Treatment of Older People and Role of Nurses in Health Policies - Essay Example

? The Nursing Agenda al Affiliation: The Nursing Agenda Introduction Nurses are faced with various ethical, legal and political issues in the course of their work. The issues in many cases are related to the protection of patients’ health, confidentiality and autonomy and the organization’s success. The nursing profession is usually bound by its own code of ethics which imposed thorough disciplinary sanctions on deviant practitioners. The practice of nursing is also governed by legal terms which usually define their scope of practice. These legal terms are generally instituted by a political arm of the country within which the nurse practices. Generally nurses are legally held responsible for their practice and they are also accountable for it. For instance, to practice as a registered nurse lawfully in the United Kingdom, the nurse is bound to hold a up-to-date and valid registration given by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The Health Provision Act demands that standards of practice as well as the code of ethics should be assumed by a professional according to Chitty (2005). The ethical practice of nursing in the UK demands that nurses who have been registered with NMC should practice with respect, honesty and integrity while complying with the NMC code of ethics. Secondly the registered nurse is supposed to report unskilled practice of nursing or any unprofessional conduct by any person to the right person, professional body or relevant agency. Thirdly, the registered nurse works towards saving and enhancing the rights of the patients to privacy, autonomy, respect, dignity as well as to access of information. The registered nurse should also adopt responsibility to ensure a professional and therapeutic relationship with patients. Furthermore, the registered nurse advocates for environment that possess an organizational as well as individual support systems. The environment should also have resource important to competence, safe and ethical nursing practice. Nurses sustain principles of equity and fairness which are required by the legal system so as to assist people to get share of health services and resources equal to their needs while promoting social justice. It is illegal for nurses to discriminate while providing nursing care whether on basis of culture, race, social, and ethnicity, marital or religious beliefs among others. The legal system requires that nurses should consider fair allocation of resources which is under control and based on individual needs of those under care as suggested by Brent (2001). Nurses are required by the legal system to put into first consideration the interest people under their care. This involves assisting people and groups to gain access to the right healthcare of their choice. It is upon the nurses to advocate for appropriate and ethical care at the community and organizational level. This is achieved through participating in development, implementation and the continuous review of policies as well as procedures which provide quality care for individual. It is according to the legal system, that nurses should uphold health policies as well as decision making procedures that are steady with prevailing information and research. There is the need for nurses to advocate for fairness as well as inclusiveness in allocation of health resources. The legal system also holds it that nurses should be aware of the general health concerns including environmental issues, violation of individual rights, violence, world hunger and homelessness among others. Role of nurses in health policies The role of the nurses in health policies is guided by their expertise as well as their healthcare knowledge on the basis of training, experience and practice. According to the policy it is their responsibility to ensure honesty and ethics in their practice. The nurses have the responsibility of exerting a considerable control over the health care policy, the policy makers as well as congress generally. Following the prevailing shortage of nurses it is upon the nurses to take the role of influencing others positively through addressing the issue of concern for more nurses. In matters of health policy it is also the role of nurses to take action in developing awareness of legislative processes relating to healthcare delivery. Role of the Nurse within Integrated Service Provision in the Context of Multi-Agency and Inter-Disciplinary Working Practices Nurses under multi-agency and inter-disciplinary working practices should play a wide role of developing the health solutions of the clients to ensure full benefits for them. They are thus responsible for data collection which involves outcome data as well as system utilization data. Nurses advocate for evidence based informed operation by participating in research necessary for health delivery. Professional practice environments: Nurses should ensure professional practice in a quality environment so as to promote competent, safe as well as ethical nursing operation. Nurses require clinical guideline as well as appropriate agency procedures and guidelines which guide them and support their practices. Nurses in multi-agency and inter-disciplinary working practices, have the duty to support systems that enhance safety, competence and ethics in delivery of services. In a multi-task and inter-disciplinary working environment, it is the responsibility of the nurses to handle an informed consent and client decision making as suggested by Thomas, Hardy and Cutting (1997). This helps practice accordingly in a legal authority which governs treatment of clients. The nurses should ensure that consent whether achieved through implicit or explicit means relies on informed decision- making process. The informed decision making also requires service of the nurses to explain to the clients on how the information is recoded and who accesses to it. It is the role of the nurse in multi-task and inter-disciplinary organization to ensure security, privacy and confidentiality of the client’s information in the health care environment. The nurse has the responsibility to develop, implement and perform according to relevant health policies and legislations. The main goal under this role is to ensure