Primary and Community Care Policy - Essay Example

? Primary and Community Care Policy Primary and Community Care Policy Over the past three decades, primary health and community care services have encountered difficult moments due to the increase in chronic illness, cost of health care together with rising patient expectation. This has pushed them over the edge to deal with the complicated and diverse issues of the community (Sines et al 2009). Families raising children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions have a difficult time in understanding the problems that their children go through, they deserve to be given special attention. These families need to be supported on the huge responsibilities (Department of Health 2008). Primary care is diverse and wide in terms of its healthcare with different skilled people who work for the care of patients. Patients can be taken care of by different community service in the comfort of their homes (Walshe and Smith 2011). This paper will review the health care policy relevant to the primary or community care setting, and identify the key factors of the policy and analyze how effective the policy has been in the primary and community environment. This document will analyze some of the major policies that are often discussed. Health care policy Health care policy is the strategic plan, and decision performed to achieve specific health care goal within a society. An explicit health care can make up for a couple of important things (Nolan and Badger 2002). It sets up a vision for the future that assists in establishing targets of reference for the short and medium term goals. It lays down the priorities, and the role expected of different groups, and it creates consensus and informs people on the better way of life. Various policies have been placed to ensure that children are in a position to have the best start of life, and support their families need to give them in the form of a chance to fulfill their potentials. In essence, children and young adults with a grievous life condition are in positions that best equate them to access of high-quality, family centered, sustainable care support, with services provided in a selected setting, as stated by the children, and their families’ desires (Nolan and Badger 2002). The services shall be commissioned and delivered in line with identified local need and national policy and driven by best practice. These practices are associated with the myriad of services that are generally provided in the proposed settings, those that have been chosen by the children, and their families’ (Sines et al 2009). Moreover, disabled children will be considered both at local and national priority in all the settings that the government shall be undertaking. The healthcare communities must be in positions where they can deliver excellent health care services to all their clients without discrimination of the payment of services. According to Smith and Goodwin 2005, better care in all the settings ensures help in improving the outcome for children, young people together with families who might be living with limiting and threatening health conditions (Ashworth et al 2002). Effect created by policy in primary and community environment. Partnership working The government is determined on working together with other partners in the voluntary and private sector in sharing the agenda towards the realization of better changes in the improvement of lives for children who experience life-limiting and life-threatening conditions like the disabled persons. Patient care teams are professionals who are diverse in their line of duty. In fact, the professionals continually communicate on the best ways of taking care and attending to different patient groups, and participate in the care through out. Good working teams are depicted by strong working leadership that is effective, shared obligations, common visions, and cooperation, and obedience, members must also invest in their talents, defined roles, and responsibilities (Cox and Hill 2010). This is achievable via a wider range of different skills through increasing the number of staff in general primary health care services and also improving their skills and capacity in performing their jobs. These skilled groups effectively take care of patients with chronic illness and offer preventive solutions (Addicott and Ross 2010). It is important to introduce new health professional roles into primary health care, and the existing professional groups to be supported to operate flexibly and optimally. Consultation with organizations Health service providers should embark on enhancing the need for various ranges of community services through consultation with other organizations, which is a pathway to vital dimensions with regard to good services. Moreover, for any expansion to occur there must be stronger links between services that are overwhelmed with people centeredness’ (Nolan and Badger 2002). A flexible out-of-hours support service for families is also something they will all appreciate. This can be achieved by organizing a shred agenda with other community care organizations (Ashworth et al 2002). General public The greatest positive changes seen in community health and personal, social services have been the main topic of 2,000 proposals and this was within 18 per cent of them all. The proposals submitted by an individual in a recent research cite changes and improvements that have been seen such as the increasing of community services and community health professionals; nurses and therapists, improved health centers, counseling in the local areas, local transport, better access to the complementary drugs and good service links (Department of Health 2008). This requires effort from every single person to make the vision of a better life for every child or young person with limiting condition to be achieved (Department of Health 2005). Strategic service development goals To ensure that the community care is given sufficient priority for it to be fit for its purpose the following strategic, service development goals have to be put in place: improved data-regular and accurate information about the