Essay: Providing Support for Individuals in the Community

As a result of spending my time as a volunteer at a local Community Centre, I am conducting a report on how support is provided for individuals within the local community. The mentioned individuals in this report all have unique needs. The promotion of equality and diversity will also be discussed in this report, as well as discrimination and anti-discriminatory practices.
Equality
Equality, within health and social care, is when all service users are given equal rights, opportunities, and care when accessing the services that they need. The Equality Act 2010 specifies nine characteristics that are protected by the Equality Act 2010, these characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Health and social care professionals can promote equality by taking other people’s beliefs into account, ensuring every service user obtains equal access to the services that they need, and by treating all colleagues and service users fairly. If equality is promoted, service users will be able to develop a trusted relationship between the professionals, be treated with a holistic approach and have a person-centred care plan, as well as receiving the necessary treatment or care.
The effects of equality can be shown through the satisfaction of the service users; good promotion of equality will interest service users from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, thus, encouraging a multicultural service and society. Service users will feel accepted by the service and professionals within; this will make the service users feel safe when accessing the service because they won’t be in fear of discrimination. Moreover, the service users will be less reluctant to visit the service if they need help; this will result in the service user acquiring the care and support that they need without their condition worsening.
Diversity
Diversity plays a key role within the health and social care sector; diversity is when a service has a team of professionals, and service users that have different beliefs, religions and customs. To promote diversity within the workplace, the Labour Party recommended that quotas should be introduced; to ‘address the under-representation of women and people from ethnic minorities in the senior judiciary’ (Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC and Karon Monaghan QC). Although this was introduced to improve the diversity within the law, it is widely accepted as a way to ensure there is diversity within companies. A diversity quota ensures that services have a multicultural (the integration of people from diverse backgrounds and cultures) team and client base from within a multicultural society. In addition, the quota permits people that are protected by Equality Act’s characteristics a more legitimate chance on the career platforms.
The effects of diversity can be shown within multi-disciplinary teamwork; the team will be able to think creatively and solicit innovative ideas which will allow challenges to be approached from unique perspectives. Therefore, achieving a solution faster whilst evaluating all factors. In addition, there will be a more ethical understanding within the team; this will lead to personal prejudices being reduced and a more favourable working environment because the professionals involved will understand diverse cultures and their needs.
A competent, diverse service will be responsive to learning about people’s life experiences, value the diversity of the service and the multicultural society that it is located in, and form trusted relationships with colleagues and service users. Being part of a multicultural society can provide professionals with: learning opportunities, numerous ways to deliver social care and the ability to try and develop alternative treatment options. Complementary medicine is used as an alternative, or alongside, orthodox medical practice; aromatherapy, acupuncture and reflexology are examples of complementary medicine.
Discrimination
A lack of equality and diversity is a cause of discrimination, as well as people’s own personal prejudices. Discrimination is when a person, or group of people, are treated unfairly due to a difference between the discriminator and discriminated. Discrimination usually occurs when a personal prejudice gets in the way of treating somebody equally and with respect; a lack of understanding of varying characteristics is also a cause of discrimination.
The Equality Act 2010, mentioned previously, is legislation that promotes anti-discrimination and allows discrimination of any kind to be challenged within a civil court. (Source: https://www.cvtemplatemaster.com/careers-advice/discrimination-recruitment/) The Human Rights Act 1998 also aims to prevent discrimination throughout the United Kingdom by entitling all residents to privacy, education and freedom. The act guarantees each and every individual the right to life; freedom of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; freedom from slavery (including servitude, forced or compulsory labour); liberty and security of the person; respect for a private and family life (including home and correspondence); freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of expression; marry and found a family; peaceful enjoyment of possessions and protection of property and access to education. Although the Human Rights Act is in place, individuals still deprive people of the outlined rights above. For example, in 2007 Sophie Lancaster’s right to life was violated; a group of teenagers discriminated against her Gothic culture and violently beat her until she had no brain activity.
There are four different types of discrimination:
Unfair: Unfair discrimination is when a person is treated unequally compared with someone else. For example, two people equal in qualifications and experience, apply for a job, but the one candidate is not considered for the job because they are female. The company promoted the male candidate because he does not have potential to become pregnant and cost the company in maternity pay and maternity cover.
