Brief Principles of Health

and Social Practice

dell

14

Table of Contents
1.

2.

Task 1 ................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1.

Principles of Support in Health Care........................................................................... 1

1.2.

Procedures in Care Home for Protecting Clients and Colleagues from Harm ............ 1

1.3.

Benefit of Following a Person-Centred Approach ...................................................... 2

1.4.

Ethical Dilemmas and Conflicts in Social Care Services ........................................... 2

Task 2 ................................................................................................................................. 4
2.1.

Implementation of Policies, Legislation, Regulations and Codes of Practice ABC

Care Home ............................................................................................................................. 4

2.2.

Development of Policies and Procedures in ABC Care Home in Accordance with

National Policy Requirements ............................................................................................... 4

2.2.1.

Document Control ................................................................................................ 4

2.2.2.

Work Load ........................................................................................................... 5

2.2.3.

Audit .................................................................................................................... 5

2.2.4.

Care Pathways ...................................................................................................... 5

2.3.

Impact of Policy, Legislation, Regulation, and Codes of Practice on Policies and

Practices of ABC Care Home ................................................................................................ 5

3.

Task 3. ................................................................................................................................ 7
3.1.

Theories Underpinning Work as Care Worker in ABC Care Home ........................... 7

3.1.1.

Attachment Theory .............................................................................................. 7

3.1.2.

Attribution Theory ............................................................................................... 7

3.1.3.

Empowerment Theory ......................................................................................... 7

3.2.

Impact of Social Processes on Service Users in ABC Care Home ............................. 7

3.3.

Effectiveness of Inter-Professional Working for Your service Users in ABC Care

Home.. .......................................................................................................................... ..........8

4.

Task 4 ................................................................................................................................. 9
4.1.

Role, Responsibilities, Accountabilities and Duties of Manager in ABC Care Home9

4.2.

Managers Contribution to the Development and Implementation of Organisational

Policy ABC Care Home ....................................................................................................... 10

4.3.

Recommendations to Develop Own Contributions to Meeting Good Practice

Requirements in ABC Care Home in the Future ................................................................. 10

References ................................................................................................................................ 12

1. Task 1
1.1.

Principles of Support in Health Care

I will follow following core principle for supporting the health care in health care units while
dealing with users of services.
i. I will respect the privacy and dignity of the users of services. Their information will
be kept confidential and will not be unnecessarily share with anyone.
ii. The self-esteem of all individuals will be maintained up to the highest possible
standards.
iii. I will recognise the fact that every individual has different needs. As the individual
from diverse ethnic groups are visiting the health care unit. Therefore, it is imperative
to understand this diversity and diverse needs of all individuals must be understood.
iv. I will give a due consideration to the prescriptions of the doctors and help the users to
understand the advice of the doctors.
v. I will remain patient even under adverse circumstances.

1.2.

Procedures in Care Home for Protecting Clients and Colleagues from

Harm

Most of the people who are visiting ABC Care Home are vulnerable. These people are often
abused in several ways. Some of the cases are treated as high profile cases of abuse in which
people are tortured, starved or sexually assaulted. Some other case psychologically abused
like bullying, exploitation or abused in financial terms by family members. First, of all the
consent of these vulnerable people for the treatment must be taken. A forced treatment with
the use of coercion may not be useful and it may give birth to serious types of complications
for the Care home and its members. Some of the principals are given below that I will be
following while working in ABC Care Home.
i.

I will evaluate the factors that caused the vulnerability of the visiting patients and
impact of these factors on user of services and my colleagues.

ii.

The guidelines of the employer in risky situation will be strictly followed to avoid any
harm to users, myself and my colleagues.

iii.

I will actively collaborate with my colleagues and management before taking a

decision.
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iv.

I will make it sure that my own actions and behaviour do not exacerbate vulnerability
of the situation.

v.

I will try to develop relationship with patients and family carers in order to make them
feel at an ease while raising their concerns about the possible dangers and harms.

vi.

I will be raising my concerns and objection on the policies for which I feel that they
can be harmful.

vii.

I will strictly maintain the confidentiality of the users.

viii.

Any major changes in clients health will be communication to the management.

1.3.

Benefit of Following a Person-Centred Approach

A person-centred approach focuses on the needs, wants, and desires of an individual. The
individuals are central to the caring process. This approach stipulates that the needs defined
by the individuals should be given priority as compared to those described the healthcare
professionals. There are several the benefits associated with this approach. Some of them are
explained below (Price, 2006).
i.

An individual relationship is established between the care workers and user of

services.

ii.

The individuals become more responsive by the virtue of this approach.

iii.

A meaningful care is provided to the users.

iv.

The value of an individual are respected.

v.

Trust is fostered in care giving relationship between the service provider and service
user.

vi.

The freedom of choice is given to the user of services.

vii.

This approach provides physical and emotional comfort to the individuals seeking the
services.

viii.

The family and friends of the users are actively engaged.

1.4.

