Carers Footwear

AnnieAng

New member
May 11, 2021
2
0
Good morning everyone. I'm new to the community and am looking forward to learning so much from you all.
Mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 6 years ago. Thankfully it has been a slow progression and she is still living at home. I have been her sole carer until earlier this year when I had Covid and had to get emergency care for her while I was self isolating. I was then also diagnosed with cancer. I have a tumour in my brachial plexus which has badly affected the nerves in my arm, making it impossible to help Mum with bathing. Following a review after 4 weeks she was offered an hour and a half a day for morning and lunch visits and I chose to continue with teatime visits to ensure Mum has a hot nutritious meal each day. (The carers are only allowed to heat something in the microwave so that meant no fresh salmon or chicken or sausages that Mum loves!) Anyway, this mostly seems to be working well.
However my concerns are regarding the footwear that the carers wear. They all wear sturdy boots or shoes and due to a ridiculous health and safety rule, are apparently not allowed to remove them when they visit Mum. There's no lifting, no wheelchair, no hot pots and pans or oven to contend with....I don't understand it at all. So I'm finding dirty bootprints on the kitchen floor, the bathroom floor and on the bathmat. Very unhygienic don't you think?? I spoke to the office about this and they said the carers are provided with shoe covers, which they are obviously not wearing! Ok, so that solves the problem of the dirty footprints but my biggest concern is the fact that a carer in HEAVY BOOTS is helping my frail BAREFOOTED Mum to have a shower in the morning and helping her to dress. Surely that's a health and safety issue in itself??
I look forward to your thoughts on this.
Thank you x
 

jennifer1967

Registered User
Mar 15, 2020
23,149
0
Southampton
its to protect carers feet from dropping things on them and so they can walk safely. if they had unsuitable foot wear, they could trip which may mean whilst they are holding your mum and she would fall too. its also about carers being covered by insurance if they have an accident at work. if they didnt wear them, they wouldnt be covered. its health and safety at work act
 

margherita

Registered User
May 30, 2017
3,280
0
Italy, Milan and Acqui Terme
Hi @AnnieAng ,
I agree with you on your worries about hygiene if they don't wear shoe covers, but I would be less concerned with their " sturdy boots or shoes". The most important thing is their shoes give them good balance, so that your mum's safety is ensured. I would be much more worried if they wore high heels or stilettos.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,084
0
Bury
HSE solution

"The householder bought slippers for each of the carers to use but they refuse to wear them and their outdoor footwear is leaving dirty marks on the carpets.
....
....
This problem could be easily solved to everyone's satisfaction by the carers having a supply of plastic shoe covers to wear indoors to protect the resident's carpets."


https://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/myth-busting/2013/case131-carer-footwear.htm .

eg
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disposable...3f040&pd_rd_wg=BLWzN&pd_rd_i=B07QPV8XHV&psc=1 .
Commonly worn by tradesmen - gas safety checks etc
 
Last edited:

Lawson58

Registered User
Aug 1, 2014
4,333
0
Victoria, Australia
Sometimes we need to understand that it's not just your mum's home but it is also the carer's place of work. It is not unusual for some older people to have some clutter around their homes or to leave clothes and other things lying around on the floor so if we need carers coming into our homes, then we need them to be safe too.

The things that make a place unsafe for a carer can also make it unsafe for the person who lives there too.
 

Rosettastone57

Registered User
Oct 27, 2016
1,839
0
When my mother in law had carers, they used to work in sturdy footwear, wearing plastic overshoe covers if necessary . It's quite normal.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
OH has carers who come and help him was and dress. They wear sturdy shoes, but I cant say that I have had any problems. Perhaps I have been lucky and have nice carers who wipe their feet! I have heard from the carers that they can get protective overshoes, but tend to only wear them if the house itself is unhygienic (eg bowel incontinence)
 

AnnieAng

New member
May 11, 2021
2
0
Thank you all for your replies. I do appreciate that the carers have to protect their feet and in circumstances where there is a danger of dropping things then of course protection is needed. But it should work both ways. Shoe covers will protect Mum's carpets from those heavy boots, but not her bare feet! Surely lighter shoes could be worn when assisting with bathing? Unfortunately there's a "one size fits all" attitude towards health and safety regardless of situations. Sadly common sense doesn't come into it anymore....