Direct: Direct discrimination is when a person is hostile, rude or offensive to another person because they perceive them to be different. Direct discrimination is easier to prove because it is usually heard or witnessed by others. For example, when the black community and white community were segregated on buses because of the black community who was seen as the lesser race.
Indirect: Indirect discrimination is when there is a policy, procedure or rule which places people of a protected characteristic at a disadvantage. Indirect discrimination is more complex to prove because it is not as obvious as direct discrimination. For example, a health service only accepts clients within a certain postcode; there is a nearby village that is just out of the catchment area for the service. The residents of the village are unable to access the nearby health service and must travel 14 miles to the next accessible service.
Positive: Positive discrimination is when a person is treated better than others, or a decision is made in a person’s favour because there is something different about them. For example, there is a vacancy in a well-paid, management position at a law firm; two women with equal experience apply for the position. The female, who is of Asian origin and lesbian, is favoured for the job and achieves the position because the company wanted a more diverse management team.
People are commonly discriminated against because of their race, ethnicity, sexuality and age. Other characteristics that are discriminated against are: gender, social class, religious beliefs, family structure, ability, health, disability, location (where the person lives), culture and appearance.
Effects of discrimination could include:
Stress: A male employee is indirectly discriminated against at work after his manager finds out that he is gay; the manager dismisses him from any duties that involve interacting with customers. This makes the employee feel stressed because he feels like his manager believes he is incompetent; if the employee continues feeling stressed, he could develop a stress-induced mental illness. Depression could develop which may lead to feeling unable to work due to lack of motivation; going on sick leave for depression would reduce the employee’s income and restrict him from learning new skills. Additionally, he could become anxious which could result in him withdrawing from social activities; this could lead to the employee isolating himself.
Impact on waiting times for different groups: A rule at a GP Surgery is that elderly patients (over 65) and children (under 18) get priority when booking appointments; this is indirect age discrimination against people in young and middle adulthood. This could compel the economically active people to become reluctant when they need support or treatment for a medical condition. Not getting the essential care and support could result in their condition worsening, which could progress to a long-term illness.
Injury and death: Naomi Oni was a victim of an acid attack in London, 2013. Her attacker, Mary Konye, was a primary school friend that racially discriminated against people who had lighter skin than herself; this prejudice provoked her to inflict injury on Naomi. The attack left Naomi feeling unable to work because she was anxious someone else could discriminate against her. Due to the skin grafts and laser treatment needed to help her injuries heal, Naomi became increasingly self-conscience; this led to low self-esteem from her life-changing injuries and new appearance. In addition, Naomi would experience trust issues, difficulty forming new relationships and may live in fear of others because she was harmed by her childhood friend.
Living in fear of others: A teenage girl saw on TV that girls in her area were being abducted and sexually assaulted by a middle-aged man in a blue van; the man is reported to target schoolgirls that wear skirts, dresses and their hair in a ponytail. The girl fits the description of the schoolgirls who have been abducted and begins to change her appearance; this could lead to the girl losing the sense of whom she is because she is trying avoiding being discriminated against for her sex. Moreover, she could become frightened to express her individuality; this could contribute to the girl having low self-esteem and loss of confidence because she cannot be who she is, in fear of being assaulted.
Preventing Discrimination within Health and Social Care Services
Health and social care professionals should aim to prevent discrimination when carrying out their duties with, and around, service users. To prevent discrimination within services, there are four initiatives that are in place to aim to meet the needs of all service users.
Access: Services should be able to be accessed by everybody who needs care and support. Adaptions to the service can improve access for service users with mobility issues; for example, a ramp could be installed at the entrance of the service so that it is wheelchair accessible. In addition, a service which has departments on various floors could install a lift so that all departments are accessible to service users who are unable to walk long distances or upstairs.
Diet: Whether it be for medical reasons, religious requirements or cultural preferences, the service should provide meal options that do not put service users at risk of missing meals or being discriminated against. For example, a patient on a ward has coeliac disease and is on a strict gluten-free diet to help reduce their symptoms. A lunch menu is distributed around the ward which all contains wheat-based products; no meal options meet the patient’s dietary needs. The ward staff are unable to propose a gluten-free alternative, so the patient must consume one of the dishes and risk worsening their condition.
