Principles of Health and Social Care Practice - Assignment Example

PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE PRACTICE by Table of Contents Principles of Health and Social care Practice 3 Introduction 3 TASK ONE 3 TASK TWO 6 TASK THREE 7 TASK FOUR 8 Conclusion 10 References 11 Demos ,2003, Inside out: Rethinking inclusive communities – final report, London: Demos. 11 DH (Department of Health),2001, Building capacity and partnership between the statutory and the independent social care, health care and housing sectors, London: DH 11 Duncan, P. and Thomas, S. ,2000), Neighbourhood regeneration: Resourcing community involvement,Bristol/York: The Policy Press/Joseph Rowntree Foundation 11 Morris, J. (2001) ‘Impairment and disability: constructing an ethics of care that promotes humanrights’, Hypatia, vol 16, no 4, pp 1–16. 11 Rogowski, S. ,2004, ‘Are social workers becoming extinct?’, Community Care,8 July 2004, p 21. 11 Saleeby, D. ,1997, The strengths perspective in social work practice, New York, NY: Longman 11 Appendices 12 Principles of Health and Social care Practice Introduction Over the years, there has been an increase in the need for a robust framework of principles of health and social care in the United Kingdom. There is an increasing number of people who need long-term support and social care. Many proponents advocate for an integrated approach in the process of providing health and social support services to such individuals. The need for such services has been rising as a result of increased disability caused by long-term conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Diabetes and heart diseases among others. These individuals need a system that focuses on promoting their wellbeing. As such, many stakeholders in the health care system have come up together to form an integrated system of promoting a sense of wellbeing among the people affected. A system of such nature is guided by a number of principles. TASK ONE Principles of support 1.1. Clients like Ms. Sharma should be able to receive quality care from this health setting. For this to happen, a number of principles must be applied for effective coordination and care of patients like Ms. Sharma. Such patients will also benefit and achieve a satisfied level of wellbeing when principles of a good support system are implemented or used as guide to decision making and policy formulation. One of the principles is the ability of the staff to recognize any sign of abnormal behaviour among the clients. Each social worker or health care practitioner should be equipped with skills on how to evaluate the health state of their patients. In this way, cases of mental instability or depression are avoided or dealt with early enough. Regular evaluation of the clients’ state of health is a critical component of this system of care. Behaviours that indicate deteriorating health or worsening disability should be taken very seriously as this might lead to more complicated issues of health in the particular patient. Another principle is a good understanding of the importance of good wellbeing of the clients and how this contributes to their health improvement. The staffs need to ensure that the clients retain or achieve a good state of mental health and physical health, depending on their current conditions. Ability to express their feelings and communicate effectively about their needs is imperative for such clients. In addition, patients like Ms Sharma should be treated with equity. They should be provided with whatever they need in terms of finances or medication without discrimination. Another principle is recognizing that patients come from different backgrounds and should be handled based on this diversity. 1.2. Protection of the staff, patients and other people involved in caring the patients is a crucial component that cannot be ignored. Patients under care face several risks and dangers that can affect their general wellbeing. For example, such patients are likely to make irrational decisions that can put their lives in danger. The dangers could range from financial, mental and even physical aspects. As a result, procedures or measures to prevent such risks should be integrated into the system of care. A good understanding of the kind of dangers that can occur is key at this stage. Secondly, people at risk should be identified and proper safeguarding regulations put in place. Concerns by any individuals about any risks or dangers he/she might be facing should be taken seriously. Any suspicions of abuse must be reported to relevant authorities. When the right to an independent lifestyle is posing a risk to the individual, he/she should receive help or advice from the relevant agencies. Furthermore, the basic rights of both the clients and the social care providers should be observed. 1.3. An individual care system offers many benefits to patients like Ms. Sharma. The services provided to the client should be able to fit around him or her. Rigid systems or ‘one size fits all’ programs for this type of patients’ side lines other patients whose needs are different. Personalized system ensures that the specific needs of the clients are met. (Moon, 2008, 124)This preserves their sense of dignity and boosts their confidence and trust in the system. In addition, such a system gives the client a good sense of well-being and mental health. Furthermore, this improves their compliance to medication and other therapeutic measures recommended by the health providers. Effective listening gives the clients a sense that their needs are being responded to by the staff and other health care providers. A personalized system also gives the social workers an opportunity to identify and respond to the personal needs of their clients. For example, specific services, requests for information and further personal requirements. Another benefit is the fact that the health care centres can amend procedures and policies that tend to infringe on personal preferences. 