Ethical Dilemmas and Conflicts in Social Care Services

Ethical dilemmas come to the surface when a problem cannot be solved in a way that satisfies
all the stakeholders. It may also arise in a situation where one has to chose among various
equally unsatisfactory alternatives e.g. as in case of Mrs. M. The ethical dilemmas are quite
common in health and social care services, especially dealing with elderly clients. Most of the
times, elder individuals lose the ability of decision making. They are unable to comprehend

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the situation and respond accordingly. This situation is quite visible in case of Mrs. M.
Despite the doctors have made recommendations of quitting smoking and drinking, but she
cant understand the criticality of the situation. However, ethically she cannot be coerced to
do so. Elder people cannot be forced for the treatment. Their consent for the treatment is very
important. The potential benefits of a treatment may not be as much visible for an old person
as in the case of a young patient. However, it is the right of the old people and their family
members to give a try to the treatment. Sometimes, after starting the treatment the
discontinuation can also be decided by the patient or his/her family members. Ethically, there
is no difference between initiating a treatment and discontinuing a treatment. An individual
has the right to make the decision about his/her body. Currently, it is evident that Mrs. M has
rejected the advices of the doctors. Now doctors are giving stronger painkiller to her because
of its side effects, but low dose pain killers are not effective. Keeping in view the pain felt by
Mrs. M, it is advisable that the medicine should be changed and if she feels relieved by the
usage of this medicine, it may be continued for a temporary time period. Keeping in view her
age, it is more important to relive her from the pain. The doctor should give a try to resolve
the currently conflicting situation. A conflict may arise with the family members as well. It is
the responsibility of the staff of social care to provide counselling to family members and
patient if any conflict regarding treatment comes to the surface.

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2. Task 2
2.1.

Implementation of Policies, Legislation, Regulations and Codes of

Practice ABC Care Home

There are certain policies and codes that are required to be followed in ABC Care Home to
ensure the quality service delivery to the users. The employer has some responsibilities in this
regard. The employer should make sure that people are well aware of their responsibilities.
The written policies and procedures should be provided to employees. The suitability of each
employee for the assigned job must be evaluated. The workers should be enabled to meet the
requirements of the code of practices for social care workers introduced by the General Social
Care Council (GSCC). These employees must be trained periodically in order to develop their
skills. The active collaboration should be made with GSCC and the codes introduced by
GSCC should be promoted within ABC Care Home (FASSIT, 2014).
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 also governs the practices being performed in care
houses. This act lays down the legal framework for these organizations. The ABC Care Home
is required to make itself registered for all the requirements for cleanliness and infection
control. The compliance with the requirements of this act is mandatory under the legal
framework. The guidance should be provided to the staff for these requirements in order to
ensure the compliance with the legal requirements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) of
England monitor the compliance of various Care Homes with the requirements laid down in
the act referred above.

2.2.

Development of Policies and Procedures in ABC Care Home in

Accordance with National Policy Requirements

There are certain requirements that must be fulfilled while devising the policies and
procedures in ABC Care Home. The management should consult with the legislator bodies
and other care homes to ensure the compliance with the national standards. The national
policy for health care in UK addressed many key areas. The management of ABC Care Home
can give a thorough consideration to these areas while devising its policies and practices.
2.2.1. Document Control
Before devising any policy, the documentation is very important. There are certain rules that
should be followed while preparing the documentation.
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i. All documents must have a header showing the draft numbers.

ii. The amendments should be shown in red format until not approved.
iii. Each document should have a suitable title and data of preparation and approval.
iv. All staff members must have a copy of the written policies.
2.2.2. Work Load
The ABC Care Home should devise the policies to manage the work load. The prioritization
of different task should be defined first for managing the work load. The National Minimum
Standards, NICE Guidance, should be followed in this regard. The management of ABC Care
Home can work closely with local Supportive and Palliative Care Network. They can consult
with the experts of infection control and child protection. Keeping in view the types of users
of services of ABC Care Home, experts of dealing with different ethnic groups and
representative of these ethnic groups can also be consulted to avoid any possible biases.
2.2.3. Audit
The audit can be used to ensure the compliance of the employees with the defined guidelines.
It will help to evaluate if all the practices are being followed in their true letters and spirits
and any shortfalls can be identified and rectified.
2.2.4. Care Pathways
The clinical procedures can be implemented in an effective manner through development of
care pathways. This pathway will help the staff to meet the requirements of various
procedures. The staff must be included in the development of the documents related to care
pathways.

2.3.

Impact of Policy, Legislation, Regulation, and Codes of Practice on

Policies and Practices of ABC Care Home

There are many advantages associated with following the codes and practices governed by
the legal framework as explained earlier. The legal framework acts as a guideline to develop
the practices and implementing the same. Without devising the policies and procedures, the
employee will be following self perceived practices which may give birth to many
complications and justification about the compliance with the law cannot be provided. All the
rules should be documented. This documentation will help the staff of ABC Care Home to
understand that what is expected of them. It will help the staff to develop a mechanism of
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self-assessment and they evaluate their performance in the light of the guidelines provided in
the policy document. The fear of inspection will keep the employees on track and a high level
of commitment will be visible. However, sometimes legal framework may give birth to some
ethical dilemmas. For example, the people who use to visit ABC Care Home are vulnerable
in most of the cases. Some cases require reporting to the concerned authorities but the
effected one is not ready to report this and he/she cannot be coerced. Moreover, some cases
should not be reported under the ethical considerations e.g. sexually assaulted.