Support: All service users will have different support needs that must be met when accessing a service for their care. To provide information, resources throughout the facility should be available in various formats to ensure service users are aware of rules, policies and other essential details. For example, a service within a multicultural society will need having resources available in a variety of languages; this could include having signposts with multiple languages on or having a translator within the facility. In addition, letters to services users with visual impairments should be available in braille or large text as an easy-to-read option.
Advocacy Services: An advocate is a person who speaks on behalf of somebody who is unable to make rational decisions on their own; there are different types of advocates:
Peer Advocacy is when the advocate shares a similar experience to the person in need of an advocate. For example, a lady with a hearing impairment considers an advocate that has been a carer for people with hearing impairments for twenty years; the advocate attends all appointments with the service user to ensure she is not being discriminated against by the professionals.
Statutory Advocacy is when you are legally entitled to having an advocate if you are unable to self-advocate (voice your own opinions and discuss your needs). Statutory advocates could be Independent Mental Health Advocates(IMHAs), Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCAs) and advocates that support people under the Care Act 2014.
Anti-Discriminatory Practice
The Care Sector Consortium developed a number of principles that should be followed by all health and social care professionals; the principles collectively made a value base of commitments for all professionals within the sector. Each of the outlined principles can be found in each code of practice for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), General Medical Council (GMC) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); the care value base includes anti-discriminatory practice, empowerment of individuals and maintaining confidentiality and privacy.
Anti-discriminatory practice is when care provided to service users fulfil all the needs of the service user and comply with the code of practice for all professionals, regardless of the protected characteristics (outlined in the Equality Act 2010). Anti-discriminatory practice is a primary principle that aims to guide professionals so that needs of service users are met, regardless of differences, and that prejudices of staff and of service users are challenged appropriately. Anti-discriminatory practice is more than ensuring a service user’s legal rights are in place; it also includes promoting equal opportunities and challenging discrimination.
Every service should have a Whistleblowing Policy; a Whistleblowing Policy allows an employee to safely report, without backlash, an incident of poor practice at their workplace to an organisation outside of their work setting to try and change the service. For example, when attending the community centre I witnessed a care assistant being verbally abusive to their client, who had learning difficulties and was obese. The care assistant was calling the client rude, offensive names and directly discriminating against them for their appearance and disability. I voiced my concern with the HCPC, who then contacted the care assistant and monitored their work performance quality.
Methods of Anti-Discriminatory Practice
Health and social care professionals must conform to certain methods of anti-discriminatory practice so that they are able to carry out their professional duties and fulfil the needs of the service users. These methods include:
Addressing personal prejudices adapting behaviour to make sure that service users have their needs met, regardless of differences, and so that prejudices do not cloud judgement.
Being able to understand and meet the individual needs of all service users. This includes people with physical and learning disabilities, people who are gay or who are unclear with their sexuality, people with communication issues, people from diverse cultures and ethic backgrounds, as well as people who belong to various religious groups.
Appreciate and celebrate what a multicultural society and client base can contribute to the service setting and to society.
Actively challenging direct and indirect forms of discrimination against service users, or by service users.
Ensuring that the service atmosphere is welcoming and is an accessible environment for all service users to use.
Compensating for the negative effects of discrimination within society.
Managing Challenging Behaviour
Lamentably, not all professionals or services follow the anti-discriminatory practice to its broad extent; this leads to conflict between service users and their carers. When this happens, challenging behaviour is more than likely to occur and put other service users within the facility at risk of being harmed. Challenging behaviour includes self-harm, having arguments with staff or service users, being aggressive towards others in the service and being difficult when being provided with care.
To manage challenging behaviour, health and social care professionals should: listen carefully to the distressed service user’s concern, stay calm and at no time raise their voice because this could escalate the situation, try to see both sides of the argument or issue by showing that they understand the service user’s perspective on the matter and under no circumstances resort to aggressive behaviour as this could put them or the service user, in unnecessary danger. However, if the situation proves to be escalating and may result in violence, the professionals should: guarantee that they know where the nearest exit is, make certain that there are no weapon-like objects surrounding the service user, do not stand too close to the irate individual(s) to ensure they have personal space and get help as soon as possible via panic alarms, shouting or contacting security.