1.4. There are a number of cases when the social and health care givers face ethical and conflict dilemmas in particular social settings. These dilemmas are sometimes even a threat to their careers. In other situations, they might even injure their reputation. The understanding of the rest of the society about certain chronic illnesses challenges social justice values. Many are times when the social worker has to go out of his/her way to create awareness among the members of the community about certain conditions. Another challenge is finance. A number of patients in these health and social care centres have financial problems and are unable to pay for their medical services or other therapeutic services they receive. A social worker, therefore, might be forced to go out of their way to offer their services to such clients. The spiritual wellbeing of a patient is crucial in ensuring a good state of wellbeing. Social workers might require extra skills to maintain their meaning of hope in their religion. The social workers have to cope with the depressing process of dying, especially after being emotionally connected to the patient for a long time. As the social health care givers serve and interact with their patients, they develop a strong sense of emotional connection that might compromise many values of professionalism. Sometimes the staff is also forced to report any misconduct among the patients. In other instances, they are compelled to choose between cases that may not favour or be of concern to certain clients. M1. Many social and health care settings have now designed strategies that can help to reduce ethical dilemmas among their staff. Understanding the history, cultures and traditions of some major client group helps the social care give to improve their skills while dealing with clients in this category. The social care givers can also learn to communicate effectively with their clients. This will in turn translate to better outcomes of the various therapeutic processes used on the patients. M2. When receiving a client, the staff should first determine the cultural background of their patient. The next step is to determine the language of communication. After this, the social workers should employ their skills of reading the character of the patient in order to determine any unique aspects that the care givers should consider. D1. The above method is effective because it provides the social worker with critical information about the patient’s background. This is an imperative step that sets the pace of interaction between the social care giver and the client. It also ensures that the social care giver avoids any potential points of conflict while dealing with the patient. TASK TWO Impact of Policy, Legislation, Regulation, and Codes of Practice 2.1 Various policies and legislations regulating the practice of social workers have been implemented over the years (Morris, 2000). Policies and laws that ensure patient data protection have contributed to the safety of client information in many social care settings. This also improves patient confidence in the health care centres. Laws that govern training and registration of workers validate and verify the qualifications of the social care givers. Policies on payments for services provided also ensures that the services are affordable and do not exploit the patients. It also safeguards the interests of the individuals being served as they can directly see value for their money (DH, 2001).Through the enactment of these policies, the health care system is able to adapt to the local needs of the clients. 2.2 All policies and regulations must adhere to the guidelines of the national health policy. The policies should be clear, short and easily understood. This avoids scenarios of conflict of interpretation. Policies should also be referenced to the national health policy or any other supporting documents (Saleeby, 1997). Procedures are an outline of how things are done in a particular setting. It always augments the policies that have been formulated. This is a requirement by the national health care policy. The policies must also be based on best practices. They must have an evidence based source to its formulation. Many policies and procedures in the UK are required to be tailored to be corresponding to the local needs (DH, 2012). Policies, nevertheless, also need approval from the relevant authorities. 