Principles of Health and Social Care Practice - Essay Example

Principles of Health and Social Care Practice Introduction The principles of social care services are essential for all the professionals that are working in social care settings. Working at a social care institution is often marked with a lot of ethical choices to be made. The ethical choices that social healthcare workers make are often dictated by moral dilemmas that could occur as a result of caring for people with different health conditions. It is imperative for social care workers and healthcare service providers that are working in social care settings to understand the need to make morality right decisions. Such moral decisions often in one way or the other, connected to social and healthcare service provision. Social and health professional also need to have a clear grasp of legal implications of their choices when providing services to people in social care institutions. 1. TASK I 1.1 Principles of Health and Social Care at ABC Care Home In case in point is the ABC Care Home that is based in London. Health and social service professionals working within the care home must understand the principles of health and social practice in order to avoid the pitfall of law suits or poor care to service users at the care home. The first principle to observe in providing social and healthcare services to the users at the home is ensuring that the care givers understand the legal landscape of the services that they provide. Understanding legal factors in providing healthcare and social service at the home would ensure that care givers know their defense mechanism in any case of a law suit against them. Knowing the legislations the surround social and healthcare practice in such settings would also enable them to get the right guidance in providing care services to care service users within ABC Care Home. Social and healthcare professionals working within the home also need to understand that they have a sense of duty to the vulnerable people that they serve. Service users can be vulnerable because of their cultural, religious, social, economic, and state of their physical health (British Association of Social Workers 2012). The vulnerable population in need of health and social services within the care home must have their human rights protected by care givers. In some cases, a prescribed mode of treatment for a vulnerable care service user might expose him or her to harm or possible abuse of their human rights. Social and healthcare professionals at the home need to understand all the implications of the any kind of care that they devise for each and every individual at the home. Practitioners need to check on the merits and merits of certain care procedures before adopting them for different people that need care services at the home. This process ensures that people that are being taken care of are not subjected to any form of abuse by care givers. A case in point can be that of a care service user that has a terminal illness like cancer. Cancer treatment involves using chemotherapy. Chemotherapy has its adverse impacts on the health a persons especially the repeated chemotherapy can accelerate the side effects of the care service. As a healthcare or social service provider at the care home, one needs to use a consultative approach to making a decision on whether certain medical procedures can be good for a patient at the ABC Care Home. The principle of safeguarding staff and clients is also very important when providing care services to service users within the home. For example, the care home must have protective measures that ensure safety for both service providers and vulnerable individuals within the home. Creating a safeguarding environment involves hiring enough staff is well trained and also giving them adequate resources to care of individuals that are being cared for. It also involves participatory supervisor of junior and less experienced care givers. 1.2 Procedures of protecting staff and clients at ABC Care Home There are several staff and client protection procedures that have been adopted at the care home. Provision of social and healthcare services to clients needs measurement of impacts from time to time. Impact assessment is best undertaken by line mangers. For example, line managers are able to assess practice and service delivery by junior health and social care service givers within a care home (Skills for Care 2013). Impact assessment by line manager ensures that they are in a very good position to give the overall picture of the development of social worker’s competency at work. It is very vital for manager to carry out impact assessment so that any new entrant to the home as a social or healthcare worker is given a supportive supervision to ensure their safety and that of the clients whom they are giving care. Home care safety for patients and staff at ABC is a high priority need that the management has constantly worked to improve from time to time. According to Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ] (2005), inadequate evidence-based information is one of the major reasons for adverse effects of medication errors that occur in hospitals or care homes. The care home encourages a collaborative approach to work so that social and healthcare givers do not give care blindly to service users at the care home. The home also ensures that it carries out a background check on patients before it employs anyone as a social or healthcare service provider at the home. Background