the positive interactions I have noticed during my placement work during personal care is that the patients with palliative care nurses would speak to the patients even if they are unable to respond and the nurses would still make jokes to patients to make them smile. This shows personal touch to the care and brings happiness to their faces and also boosts their spirits which can uplift their mood and will create a positive atmosphere. Hagen, et al. 2018. In my opinion, one of the areas that needs to improve is in nurses giving orders to patients instead of being present and telling them to do so kindly. Destiny, et al. 2020. Giving direct orders might not be perceived as being compassionate and this didn't seem to be the case when I observed a 110th patient with a shocked and frightened expression when they were given orders to leave the personal care or clean the room by a nurse. I believe that this can really affect patients emotionally and mentally as they will feel more disempowered which will make them feel even more and affect their mood as patients are already depressed there. And this can affect their health and well-being. Cox, et al. 2022. According to WHO World Health Organization 2022A, health promotion is where people need to take responsibility to improve their health. In our daily lives, there are many conversations about health, lifestyle changes that can affect our health. Some are positive and some are negative. These conversations can be done with anyone including healthcare professionals, family and friends. These conversations can provide crucial information that will be able to help in the future as it can reduce future health conditions and make life less stressful for future generations. These conversations can be very simple. Clinton, Covian and Horsling, 2019. Last year, I noticed that the patients with Huntington's disease were very underweight. Therefore, they were referred to dietitians. When the patient family used to bring food, they were given advice that it is best to bring high-calorie intake food as this can help patients to maintain their weight. It is well known that the patients with Huntington's disease can get underweight due to the less food intake. Farby, et al. 2022. Patients with this disease can have difficulty swallowing that can result in avoiding meals. This can reduce the amount of nutrition in their body and make them very weak. NHS Trust, 2020. It is suggested that in order to reduce the swallowing problems, for this condition, it is better to eat pureed food and chicken thighs that will be able to make food more soft which is easier for to swallow. East Sussex, HealthCare 2020. If the patient's dietary intake gets worse over time, it is also advised to use food-saving tubes to add adequate amount of food and food intake to the diet. Frank, et al. 2021. One of the challenges I noticed in my clinical area was due to limited time and staff don't get enough time to spend with their patients. I believe that this affects the patients a lot because some patients are not receiving adequate care and attention to support them in their physical and emotional well-being. This can eventually deteriorate patients over time. Dan, et al. 2021. This lifestyle change is very important to the patient as the patient can deteriorate with the disease very quickly if they have a good lifestyle change. If the patient has a good lifestyle with a healthy diet and exercise, this disease can slow down its process. With those lifestyle changes, conversations can be conducted with the doctor, nurses or dietitians etc. Those conversations can give patients a better and clearer understanding of not only this disease but also adapting to healthy habits, like Bert, et al. 2020. An early conversation of those changes, certainly with such disease, can make a big difference to the patient's life as they can live longer and at least it can make a positive difference in their life. Marvin, et al. 2022. Therefore, these conditions of a weight loss symptom and the importance of changing diet accordingly must be had early on and integrated in an ongoing process within their care. According to Glenn, et al. 2020, health promotion activities can be a part of a patient's everyday routine. For example, food and snacks can be planned at regular intervals, whereas light physical activities can be planned when patients need more activity during the day. Light physical activities could include walking, stress and stretching. Those activities can be planned in a way where such patients can find it more manageable and enjoyable. That way patients will feel more connected and empowered and it can bring a sense of happiness and fulfillment to their days. This could lead to have a better quality of life. The stages of change of model are a theory which starts with the beginning of someone not wanting to change and then eventually changing. This means that every stage of this theory can include a change in the patient. This theory is beneficial for Huntington's patients as it helps healthcare staff to understand the stages of the patient and helps patients make changes by giving them appropriate advice and guidance. This can help the patient to make positive changes in managing the disease. For example, For example, in the preterm completion stage, patient might not be entirely aware of the impact of the disease or the importance of making any changes to their lifestyle. During the contemplation stage, patient will start to recognize the challenges and will look for the possible changes. In preparation stage, patient can make plans and collect resources in order to deal with the disease. In action stage, patient will begin to look at the strategies and start taking steps to manage the symptoms and improve the quality of life. And finally, in the maintenance stage, patient will keep working to make improvements to their changes that have made and continue to adapt as needed. Each of the stages represents a different level of engagement in managing Huntington's disease. This example shows a clear understanding of stage of change model which also allows to show the importance of the theory in Huntington's disease. Motivational interviewing is an important approach that helps patients improve their behavior change by focusing on their goals. It helps patients to become more involved in their goals for transformation. Within their daily life, This is related to Huntington's patients as this helps patients engage in positive behaviors and make healthy lifestyle choices. This also enables and empowers patients to be active in their own care. This relates to my clinical area as Huntington's patients were underrated and this could support them by exploring their thoughts and finding goals that can involve making positive changes to their life. Healthcare professionals can get involved and guide them through the decision-making process. Phinney, et al. 2020 Thank you so much for listening to my presentation.