2.3 Policies have greatly revolutionized how experts practice in their places of work. It forms a framework of policies and regulations that protect and guide practice in diverse settings of practice. Regulations, policies and procedures provide a clear and systematic way of doing certain processes and, therefore, avoid confusion. This has also reduced cases of corruption in the health care facilities and improved transparency. Social care givers are now able to determine the scope of their practice. This is a s result of clear policies that have been formulated to define the role and responsibilities of each cadre in the workforce. The guidelines and policies also regulate or determine the behaviour of the practitioners in their places of work. This is particularly defined in their codes of practice (Saleeby, 1997). Many healthcare settings have designed procedures and policies that guide the processes that take place within their centres. As a result, the organizational culture of various organizations has been revolutionized. They have adopted cultures and practices that optimize the productivity of their workforce. TASK THREE Theories of health and social care practice 3.1 These theories direct and guide the social care system and the practitioners in it. One of these theories is the Humanistic theory (Edward, 2012). This theory emphasizes individualized form of care where the patient is cared for based on his/her unique needs and interests.(Levin et al, 2011) It also promotes team work among the health professionals in a particular setting in order to improve care outcomes. Another element in this theory is effective communication among the staff and with the clients. Much of the system of care in the UK is based on this theory. The other theory is the social learning theory that focuses on observational learning. It promotes the practice of observing and picking lessons from social care processes and plans. Consequently, the staff and the practitioners are able to understand the existing diversity and tailor their services to meet the needs of those diversities (Mendelstem, 2009). Anti-oppressive theory on the other hand promotes a health system that does not discriminate based on any personal characteristic or back ground. It aims at putting all individuals on the same level. It allows individuals to maintain their diversity and be able to access the same quality of care as the other individuals (Alcock et al., 2008). 3.2 Social processes have an immense impact on the users of health and social care system. These social processes influence the way the users of health and social care settings perceive these systems. When the systems, cultures and policies that govern the day to day running of these settings appreciate the social norms, values and cultures of the particular community, the users are more likely to have more confidence in the services provided by these settings. It also improves the quality of these services based on the enhanced confidences in the system. Additionally, the inclusion of the users in the designing of the social care systems has made the current systems more robust and responsive to changes (Hearnden, 2008). 3.3 Inter professional working is an aspect that has been appreciated by various settings in the very positive outcomes of the health of the clients. The different professionals have an opportunity share professional opinions on the health of the patient. The result of these is an objective therapeutic process that optimizes on the skills of the various practitioners in a given setting. Furthermore, team work improves the work satisfaction of the staff and gives them a reason to come to work every day. This is because teamwork makes them feel that they are having an impact on the general health of the population they serve. In addition, the different professionals get a lot of motivation from teamwork. Motivated health workers and social care givers are able to provide high quality services to the patients. In overall, the organization is, therefore, able to achieve its short term and long term goals much faster and efficiently (Rogowski, 2004). A team of professionals that work together as a team also eases the managerial functions of the organization. TASK FOUR Development and implementation of health and social care organizational policy 4.1 Having worked with the different entities outside the organization as well as this organization, it is clear that responsibilities and accountability among the workers is an important in the effective provision of services in the organization. Every professional should learn about their responsibilities. Furthermore, there should be a system of evaluating the work done by each of the workers in order to make them accountable. Policies that give guidelines on development, implementation and enforcement of performance contracts are imperative in this type of setting. Another aspect that greatly influences the effectiveness of achieving organizational objectives is the culture of the organization. A robust system of values and policies that define the organization’s vision and mission can be developed. This will go a long way in guiding and directing the transitions that take place in the organization. To augment the formulated policies, procedures can also be designed to give a clear sequence of events in case of various scenarios within the organization (Duncan & Thomas, 2000). Training of the professional workers also enables them to acquire critical skills that are pertinent in handling patients in this type of setting. Motivation is another consequence of such training programs. Every professional is also has the duty of cooperating with the other professionals. This ensures better outcomes of the therapeutic processes. Maintaining moral and ethical behaviours is also an important responsibility for the social care providers. Effective communication is another role element that is key in the effective delivery of care. All the staff should be accountable for their actions. Policies that ensure this should also be enacted. 