Skip to main content
04 04 38 04 38Français
Cabinet infirmierGrenoble

Support for older adults

Personal hygiene and independence, fall and pressure-sore prevention, general monitoring.

A nurse explaining something to a patient's daughter over an open care notebook, the patient settled in an armchair behind them.
The family carer is part of care and gets the same explanations.

The essentials

  • Support for an older adult at home is built on the nursing care assessment, reviewed regularly.
  • A visit covers hygiene, monitoring and prescribed treatments, in an order that stays the same day to day.
  • Keeping to the same times is part of the care: it reduces confusion and reassures the family.
  • A fall, new confusion or refusal to eat are reasons to call us the same day.

Who it is for

Older people at home, in assisted living or sheltered housing, and their family carers.

How we work

  • Regular visits are also there to spot change: appetite, hydration, mobility, confusion.
  • Pressure-sore and fall prevention are built into every visit, not treated separately.
  • We keep family carers informed of what we observe, within professional confidentiality.
  • Three years in acute geriatric medicine at the university hospital: we recognise decompensation as it begins.

How a visit unfolds

What happens, in order, when we come to your home.

  1. Arrival and bearings

    The visit starts with a real hello and a word about the night: what has changed gets said here.

  2. Hygiene and comfort care

    Washing, skin protection, positioning: the gesture follows the person's pace, never the other way round.

  3. Treatments

    Preparation or administration as prescribed, checking the pill organiser and the dates.

  4. Monitoring

    Skin, appetite, hydration, mood, walking: slow drift is spotted by writing it down.

  5. Keeping relatives in the loop

    What needs to be known is: family, doctor, home help — within professional confidentiality.

Diagram

The nursing care assessment, step by step

It is not paperwork: it decides the content and the rhythm of visits for the months that follow.

  1. Assessment at home

    Autonomy, environment, relatives, current treatments and identified risks.

  2. Care plan

    What will be done, how often, and what belongs to another professional.

  3. Doctor's agreement

    The plan is sent to the family doctor, who prescribes what must be prescribed.

  4. Delivery

    Visits follow the plan; every deviation observed is written down.

  5. Reassessment

    The assessment is revisited when the situation changes, not only at the planned date.

What helps prepare the visit

Nothing is compulsory: it simply saves time during the visit.

  • The pill organiser and current prescriptions.
  • Usual linen and toiletries within reach.
  • A clear, night-lit route to the bathroom.
  • Contact details for the trusted person and the GP.

What helps at home

Between visits, these simple habits prevent most urgent calls.

  • Remove slippery rugs and leave a soft light on along the route to the bathroom.
  • Keep the phone and the glasses within reach, on the side the person gets up from.
  • Leave a visible bottle of water: thirst is felt less with age.
  • Keep treatments and appointments on one single sheet, displayed where everyone sees it.

When to call us between visits

In a life-threatening emergency, call 15 (or 112) before calling the practice.

  • A fall, even without immediate pain.
  • New confusion, unusual drowsiness, changed speech.
  • Redness persisting over a pressure point, heel or sacrum.
  • Refusing to drink or eat for more than a day.

How this care is framed

  • Hygiene and monitoring care follows a prescription and a written care plan.
  • The nursing assessment describes real needs and adjusts the plan over time.
  • We work with the other professionals in the home, never in their place.

The words used here

Nursing care assessment (BSI)
A structured assessment of autonomy and needs for dependent people aged 90 and over, which replaces the former care plan and sets the daily care package.
Pressure sore
Damage to skin and tissue caused by prolonged pressure on a support area (sacrum, heels, hips), common with immobility.
SSIAD
A home nursing service providing prescribed care and personal hygiene support for older or disabled people.
Handover notes
The written record of a visit: what was done, what was observed, what must be watched. The shared memory of the care episode.

Common questions about this care

Do you visit assisted-living residences?

Yes, in agreement with the facility, provided the care is prescribed and access is arranged.

Do you keep the family informed?

We share what we observe with family carers, within professional confidentiality and with the patient's agreement.

What happens if the condition worsens?

We alert the GP without waiting for the next visit and document precisely what changed.

What is the nursing care assessment actually for?

It describes the real situation at home and sets the content and rhythm of visits. It goes to the family doctor, who prescribes what needs prescribing.

Do you work with the home helpers already in place?

Yes. We share what is useful for the care through the liaison notebook kept at the home, never passing on more than necessary.

What do you do if you find a fall or a change?

We write it down, we alert the family doctor without waiting for the next visit, and we call the emergency number 15 if the situation warrants it.

Official sources

What we state about the framework of care comes from these public texts, consulted on the date shown.

  1. French health insuranceNursing care assessment (BSI)www.ameli.frconsulted on
  2. French National Authority for HealthPreventing serious falls in older peoplewww.has-sante.frconsulted on

Related care

These forms of care often go together.

Where we provide this care

Towns in our sector where this care is most frequent.

This care is provided on medical prescription. To find out whether we can visit you, call 04 04 38 04 38.