Barriers
Sometimes what seems like discrimination is, in fact, unfortunate health and social care barriers that restrict people from accessing the care that they need. Some of the barriers include language, financial, geographical, communication and lack of resources. A language barrier could occur when an individual is attempting to access a facility but English is not their mother tongue and the service is unable to find an interpreter; this may lead to the individual misunderstanding the care they require. A financial barrier could occur when a service user needs to pay for their prescription but are on a limited income and is unable to afford to pay the pharmacy; this prevents the service user from taking medication that they need. A geographical barrier could occur if a person lives in a rural area and are unable to travel to the service because they rely on public transport; this may compel the person to try home remedies to aid their condition instead of getting professional help. A communication barrier could occur if someone with a visual impairment receives letters, in standard printed format, about forthcoming appointments at their local hospital; the individual is unable to read the letters and could potentially miss the appointments.
When these barriers are widespread throughout a service, it may be a sign of poor practice; poor practice will put service users at a greater risk of harm and reduce the quality of care that they receive. A pressure group, who campaigns to improve services of the people that they represent, could get involved and organise demonstrations or communicate with local Members of Parliament (MPs) to raise awareness of individuals’ needs.
Public Health England (PHE)
PHE is an agency that aims to protect and improve the public health (strategies that prevent disease, prolong life and promote health for a population) and well-being of England and reduce health inequalities. PHE focuses on the health and well-being of the entire population, rather than individualised care and support; they carry out their responsibilities in a variety of ways: health promotion programmes that aim to reform the nation’s health by campaigning about particular illnesses or diseases, advancing the knowledge of public health via research projects and by taking measures to protect the population’s wellness if there is an epidemic.
Skills and Personal Attributes for Professionals
A skill is having the ability to accomplish a particular task correctly; whereas, a personal attribute is a quality that gives somebody individuality and shapes them who they are, like their values and personality. Health and social care professionals must possess certain skills and personal attributes in order to provide effective care and treatment for service users.
Compassion in Practice (6Cs)
The 6Cs are a collection of values that were launched in 2012 that sets high standards for care staff, like nurses and midwives; the aim is to enable professionals to develop working relationships with their service users. Compassion in Practice was introduced after the quality of care within the NHS Mid Staffordshire Trust hadn’t been meeting the standards of care, consequently leading to malpractice and death for some patients. The six values are:
Care: Care is the essential principle which ensures that all professionals provide the correct care for each service user throughout their time at the service.
Compassion: Professionals should be compassionate towards service users by being empathetic, respectful of decisions or preferences and treat them with dignity.
Competence: Care professionals should be capable to carry out their daily duties correctly, be able to conform to the high standards of the codes of practice and understand the needs of the service user.
Communication: Communication is a key skill which ensures professionals listen carefully to the service user and be able to pass on information correctly, and clearly.
Courage: Being able to tell the appropriate person or agency when there are concerns about a service user or poor practice within the service.
Commitment: Understanding what the service user needs to adequately fulfil their needs and ensuring that these needs are consistently met.
People Skills
In order to develop a beneficial relationship between the professional and service user, the professional should possess good people skills; these skills are:
Empathy: The ability to understand the emotions and condition that others are in and to observe things from their point of view.
Patience: Being able to tolerate and cope with challenges without becoming irritated and annoyed.
Engendering trust: The ability to get a service user to trust you.
Flexibility: Being able to alter plans, if necessary, to meet the needs of service users that are in your care.
A sense of humour: Enabling service users to be relaxed when in your company by seeing the comic side of things, where appropriate.
Negotiating: The ability to compromise and reach an agreement when two or more people have unique ideas.
Honesty: The ability to be truthful with service users and colleagues.
Problem solving: Recognising a dilemma from different perspectives and asking questions to seek and achieve a solution to a problem.
Building Relationships and Establishing Trust
An empathetic approach will ensure a beneficial relationship is established between the professional and service user; this involves perceiving things from the service user’s perspective and understanding what they feel or think.
Max Scheler (1874-1928), a German philosopher, believed that you should not just impart facts about an object but also give opinions and say how it makes you feel. By looking at objects differently, you develop a more profound understanding of it. This philosophy could be applied to a health and social care setting; a doctor should not focus on treating a patient’s condition alone; they should meet the needs of the whole person (holistic approach) — physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. Through providing a holistic approach, you get to understand the needs of the whole person and can build a stronger, more positive relationship.
