Instructions

• Before this huddle, print point-of-care assessment cards and posters for staff and make them available in staff areas.
• Start the huddle by passing out the point-of-care assessment cards to your staff and reviewing the steps of a point-of-care assessment. If possible, show the group the It Could Happen to You video, which details the point-of-care assessment. Next, read the scenario out loud and, with the point-of-care assessment in mind, use the guiding questions to facilitate a discussion.

After this huddle, staff should be able to:

• Use the point of care assessment before every work task.
• Make informed decisions when providing care.
• Explore alternatives when it is unsafe to proceed with a task.

Notes to the huddle leader

• All staff should perform a point-of-care assessment before and while interacting with a person in care.
• Consider asking staff to share a real-life scenario in which they changed their behavior after completing a point-of-care assessment.

Scenario

Mr. H has dementia and a history of aggression. Yesterday evening, he was in bed and became agitated with the care worker helping to settle him in for the night. He began yelling and threw his cup of water at the care worker.

Today, a different care worker is about to enter his room to prepare him for breakfast.

Guiding questions

• Before entering, what things should the care worker do?
• What questions should the care worker ask themselves while they are in the room and interacting with Mr. H?
• What cues should the care worker watch for that indicate they should not continue with the task?
• What should the care worker do if their assessment indicates it is unsafe to proceed with the task?