4.2 The contributions to the development and implementation of the policies in the organization is also a significant aspect that cannot be ignored. Policies that guide the management the service delivery can be developed using the contributions of the various stakeholders in the organization. The community experts in various fields of policies can be involved in the development of procedures that guide various issues of service delivery. Clients who pay for the services using insurance can be facilitated to avoid any problems in the payment process. Proper legal framework should also be put in place to avoid legal suits that might occur from serving the clients. This is important in protecting the social care givers and other members of staff involved in the care process. A mechanism of evaluating the quality of services is necessary. This helps the management of the heath care centre to identify any grey area in their delivery of services to the client. This can be in form of questionnaires to clients of satisfaction issues. The staff can also contribute (Demos, 2003). The professionals’ knowledge and expertise contributes significantly to the development of policies and systems that correspond to the national policy on health. 4.3 High quality level of practice is possible. It is only a matter of developing measures that will ensure quality. Observing the principles of good practice is also important to achieving quality health and social care practice. Confidentiality of client information is one of the biggest issues that affects practice of health professionals. The ability of the system to use highly secure systems is crucial. Many clients do not want information about their health to be known by third parties. Others prefer to keep it to themselves altogether. As a result, the health and social care providers should put in place systems or technologies that will ensure total confidentiality between them and the client. This gives the clients a sense of dignity and privacy. The clients’ self–esteem should also be maintained or enhanced. This can be done by involving the clients in some decision processes. This way, they feel valued and this promotes their overall confidence and morale. The staff serving the clients should also learn to embrace individuality and diversity among the clients they serve. Issues of staff safety should also be prioritized to ensure that everyone feels safe within the setting. Any concern should be addressed promptly and with the seriousness it deserves (Demos, 2003). Continuous learning and training of the health professionals will also promote good practices in this sector. A system characterized by inter-professional collaboration is also a sign of robustness and such a system should be adopted. Clear policies on codes of conduct ensures that the social care givers adhere and act within certain boundaries of professionalism. Conclusion Currently, there has been an increase in the need for health and social care services. This can be attributed to the increase in chronic or lifestyle conditions that necessitate the provision of such services. In the above report, clear guidelines of good practice in the various settings have been outlined. It is evident that the quality of the services provided in these settings is affected by the due implementation of the principles that guide health and social care practice. The application of these principles is also affected by factors like policies, laws and client diversity. The harmony of all these aspects is important is the implementation of such policies. Educating the health and social care givers is on the principles is also a step into provision of high quality health care. References Demos ,2003, Inside out: Rethinking inclusive communities – final report, London: Demos. DH (Department of Health),2001, Building capacity and partnership between the statutory and the independent social care, health care and housing sectors, London: DH Duncan, P. and Thomas, S. ,2000), Neighbourhood regeneration: Resourcing community involvement,Bristol/York: The Policy Press/Joseph Rowntree Foundation Edwards, A. ,2012, Putting patients first. British Medical Journal, 344, pp. 233-240. Levin, R. F., Overholt, E. F., Melnyk, B. M., Barnes, M. and Vetter, M. J. (2011). Fostering evidence-based practice to improve nurse and cost outcomes in a community health setting. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 35(1), pp. 21-33. Mendelstem, M. (2009). Safeguarding vulnerable adults and the law. London: Jessica Kingsley. Publishers. Moon, J.A. (2008). Reflection in learning and professional development: theory and practice. London: Routledge Falmer. Morris, J. (2001) ‘Impairment and disability: constructing an ethics of care that promotes humanrights’, Hypatia, vol 16, no 4, pp 1–16. Rogowski, S. ,2004, ‘Are social workers becoming extinct?’, Community Care,8 July 2004, p 21. Saleeby, D. ,1997, The strengths perspective in social work practice, New York, NY: Longman Appendices Quality: - It is an inherent character that shows the superiority or inferiority of something as compared to set standards. Insurance: - This a shared form of risk that provides compensation in case one suffers the indicated risk Chronic: - Means long term or lifetime. Policy: - A set of guidelines that determine a course of action to be taken in various scenarios. Therapeutic: - Able to treat or improve the condition of the patient. Social care:- Physical and emotional support given to chronic patients. . Read More