Attachment and Emotional Resilience Theory
John Bowlby (1907-1990) developed a theory of attachment; attachment is the formation of a close bond — this usually occurs in infancy, between the child and their primary caregiver. The theory emphasises the importance of this bond. If the development of this bond proves unsuccessful, there is a possibility that the child will have difficulty in forming relationships and bonds with others in the future. A caregiver can bond with the child through touch, eye contact and sound; this constitutes a secure attachment. When a secure attachment is present, the infant experiences a supportive, stable upbringing and is more likely to be a resilient individual as they age. Additionally, a secure relationship can result in them becoming a trusting person and want to spend time with individuals. What’s more, the child will know their needs are being met and will be able to depend on their primary caregiver for emotional and practical support when they require it; this will contribute to the child developing an autonomous characteristic and being confident when they make decisions independently.
Thus, a secure attachment during childhood will assist professionals in engendering trust with an individual in their care. However, an insecure attachment could make it harder for the relationship to form; resulting in the service user not disclosing all of their needs because they do not trust them. Additionally, this will result in the service user not receiving the treatment and support that they need and may lead to long-term issues.
Triangle of Care
The Triangle of Care was developed between the Carers Trust and the National Mental Health Development Unit, aiming to get carers more involved in the care planning of people with poor mental health. The guide states how to bring about improvements concerning the engagement of carers, different forms of good practice and recommends more beneficial teamwork between service users, their carers and the services that care for them. There are six principles outlined in the Triangle of Care that could be applied to all health and social care sectors:
Carers should be contacted as soon as possible as they are responsible for the aftercare of the service user.
Service staff should undergo training which allow them to communicate effectively and clearly with carers.
Policies and procedures should be amended to improve information sharing with carers whilst maintaining confidentiality.
There should be defined roles, like Carer link workers, responsible for carers should be in place.
Carers should be welcomed to the service and be provided with all necessary information about the service user.
There should be a diverse range of carer support services throughout the service.
The Triangle of Care is an exceptional method of establishing a relationship and engendering trust with service users because the primary caregiver of the service user is appropriately involved. This allows the carer to be aware of information and care plan changes for the individual and can adapt their care when necessary; this provides the service user with the most adequate possible care for them. Be that as it may, there are times when the Triangle of Care may prove to be a poor method. For example, the service may want to bring about changes to the care plan which the carer does not agree with; this could cause the service user to become distressed because they cannot cope with change. Furthermore, the carer could be preventing the service user from receiving the correct care which was amended in the new care plan.
Ethical Practice
An ethical approach is needed within health and social care; an ethical approach entails dealing with right and wrong behaviour and respecting the care values of the sector. At times, professionals will come across moral dilemmas and must make decisions that may go against people’s morals (views and beliefs of what is right and wrong).
Ethical Theories
Ethical theories provide guidance for professionals when they need making ethical decisions; there are a handful of theories that each focus on a unique aspect of constituting the decision, whether it be the outcome, intention or the professional’s own morals.
Principlism: Principlism is a theory that has writers by the names of James F. Childress and Tom L. Beauchamp; the aim of this theory is to merge other ethical ideologies together and try to match with most social, individual and religious belief systems. Within this system of ideas, there are four key ethical practices: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. Autonomy is when the professionals respect the decision-making capabilities of their clients by permitting them to make informed choices about their care independently. Beneficence is when professionals try to balance the benefits of a treatment or care plan against the risks and costs; this usually results in the patient receiving treatment that benefits them and promotes the well-being of others. Non-maleficence is ensuring that no harm is present, or caused, when providing care for a service user. Justice is adhering to codes of practice so that the law is unbroken, rights of the service users are unviolated and decisions are morally correct and fair.
Deontology: Writers on deontology include Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and W. D. Ross (1877-1971); deontology guides professionals in basing their decisions on their intentions. The theory says that the ethically accurate way of making a decision is by following their professional duties to help the individual in need; the outcomes or consequences of the care are not the focal point. Although this theory ensures service users acquire adequate care, it does not involve factors like cost and lack of resources which could prevent everyone receiving the same level of care.
Consequentialism: The theory of consequentialism has been around for centuries, with early writers like Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), and modern authors like Peter Singer (1946-present). Consequentialism focuses on the outcomes or consequences of an ethical decision, unlike deontology; the theory urges professionals to weigh up the results for the service user and the outcomes for other service users. For example, should the NHS support the treatment for a patient with a low survival rate or fund operations for hundreds of people that will survive with no doubt?
