supervise or assist older people during walking, transfers and ADLs if required.undertake or participate in showering and other grooming and self-care activities.eat meals out of bed, preferably in a communal dining room where available and appropriate.walk to the toilet, with supervision or assistance if required.sit out of bed as soon as it is considered safe to do so, as much as possible as appropriate to their condition.get out of bed and move around the ward, with supervision or assistance and an appropriate gait aid if required.dress (consider the possibility of wearing their normal day clothes and footwear).Self-care can be beneficial to your patient’s mobility. Performing regular daily activities, including self-care, is the easiest exercise for our patients to undertake in hospital.
Incidental activities are those where physical activity occurs as part of regular daily activities, for example, walking to the toilet, transferring and dressing. Interventions should be discussed and implemented in partnership with the older person and their family and carer, as appropriate. For example, if a patient's mobility restrictions affected their ability to remain socially connected and manage their own affairs, we should develop a plan with them to rectify this.Ĭonsider five areas of mobility and self-care interventions as part of an interdisciplinary strategy: incidental activity, exercise, retraining activities of daily living (ADLs), ensuring appropriate supervision, and environmental modifications. We need to understand our patient’s prior level of mobility, independence in self-care and usual living situation if we are to implement appropriate and effective mobility and self-care interventions.