Team Story – Critical Thinking
As part of our Vision and Mission, we introduce our Team Stories. Team Stories aims to share real-life situations where our team has lived and breathed our Vision, Mission, and Values.
Lucy Dallywaters-Lee, who recently won our quarterly Customer Service Award shares her team story.
One of the comments provided by the person who nominated Lucy Dallywaters-Lee for the Customer Service Award was:
“Lucy is always positive with customers co-workers and supervisors. She goes above and beyond for her customers, which she demonstrated this week especially helping a customer whose husband was in hospital and the customer needed more support and an advocate.”
Lucy has kindly shared some more detail on how this story transpired.
Critical Thinking
In the distance, you can see a car traveling towards you in your lane!
A few thoughts will begin to fill your mind, “What are they doing?” Are they asleep?” Are they distracted on their phone?” Then some rationalising will start, “They will move when they see me…..surely??”
It’s at this stage you realise you will have to act critically, strategically and fast!!
You could be faced with this type of decision making in your everyday work day as I was. However, you may react differently or similarly to my story.
We make decisions every day especially when we are driving. We are more than capable. This is how we avoid numerous collisions. We don’t realise how many times we make those quick life-changing decisions. We just do it and keep driving.
Arriving for my shift as usual on a Monday morning, as I had done for over five years, thinking how can I make a difference in this customer’s life today without realising I would be literally changing her life forever.
On arrival to the customer’s home, I found her totally alone. And she had been since her husband (her primary carer) was taken into hospital the previous Thursday. Assessing the environment, I found empty electric hot plates on full, the front door wide open and unable to securely lock, and food scraps in the sink!
The customer also had fresh cotton wool band aids on her inner elbows indicating to me she had been into hospital recently. She was known to wander, which had happened the night before. She had searched to find more bread from a local IGA shop, quickly getting disorientated. Staff became concerned and had called an ambulance. This resulted in the customer being transported to the same hospital as her husband. Tests were performed, a taxi was called and the customer returned home alone.
Just like the car scenario…
I assessed the situation with the mindset of this customer is someone’s wife, mother, grandmother.
I stayed with her asking her to please make me a cup of tea to enable me to observe her managing skills. It quickly became apparent she was at risk.
Using a calm, constant dialogue with encouraging smiles and arm squeezes we closed the front door to drive to the hospital.
On arrival to the hospital, it became apparent the husband’s prognosis was terminal with a life expectancy of just a few weeks. With that assessment, I realised neither of them would be returning to live in their home they had resided for close to 46 years of their 51year marriage.
This car is still in your lane heading directly for you!!!
Now let’s get to that critical, strategic and fast thinking!!
Prioritise needs of urgency/crisis keeping all involved calm.
Small talk and a pack of cards can work wonders!
Realising we would need to find urgent respite/permanent care home I informed our Aspire team of management and nursing staff of the situation at hand.
An emergency aged care team was then organised to gather as much information as possible and start the process of finding an immediate respite accommodation. Assessments took place and lots of telephone conversations began. Informed family expressed they did not have the capacity to assist.
Delegation at this point, focussing on strengths and abilities of other professionals, is essential to get your desired outcome. Opportunities for critical thinking under pressure allows our strengths and abilities to shine through, amazing ideas of, ‘What if’ appear.
This car is getting closer and closer!!!
Amazingly, emergency 48-hour respite funding was found. This provided the customer a bed in our Adult respite home for the following 48 hours – hoping at which point a permanent bed would become available in the care home. Could this actually happen?
Returning to the customer’s residence to collect personal clothing and essential belongings for both herself and her husband. This required some extra care and reassurance to enable a very confused state to calmly comply reassuringly.
Belongings delivered to the hospital and the customer driven to the adult respite home. On arrival she noticed the large room with a bed, her eyes are glazed.
“My house is the size of this bedroom, she said!”
The smells of a comforting dinner wafted through the home as she sniffed and smiled.
Decision time! Move out of the car’s way, I can now see the drivers face, they are looking down, move left!!
More decisions to make.
No funding to secure care home. An urgent application is made to Public Guardianship. There are multiple written reports and a large amount of supporting documentation from all involved.
Still no bed!
Our customer is admitted to the same hospital as her husband as a public patient. This is for a maximum of five days to allow time for the care home to secure funding.
Only a few meters away now! I start to move left. I realise they look up!
A hearing tribunal is set for day six. Fingers crossed that all applied guardianship applications will be successful.
Finally, a permanent bed is secured at the care home.
The other driver’s eyes and mouth are open wide! Using split decision-making processing skills, we both move to the left, avoiding a head on collision.
All guardianship applications are granted.
The family are happy and return their mum to her new residence. Ongoing family visits and assistance are given to enable the customer to continue to visit her husband during his final weeks of life.
Before I realise I arrive at work, find a park and prepare for another day.
Author: Lucy Dallywaters-Lee, Support Worker, Aspire Support Services