checks on potential employees at the home include carrying out checks on criminal records in the past or present. Social care work can be demanding at times since some care service users might be totally unable to carry out any of the normal social functioning independently (British Association of Social Workers 2012). The home has also encouraged matching of healthcare needs of different care service users to the capacity of delivery from the staff. For example, high risk or any other specified care services to clients that need them are only given after assessment of the possibility of effective care delivery has been ascertained. The other procedure for patient and staff safety is the facilitated communication and information transfer between different departments within the care home. Some of the communication standards that the staff is required to adhere to include; using only accepted standard abbreviation and designations that are used in conveying information about drug doses. Patient care record at no one time should be summarized from a care giver’s memory. Patient charts are also required to have a clear display of their preferred mode of care especially if they are life support treatments. The care home also ensures safe medication use environment. Clear medication of drugs and keeping clean of medication preparation rooms is highly observed within the home. All the facilities for patients and staff’s are constantly kept clean to avoid any break out of any disease. The home has also adopted the use of physical restraints to prevent movements of clients whose cases need the use of restraints. The use of physical restraints is also applied under the directives of physicians. According to Minnesota Department of Health (2001), physical restraints are part of medical care to patients but only after a physician certify their usage. 1.3 Benefit of Using Person-Centered Approach in Working with Care Service Users ABC Care Home uses person-centered approach in giving care service to clients. Person-centered approach ensures that patients are given the right care based on their unique social and healthcare needs. It is also important that individual cultural beliefs are taken into account when being given social and healthcare services. A cultural sensitive health and social healthcare environment can go along way in helping healthcare service providers to care for people based on their cultural dictates (British Association of Social Workers 2012). Religious beliefs of individuals also play role in creating an enabling environment so that different people do not have their rights infringed upon because of social and healthcare services that they are receiving from ABC Care Home. 1.4 Ethical Dilemmas for Healthcare and Social Services Professionals Ethical dilemmas that arise when delivering social or health services to clients at ABC Care Home or any other care service center is an inherent feature in the two professions. For instance, an elderly client with an addiction to alcohol and cigarettes that she would want to continue with can pose a serious ethical dilemma to care providers. The situation can further be compound when such a client has caught a terminal disease like cancer out of their addiction to cigarettes. If medical experts prescribe a stronger painkiller to such patient to relief their pain while they continue with their habit, the healthcare will be fanning the habit even more. At the same time, if the patient wails loudly because of their pain, it would amount to disturbance of peace with a care home. The best approach to solving the problem could be through explaining to the client, the aggravating effects of smoking and alcohol on their state of health. If the patient is in a mentally stable state of mind, they can be advised on the best management practices of their conditions. At the same time, they should be advised on any side effects adopted management practices especially if they involve medications that lead to addiction. All the stake holders including the manager of the Care Home, the doctors and the social workers must all be involved in deliberating on how to help a client that would not heed the advice to stop their substance addiction. 2. TASK II 2.1 Implementation of Policies, Legislation, Regulations, Codes Of Practice of Social and Healthcare There are several policies, legislations, regulations, and codes of practice that government the practice of health and social care in the UK just like in any country. These legislations are aimed at streamlining the industry so that clients get the best care across care homes in the country. Currently, the Department of Health in the U.K. has a legislation proposal called ‘Market Oversight in Social Care 2011.’ The 2011 legislation was aimed at calling upon experts in the area, including currently practicing social care workers to give their views on the way forward on social and healthcare policy in the U.K. (Gov.UK 2013). There is also the ‘Post-legislative assessment of the Health and Social Care Act 2008’. According to Gov.UK (2013), the 2008 Care Act called upon the government to establish commission that would be charged with the duty of ensuring quality care in care homes across the country. There is also the ‘Local Authority Circular’ that was created in 2012. The regulation carried revisions on the charging rates for adults that go in for care home services in the U.K. (Gov. UK 2013). It carried the information on the “Charging for Residential Accommodation Guide (CRAG)” (Gov. UK 2013). There are codes of ethics that dictates the way social and health professionals should work in social welfare institutions. Some of the codes of ethical practices include; “Challenging Discrimination, Recognizing Diversity, Distributing Resources, and Challenging unjust policies and practices” (British Association of Social Workers 2012, p.5). 