nature of life-limiting conditions, equality of access to universal services, responsible, and accountable leadership, stronger commissioning and value for money, successful transition between children’s and adult services, planning and developing an effective and responsive workforce. The plan for community care (Our vision for primary and community care) affirms the need of all these services to the society and their help to the well being and health of the people (Department of Health 2008). This sets a way for improvement of these services and promoting healthy living and improving the quality of the community care. Legislation within the community care Most of the requirements like licensing, inspections are set upon by the government to protect all the services and people. For instance, services that are said to pose risks to general public such as food processing firms, transportation and food joints must require licensing and /or registration in ode rot curb them from unhygienic practices (The King’s Fund 2011) In the society today, many professions are controlled while other services that may cause any hazardous issues that might distort health and safety of the public, for instance, in the manufacturing plants, transport sector require registration after being evaluated by the licensing board (Starfield 1998). In addition to licensing and monitoring, the government always utilizes funding contracts as a way to regulate services to meet certain good and safe standard for the society. Community care licensing is set to prevent hazards from happening. This is done by assessing applicants, frequent monitoring of services, risk assessment and inspection of already licensed community care centers. The Better Care Better Lives Policy As per the guidelines set out in this policy, the government has been seen to be making attempts at making heavy investments all in support of the families in the country who happen to have disabled children. It is seeking to make total reformations on how most of the local services are currently being delivered in an effort to ensure that they become both more accountable and responsive to the current needs of the disabled children, those children requiring palliative care and their families. In this policy’s investment package, local authorities and the NHS have been provided with a hitherto unprecedented opportunity to be able to work together with the local organizations and form a partnership that will be perceived as being successful as it will improve the general quality of the services provided to these children who happen to often have complex health needs as well as be able to attend to more of them (Department of Health 2008). Other supporting policies and programs Listening and responding to patient views This emphasizes the importance of providers developing new, innovative models of patient engagement. Based on the survey done on patients, local networks, advocating groups, patient panels, , public meetings, and other forms listening to patient views gives a clear picture of how the policies should be set to assist in all the community cares (De Sliva 2011). Bringing change in primary and community services Transferring and replacement of skills, together with increased management of patients and identifying the patients who are in a critical state are the strategies that enable shifting of good care and better services into the community setting (Means and Smith 1998). Teams of different disciplines and the diverse network of clinics are the two examples of the way to reform the health care and community care organizations (Ham, Dixon and Chantler 2011). The involvement of the community in the primary and community services may better the chances of success of such ventures, and the important idea to this is to address the readiness of the community (Naylor and Bell 2010). Essentially, the readiness of an organization to be assessed prior to implementing innovative approaches to service delivery. Proper scrutiny of the concerned that clients / patients raise challenges managers, clinicians, and leaders in the community something that ensures effectiveness of planning, designing, implementation and reviewing of the transitions that are present (Starfield 1992). Self-management Support and improving Health Literacy Children, young people with chronic or long term conditions need to equip themselves with knowledge and skills to enable them bargain the systems of health, manage their own conditions. This can be made possible via various self management support programs that range from particular diseases to those that are chronic. Programs present are conveyed in personal or group sessions. In fact, they are provides by health professionals assisted by survivors of the chronic diseases. These programs are meant to improve self efficacy in patients especially with relation to chronic diseases (Means and Smith 1998). These programs are co joined with general practice and community health services and are kept as a measureable act of primary health care services. Without the integration with patients, the management programs end up failing. By bringing new health professionals in the primary care services, for example, the Health assistants to work together with nurses to perform some of the everyday’s roles and to link their service and the community, it shall help in extending the size of the team (Langan 1990). The assistants are equipped with skills to perform administrative and clinical duties. In order to make a flexible workforce make sure that professionals free movement are not prevented by legislative laws that could interfere with skilled staff performing their health care activity and that all the funding does offer support to safe and effective health care delivery (Lewis and Glennester 1996). Also, it is vital to have good flexible and development responsibility those involved in the team with the extended duties of practice and community nurses, nurse practitioners and pharmacists in the care of those patients who suffer from chronic illness. To ensure coordination of each person’s care this needs to be performed in an effective manner (Bornat et al 