Executive Summary
The report is about the importance of working in partnership in health and care. The importance of this issue has been explained very noticeably through the Mid Staffs Scandal. The report conveys understanding of collaborative working and good practice as well as makes relevant recommendations for improvement in health and nursing care. The case taken for review is THE MID STAFFORDSHIRE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST. The effectiveness of partnership in relation to Health and Social care is evaluated. Different models of partnership working across the health and social care sector are analysed. Then current legislation and organisational practices and policies for partnership working in health and social care have been reviewed. Moreover, how differences in working practices and policies affect collaborative working have been evaluated. The possible outcomes of partnership working for users of services, professionals and organisations are evaluated and the potential barriers to partnership working in health and social care services are also analysed.
Introduction
An estimated 400-1,200 patient died as a result of poor care over the 50 months between January 2005 and March 2009 at Stafford hospital, a small district general hospital in Staffordshire.
It is often described as the worst hospital care scandal of recent times. In 2009 Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the Healthcare Commission, the regulator of NHS care standards at the time, said it was the most shocking scandal he had investigated.
Francis's report that came out in February 2010 into care at Stafford hospital, based on evidence from over 900 patients and families, was scathing. .In his reports, He stated that there were people who entered Stafford hospita...
... middle of paper ...
...e user is different from being a service provider, there is always a need for being a service user and they will expect there service user to be adequate and academic in the fields of profession. On the other hand it is hard to define a service provider, for everybody’s needs have been categorised by their statement. Yet there is very little done on research and evaluation on the impact of service user participation the person with the long term condition should be central to all partnership working. Their expertise and knowledge about how their condition affects them physically, emotionally and socially will be a key focus in the planning and delivery of care to meet their needs. Where appropriate, and with the agreement of the person with a long term condition, partnership working should also involve carers. (Department of health, social service and public safety)
The Texas Medical Institute of Technology, through programs such as Chasing Zero, is bringing a public voice to the issue of healthcare harm. The documentary is a stirring example of the quality issues facing the healthcare system. In 2003, the NQF first introduced the 30 Safe Practices for Better Healthcare, which it hoped all hospitals would adopt (National Quality Forum, 2010). Today the list has grown to 34, yet the number of preventable healthcare harm events continues to rise. The lack of standardization and mandates which require the reporting of events contributes to the absence of meaningful improvement. Perhaps through initiatives such as those developed by TMIT and the vivid and arresting patient stories such as Chasing Zero, change will soon be at hand.
In the late 2000s the healthcare commission began an investigation into the Mid Staffordshire Hospital, England. Concerns come to light because of the hospitals unusually high mortality rates. When the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust failed to provide an adequate explanation, the Healthcare Commission began a full-scale investigation. Years of unsatisfactory investigation eventually led to a full public inquiry, led by Robert Francis in 2010.
For the case study one considered the overall working environment of the organisation, with a particular client situation to apply the case study arguments around. This client was experiencing a catastrophic reaction to an event. One applied an integrated person-centred approach which considered meeting their needs by listening to the issue, and working with the person, and their family, as well as care staff, Registered Nurses (RN’s) and the Director of Nursing (DON). In order to find a resolution and meet the client’s needs. As well as, adding to their care plan strategies to assist with future behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). This particular situation fit perfectly within the two questions of; does the organisation prevent me from providing person-centred care, and do we have formal team meetings to discuss residents’ care.
Long-term care (LTC) covers a wide range of clinical and social services for those who need assistance due to functional limitations. These limitations usually result from complications associated with age related chronic conditions, from disabilities related to birth defects, brain damage, or mental retardation in children; or from major illnesses or injuries suffered by adults (Shi L. & Singh D.A., 2011). LTC encompasses a variety of services including traditional clinical services, social services and housing. Unlike acute care, long-term care is much more complicated and has objectives that are much harder to measure. Acute care mainly focuses on returning patients to their previous functional level and is primarily provided by specialty providers. However, LTC mainly focuses on preventing the physical and mental deterioration of an individual and promoting social adjustments to suit the different stages of decline. In addition the providers of LTC are more diverse than those in acute care and is offered in both formal and informal settings, which include: hospitals, physicians, home care, adult day care, nursing home care, assisted living and even informal caregivers such as friends and family members. Long-term care services have been dominated by community based services, which include informal care (86%, about 10 to 11 million) and formal institutional care delivered in nursing facilities (14%, 1.6 million) (McCall, 2001). Of more than the 10 million Americans estimated to require LTC services, 58% are elderly and 42% are under the age of 65 (Shi L. & Singh D.A., 2011). The users of LTC are either frail elderly or disabled and because of the specific care needs of this population, the care varies based on an indiv...