Virtue Ethics: Virtue ethics focus on the professional’s moral character; Plato and Aristotle are two primary philosophers for this theory. The theory states that professionals should make decisions based on their own morals and how they would treat patients and colleagues.
Strategies to Overcome Ethical Issues
Conflicts of Interest
Where vulnerable people are concerned, there is room for a conflict of interest; a conflict of interest is when an issue arises because the aims of two or more people are incompatible. To resolve the conflict of interest, care professionals will need to achieve an ethical solution. There are a number of questions which the professional should ask them: Do the risks outweigh the benefits? Do I possess all of the information to make a well-informed decision? Will my decision go against the policies of the service or the law? An example of a situation where the professional may encounter a conflict of interest is: a child is admitted to the hospital after breaking their arm at school during a game of football. When the parents arrive on the ward, it is apparent they have a history of substance abuse and look rather unpresentable but the child seems to be not at danger of harm— should the professional contact social services because there is a potential risk of harm if they are using drugs?
Balancing Services and Resources
Because of an ageing and growing population, there is a more considerable strain on the National Health Service (NHS) which can limit services and resources that are available to the communities. The limited funding cannot meet never-ending demand for services and resources throughout the country; this will continue to rise because of the ageing population. Groups of people, like hospital boards, must make complex ethical decisions as to where they should allocate financial support throughout each service— should funding be further prominent on paediatric departments or geriatric departments? The hospital board must decide whether children should get more funding since they have their whole lives ahead of them, or if the elderly should receive more funding since they have contributed more to society and the economy.
Minimising Risk when Promoting Individual Choice
Within social care services, there is a greater chance of conflict of interest between the service user and the organisation. An example of this is: a young adult with poor mental health has recently been discharged from a psychiatric unit, after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983. He insists that they are more than capable of living alone; however, the social worker assigned to the person believes they would receive better care in a support living facility. A risk assessment should be undertaken by the social worker to outline the possible hazards, of the individual having complete independence, on the service user and the people around them. The social worker has concluded that there is too much of a risk if the individual lives fully independently; a meeting is held with the person to attempt and negotiate their living conditions. The individual co-operates with their social worker and compromises to living in their own accommodation, but will have a weekly visit from the community psychiatric nurse; this ensures the individual is able to communicate with a professional if they are feeling they cannot cope.
Sharing Information and Managing Confidentiality
Maintaining confidentiality is crucial in health and social care services because it safeguards individual rights and prohibits them from sharing details without the service user’s knowledge or agreement. Professionals should never: discuss their service users with other people, talk about details about individuals outside of the care setting, share information in any format without the permission of the service user and leave patient records in easily accessible places. Confidentiality asks as a safeguarding technique if there is a highly vulnerable person receiving care from a service, distributing their information could put them at a higher risk of harm or abuse. However, maintaining confidentiality could potentially put individuals at threat if they are deemed at risk of harm or harming others.
Five Step Framework
The framework could be used to decide on an improvement project for the service, or if a service user pleads with you to euthanise them. Lawfully, it is illegal to help someone end their life but it is also morally wrong for many people to let someone suffer in tremendous pain. The step by step approach can be used to make an ethical decision:
Step 1: Recognise the issue and identify why you need to make a decision.
Step 2: Make an informed prediction of what each decision could result in.
Step 3: Decide on what you want to do and think about how you would feel if you made that decision.
Step 4: Think about your decision and decide if you could live with your choice.
Step 5: Evaluate your decision and see if you are able to explain, clearly, why you chose that action.
Although this framework helps professionals reach a decision, the process of executing the step by step guide could take up a substantial amount of time if the issue is particularly morally challenging.
DH Decision Support Tool
If an individual potentially requires additional support from a health service, an assessment will be carried out by a professional ending a screening tool called the NHS Continuing Healthcare Checklist. If the person is found to be eligible for extra support, a thorough assessment of their needs will be created using the Decision Support Tool. This is where a multi-disciplinary team input the individual’s needs against twelve care domains and then recommend services which can be provided for extra assistance.
Communication
Communication skills are vital for health and social care professionals because they allow them to form healthy relationships with their service users, so that they are able of knowing and meeting the needs of the individual. Additionally, professionals will be able to share information with relevant people through clear communication and report on the work that they do with service users.