1997). Development of the team and its work within the extended primary health is very important. Working together in one location can be of great help but it is not enough to build an effective team (Bornat et al 1997). For a better team to be created with shared goals, and better vision with a desire for improvement, the teams will need support from outside (Lewis and Glennester 1996). Of importance to note, is that in order to have successful teamwork in term of relationship, there must be trust, mindfulness, inter-relatedness, diversity and varied interaction. This is achievable through mending together various capacities and needs in relation to primary health care services (Department of Health 2005). Provision and Facilitation of Short Breaks by Community Care Children’s Nurses as per the guidelines of the Better Care Better Lives policy The better care better lives policy has highlighted that there is a general lack of much needed short breaks for most of the families with palliative or disabled children. A large percentage of investment by the government into local government and health services via the Aiming High for Disabled children program policy is mainly intended to ensure that all the children who happen to suffer from life- threatening or life-limiting conditions as well as their families can be able to easily access the much needed specialist short breaks that they require. The provision of short breaks has been set as a high priority according to the NHS Operating Framework for the year 2008/09. It is highly expected that young people, children and their families will be able offered a choice of various short breaks. Well trained children’s nurses will essentially provide these basic services to the children in various settings ranging from their communities and in children’s hospices. In the provision of short breaks, nurses will be able to help families by aiding in looking after the palliative or disabled children. This will give their families a much needed break to be able to spend some time on other things together as a family, or allow the parents to be able to attend to their other children. These nurses will given the option of short break fostering whereby they will be able to spend sometime with the children, in the comfort of their own homes or attend to them while in community houses where these young people and children will be granted the opportunity of being creative with cooking, arts, baking, crafts and participating in various well guided and regulated activities within their respective communities (Department of Health 2008). Service development: strategic goals When the model of chronic illness designed by Wagner is incorporated it shall provide accessibility to national primary health care system, and this shall also make the system to be effective. Some health services did incorporate this system into, their work and there is evidence that it provided an effective way of ensuring accessibility, quality and equity of care for all people (Department of Health 2008). According to the world health organization, several things are achievable through health policies such as vision, outline precedences and the expected responsibilities of diverse groups; and it builds consensus and informs people (Bornat et al 1997). Other proposed models that will ensure access, quality and equity of care for all people. These models include: health literacy that is improved, a health care system that is redone, involvement of the community, systems that are capable of sharing information among others. Moreover, there is a modification of primary care organizations, integrated primary health care services, monitoring performance and accountability (Lewis and Glennester 1996).  If these needs are to be achieved, some chief reforms that are imperative include broadening of workforce by increasing numbers of those skilled professionals already in the primary and community care facilities who are the health professionals, facilitating teamwork, a more dynamic use of skills of existing health workers and enhancement of the role of innovative categories of health workers such as health assistants in primary care. All these serve to the benefit of the whole services from both patients and the health services providers (Ham, Dixon and Chantler 2011). In order to improve the quality and safety of care delivered, of which in time it shall add better value to the health of the patient, the change and plans the within the primary health care and other forms of health care has to be implemented (Means and Smith 1998). This will come through better enhanced communication and clinical decisions. If there is a continuous improvement of care, including diagnostic accuracy and appropriate treatment there shall be a better care for the patient individuals (Department of Health 2008). According to W.H.O 2006, primary care advancement should be based upon fundamental strengths of the current system. They have offered a front service which acts as a regulator for secondary elements of a wider range of health and individual social services (Starfield 1992). Within most cases, and for long periods, it has been the commitment of these skilled workmen who have struggled to work without the necessary infrastructure that they require (Department of Health 2008). Never the less, patients have availed themselves for these services and have all along being satisfied. However, primary care infrastructure remains poorly developed. Moreover, some of the non-medical services are offered during limited hours, except on a planned important basis of need. General practitioners and other primary care staff most of the time work in isolation and this makes the communication between the different primary care service providers not to be optimal (Starfield 1992). Hence, there has been poor integration of public services, including those incapable of gathering the needs of persons and communities in a good form of primary care setting. 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World Health Organization report 2010. Accessed on 14th Nov 2012 from http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/2010/en/index.html. Read More