2.2 Developing Policies at ABC Care Home in Tandem with the National Policies It is very important for ABC Care Home to develop internal policies that are in tandem with the national policies. Policies and codes of ethics in social work are aimed at ensuring that the best standards of practice are adopted in social work anywhere in the country. The work ethics in ABC Home Care is geared towards encouraging workers to recognize and appreciate the diversity of cultures as encouraged by the national codes of practice of social work. On the other hand, ABC Care Home is also charging clients accommodation fee based on CRAG regulations. The management at the care facility can also use the opportunity that is provided by the ‘Market Oversight in Social Care 2011’ to make contributions to the social and health care policy formulation in the UK. The 2011 legislation give healthcare and social workers an opportunity to be heard at the national platform of policy making. 2.3 National Policy and Regulations Impacts on Social and Heath Care Practice at ABC Care Home National policy influence on the standards of practice, code of conduct, and internal policies on the practice of social and healthcare services provision at ABC Care Home can be lauded to have been positive. They have provided a framework for the formulation of work ethics framework at ABC Care Home. At ABC Care Home, equal treatment of all clients irrespective of their socio-economic and cultural background is fundamental for all employees at the care home. The staff at the care home work towards achieving the ultimate aim of ABC Care Home which is to ensure that every client is given the best care at affordable costs. The care home also charges its accommodation charges to resident clients based on CRAG regulations. In the process, ABC Care Home is becoming one of the bet care homes across London. 3. TASK III 3.1 Social Work Theories Social work is guided several theories and almost every social worker anywhere across the world is guided by one social work theory or more. The importance of being guided by a social work theory is that it provides one with a foundational framework on which to work. There are several social work theories but this case, emphasis would be given to psychosocial and attachment theories. Psychosocial theory is based on assessment of the actual work of social worker. A social worker assesses his or her client based on the context of their psychological, interpersonal and the environmental contexts (Greene 2011). The process of assessing the situation of different individual enable a social worker to understand the resource needs of different people in different situations. Attachment theory on the other hand, helps a social worker to understand the nature of the behavior of his or her client(s). Attachment theory suggest that people’s abilities to make social connections and establish interpersonal relationships with others in their current or past social environment is based on the type of attachment that one had in the past. According to Howe (2009, pp. 141-3), the types of attachments that an individual can experience include; “secure, insecure (ambivalent), insecure (avoidant), and disorganized attachments.” Attachment theory is important to me in the sense that it allows me to understand the nature of client-social worker relationship. Client-Social Worker relationship is very important in understanding a client’s needs as well as knowing some of the factors that might be informing the current behavioral patterns of some of the clients (Lishman 2007). 3.2 Social processes The social processes at ABC Care Home help clients create relationships with professional care givers as well as among themselves. Some clients get to share their problems with others and are also able to learn how other people are coping up with their conditions. The social exchange processes at the care home has been very beneficial to clients in providing them with psychological and physical support that they might be in need of. On the other hand, medical services that are provided to care users at the care home also help them to stay in comfort particularly the care service users that experience the discomfort of pain. 3.3 Effectiveness of Inter-Professional Working At ABC Home Care service uses at ABC Care Home have greatly benefited from inter-professional working at ABC Home. Inter-professional working among social and health care workers according to Barwell et al (2013), refers to a collaborate approach to giving care to clients that are seeking health or social healthcare services. According to Barwell et al (2013), teamwork in medical care provisions improves care outcomes, improves interpersonal skills among care givers, and helps in bridging institutional hierarchies that can negate care service outcomes. Through inter-professional working, it has become easy for workers at the center to improve their patient care services. It has enabled social workers and healthcare service providers at the center to make informed decisions on the kind of care that different clients require. It has also minimized incidences of medical errors that can otherwise