Perspectives of workers or staff members- Workers who are providing the services to the service seekers or we can say the health service practitioners as well as professionals have the responsibility and liability to maintain the quality of the Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust. This can be done only when the staff of the home care is motivated enough to perform the practices efficiently. For this the monetary and non- monetary reward can provided to the employees of the home
The Open University (2010) K101 An introduction to health and social care, Unit 2, ‘Illness, Health and Care’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Health and social care professionals encounter a diverse amount of individuals who have different needs and preferences regarding their health. As professionals they must ensure that all services users, whether it is older people with dementia, an infant with physical disabilities or an adult with an eating disorder (National Minimum Data Set for Social Care, [no date]), are treated in a way that will successfully meet such needs. In fact, health and social care professionals have a ‘duty of care’ towards services users, as well as other workers, in which they must legally promote the wellbeing of individuals and protect them against harm, abuse and injury. (The Care Certificate Workbook Standard 3, [no date]) Duty of care is a legal requirement
The practice of using inter-professional teams in delivering care is not a new concept but current health policy requires professionals work within a multidisciplinary team Department of Health (2001) and entrenched in the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) Code. The principle focus of this essay is to discuss the importance of inter-professional collaboration in delivering effective health care and what challenges and constraints exist. The integration of a case study will give an insight into inter-professional collaboration in practice.
In saying 1.5 million Americans have witnessed hospital errors in the care of the medical center or even 40,000-100,000 deaths is a ridiculous amount of faults. Errors should be minimized, especially when dealing with people’s lives. The number of deaths is so high hospitals should take notice and really pinpoint where their facility is miscalculating and create in-service training to all employees and not just the ones that are making the errors but all employees. This will decrease the chances of errors made in the hospital. With continuous training every month there can be a huge change in the number of mistakes. The fact that these inaccuracies are even causing deaths really highlight the importance of the need for a change. Families
This essay will focus on one of these principles which support service users in having a voice and being heard. It will show why it is important for care workers to give services users the opportunity to have a voice and communicate their views and preferences together with the ability to convey their fears and concerns without being judged or discriminated against.
Collaboration is the foundation to success in any team. In the healthcare setting, interprofessional collaboration (IC) has been a significant trademark among numerous highly successful innovations. Collaboration between nurses and other healthcare providers improves the quality of care, coordination, and communication between the team leading to increased patient safety. Working in a team to achieve common goals implies open communication, respect for others, mutual trust, and honesty. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the meaning of interprofessional collaboration, its implications for practice, describe the role of IC in the provision of patient and family-centered care,
The open university (2008) K101 An introduction to health and social care, block 1, unit 2, Illness, health and care, pg. 84, Milton Keynes, The open university.
Davis, C; Finlay, L; & Bullman, A. (2000) ‘Changing Practice in Health and Social Care, London: Open University Press
A care worker has many responsibilities. For example, it is a care worker’s responsibility to treat each individual fairly and equally with care. This is because a care worker would have to help people who have difficulties doing everyday tasks like getting up out of bed, getting to different places around the home, getting dressed, using the facilities and on some occasions eating. Some clients in the home could have physical disabilities, learning disabilities or mental illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. A role that a care worker could have is spending quality time with the residents, talking to them and doing activities as a group. This will make the residents feel valued and cared for. Another role that a care worker could have would be to tend to a
“Is There Personal Responsibility In Healthcare?” Medical Malprocess. 4 March, 2009. Web.19 April, 2014. < http://thesystemmd.com/?p=230 >