that technologies, client’s records such as electronic heath records are private and confidential. Thus the amount and type of privacy should be suitable to the technology under use. Client safety is another role of the nurse in multi-agency and inter-disciplinary working practices. It is the responsibility of the nurse to ensure that the care they provide to the client is appropriate and ethical. The nurse is held accountable to any unsafe practices to the client. Analysis of NSFOP and Issues Surrounding Care for the Older People According to Hindle and Coates (2011), the vast majority of the care given to older people is satisfactory and only a small portion of them are not satisfied. Hindle and Coates also claim that reports published in 2009 by the patients association stated that some of the older people may be getting care which is the cause for their dissatisfaction. Despite the increased development regarding policies and practice as well as the higher profile political campaigns the situation of older people in most hospitals is of concern. One of the major reasons for the launch of NSFOP was in order to eliminate poor practices and ensure care given to older people in hospital s is same to that received by the other people. NSFOP was supposed to remain revolutionary in handling most of the problems discriminatory attitudes faced by the elderly people under healthcare. However NSFOP has not yet fully proofed its effectiveness since the older people are still experiencing humiliating and negligent care from the nurses. NSFOP offers three models of service delivery in the care for older people. The adoption as well as the utilization f such models is aimed at making sure that services offered to older people are coordinated and within policy requirements. One of the models is Age-defined model where patients are usually admitted to specialists or to the general wards according to their age. The Integrated model is the one in which physicians receive patients without considering their age. It operates on the principle of equality. The last model is the Needs-based model in which patients are admitted to specialist wards according to their needs determined through locally based criteria. Social, Financial, Political and Ethical Implications of Health Policy The issue of integrating the social-political context in health care delivery leads to the adoption of institutions, policies and dominant permeate research in daily health encounters. Thus the nurses are usually engaged in a moral as well as political discourse in which they conceptualize patient problems. Therefore it is what is moral according to the society that influences how the nurses handle the patients. The policy makers are guided by the nurse practitioners in developing policies regarding health care services. Policy decision makers also need to be involved in research projects as well as health forums where there are implications for health policies. In a case where the nurses have their empowerment politicized, it is likely that their mode of care delivery will be minimized. This is because political empowerment leads to a engaging in systemic oppressive matters. NHS Actions and the Impacts of NSF on the Running of NHS The National Service Framework (NSF) was launched in 2001 and it is meant for the older people. National Service Framework has enabled NHS and other social care organizations to have a significant move towards their mission as suggested by Ewles and Simnett (2003). NHS has taken various actions in health care delivery for older people. For instance it ensures investment in intermediate care delivery services as well as equipment. As a result, more than three hundred thousand older people are able to receive care services at the comfort of their homes. In conjunction with NSF it has ensured new funding meant for extra care housing which results to creative schemes around the country. It also ensures that families taking car of older people receive a financial support provided volunteers through community services. The NHS has set out particular goals for handling some of the recurrent conditions problems faced by this older people. It also helps the older people to stay away from crisis as well as emergency hospital admissions in timely and individualized care. NSF has managed to establish a strong relationship between NHS organizations and older people thus leading to a faster and highly integrated care to the elderly. The NSF for older people lays down eight standards covering the older people care needs. These standards employ important principles which ensure that care to elderly is based on clinical requirements not age. It also ensures that NHS organizations offer services which treat older people as human. This way NSF promotes equality of life, dignity of older people, their independence and their right to make choice regarding their care. In analyzing it is realized that after the initiation of NSF in running NHS; First, above 90% of the hospitals found in England today provide professional stroke services. Secondly there are more than one hundred and forty extra consultants in old-age medicine. Finally, there is a reduction of delayed charges for those aged 75 and above from around 1,930 in 2004 to 1,638 in 2009 according to Hudson and Moore (2009). These statistics indicate that NSF has played a significant role in running NHS. Bibliography: Brent, N.J. (2001). Nurses and the law: a guide to principles and applications. Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences. Chitty, k.k. (2005). Professional nursing: concepts & challenges. Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences, Hindle, A. & Coates, A. (2011). Nursing Care of Older People. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Hudson, A. & Moore, L. (2009). Caring for Older People in the Community. New York:John Wiley and Sons, Ewles,L. & Simnett, I. (2003). Promoting health: a practical guide. Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences. Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2004). Community and public health nursing. Amsterdam : Elsevier Health Sciences. Thomas, B. Hardy, S. & Cutting, P. (1997). Stuart and Sundeen's mental health nursing: principles and practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences, Read More