lead to harm of clients at the care home. 4. TASK IV 4.1 My Responsibilities as a Newly Appointed Manager at the ABC Care Home Based on the recent assessment and publication of the report on the state of affairs at ABC Home Care by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), I would wish to highlight my responsibilities in ensuring that improvement are undertaken at ABC Care Home. The report indicated that ABC had major failings in incidence reporting, poor care services, poor assessment methods, and recruitment of unqualified persons to give care services. As newly appointed manager, I would like to acknowledge all the failings that thrived under the former management. I have begun my reform duties by shifting departmental heads and conducting trainings on the best practices of management in various capacities. I have also commissioned fresh employee audit so that the staff members that do not meet minimum qualifications to work in a care home shall be laid off. The process is already underway and recruitment of the right candidates according to the requirements set by the national polices and practices in social and healthcare will soon follow. Impact assessment and evaluative supervision of all the staff shall be carried out by line supervisors and the reports submitted to my office after every three weeks. Collaborative work that was also poorly practiced under the former management has been reinvigorated. Under my new management, collaborative approach in work is going to be a priority in the delivery of care services to patients. My office has also opened a new office for reporting of complaints from care services users. The new reporting unit shall enable my office to efficiently handle all the complaints that shall be coming from our clients. It will also handle and compile all the major incidence cases that shall promptly be reported to the CQC in a timely manner. 4.2 My Contributions to the Ongoing Reforms at ABC Care Home I have created incidence reporting office that shall be operational at all times. I have also commissioned the ongoing employee audit that shall finish its work in two weeks time. The process shall help us in removing members of staff that are either under qualified or totally unfit to serve as social or healthcare service providers at ABC Care Home. I have also shifted departmental heads. My office has also conducted a two weeks training program with departmental heads on the effective management practices. These reforms have been quite instrumental in motivating staff at ABC Home to undertake their duties diligently. 4.3 My Recommendations for Solutions to Problems at ABC at Present and In Future To ensure prudence and diligence at work, I would recommend a three year work contract for all the employees at ABC Home. A three year period of work is in my view, is short enough to discourage any work complacency. I would also encourage a five year appraisal program where the best performing employees will be upgraded to new job capacities. Some of the employees in this institution have stayed within one job capacity for more than seven years. I would also encourage a biennial training program for mid level managers at ABC Care Home as a way of equipping them with prerequisite management skills to be effective in their jobs. All the social and healthcare workers will be trained on the needs to embrace person-centered approach in providing care to individuals at the center. My office shall liaise with departmental heads in ensuring that the reforms projects are strictly followed. 5. Conclusions ABC Care Home has had its share of problems. The report on the failings by CQC is a great eye opener in taking steps to ensuring that the nationally accepted standards of social and healthcare practices are adhered to all times. ABC Care Home has also had its share of success in giving social and healthcare services at affordable costs to populations across London that needs it. My management is anticipating that the fast tracked reform programs at the instituation are going to transform it into one of the best care homes in London. Bibliography: 1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ] (2005) 30 Safe Practices for Better Health Care: Fact Sheet [online]. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available from (accessed 11 December 2013). 2. Barwell, J., Arnold, F. & Berry, H. (2013) How inter-professional learning improves care [online]. NursingTimes.net. Available from (accessed 11 December 2013). 3. British Association of Social Workers (2012) The Code of Ethics for Social Work: Statement of principles [online]. (accessed 11 December 2013). 4. Gov.UK (2013) Departments and policy [online]. Government Digital Service. Available from (accessed 11 December 2013). 5. Greene, RR (2008) Human behavior theory & social work practice. 3rd Ed. New Brunswick, N.J.: Aldine Transaction. 6. Howe, D. (2009) Psychosocial work: an attachment perspective. In Robert, A. Lena, D. & Malcolm, P. (Eds). Critical Practice in Social Work. 2nd Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 7. Lishman, J (2007) Handbook for Practice Learning in Social Work and Social Care: Knowledge and Theory. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 8. Minnesota Department of Health (2001) Safety without restraints: A New Practice Standard for Safe Care [online]. Available from (accessed 11 December 2013). 9. Skills for Care (2013) Developing social workers’ practice [online]. Available from (accessed 11 December 2013). Read More