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3. Task 3
3.1.

Theories Underpinning Work as Care Worker in ABC Care Home

The theories that underpin my work as a care worker in ABC Care Home are described
below:
3.1.1. Attachment Theory
This theory describes the enduring patterns of relationships with people from their birth to
death. This theory advocates for a long relationship and a constant attachment with people.
This theory stipulates to remain attached with people to understand their behaviours, needs
and expectations. Being a care worker this theory helps out to establish a relationship with
people to make them more comfortable (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991).
3.1.2. Attribution Theory
This theory is deals with the way in which people understand and interpret various events. It
relates this interpretation to their behaviour. This theory works on the assumption that people
try to evaluate the factors behind certain actions performed by other people. Simply this
theory has the prime assumption that attributes of an individual causes his/her actions
(Weiner, 1974). Care workers also tend to evaluate the factor behind the certain behaviour of
the people while providing their services.
3.1.3. Empowerment Theory
This theory is related to radical and Marxist theories. The social and care workers are
required to focus on the realities of powerlessness. This will help them to practice
empowerment. They must address the power issues during their relationships with the service
users. The workers should direct their efforts towards eradicating all the obstacles that restrict
the control of service users on their lives (Adams, 1996).

3.2.

Impact of Social Processes on Service Users in ABC Care Home

Social processes can be broadly classified into two distinct categories i.e. conjunctive social
processes and disjunctive social processes. The conjunctive social processes promote
accommodation for each other, cooperation and collaboration. Disjunctive social processes
hinder the growth of the society and give birth to conflicts and competitions. Keeping in view
the nature of services provided by ABC Care Home i.e. providing service to vulnerable from
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different ethnic groups, conjunctive processes are important. These processes will improve
the overall quality of the services provided to the users. These processes will help to avoid
any possible biases. Otherwise, disjunctive processes may lead to large scale conflicts
because of the diversity of users.

3.3.

Effectiveness of Inter-Professional Working for Your service Users in

ABC Care Home

The care workers are meant to perform multidisciplinary work in ABC Care Home. The
collaboration among all the employees including doctors, nurses and care workers is
necessary for effective delivery of the quality services to users. The societal demographic
characteristics stipulate to increase the focus on inter-professional working. This interprofessional working will increase the generation of innovative ideas. In case of retirement of
a doctor the new doctor will be informed about the needs and progress of patients because of
this inter-professional working as all employees will be aware of the progress. This interprofessional working also speeds up the decision making process and commitment of all
workers is likely to increase because of the active involvement (Grumbach & Bodenheimer,
2004).

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4. Task 4
4.1.

Role, Responsibilities, Accountabilities and Duties of Manager in

ABC Care Home

The report of CQC shows a very alarming situation and prompt remedial actions are required
to be taken in order to address the failing mentioned by the report of CQC. As a manager, I
have following important responsibilities to address the failings highlighted by CQC.
i.

The communication mechanism within the organization is required to be improved.

ii.

The collaboration among the staff is required to be improved.

iii.

I will hire administrative assistants who will direct the activities of the nursing staff
and monitor all the activities.

iv.

I will assess the fitness of all individuals for their assigned jobs and make necessary
adjustments.

v.

New staff will be hired after a thorough screening process.

vi.

The training programmes will be designed for the existing staff to update and develop
their skills and knowledge.

vii.

A dedicated administrative assistant will be appointed to handle communication with

legislator bodies. It will help to resolve the conflicts with the legislator authorities
including CQC.

viii.

A committee will be formulated who will review the cases of abuses and appropriate
actions will be taken against the employees involved in abusing.

ix.

The individual needs of people will be assessed before providing services to them.

x.

I will personally monitor all the activities on daily basis and receive the feedback
from patients and their family members.

xi.

A separate department will be developed for the persons with learning disabilities.

xii.

The risk exposure of patients will be assessed periodically and appropriate actions
will be taken.

These steps are likely to address many of the failings highlighted by CQC.

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4.2.

Managers Contribution to the Development and Implementation of

Organisational Policy ABC Care Home

Being the manger of ABC Care Home, I have the responsibility to contribute actively in the
policy development. On the basis of my review, I have reported all the factors that are giving
rise to the failings identified by CQC. I have highlighted to the management that what are the
disparities existing in accessing health care services among various racial and ethnic
minorities. The highlighting of the factors behind these disparities will help the management
to control them. The controlling of these factors will remove these disparities. I have
informed the management that some of the staff members do not have the requisite
knowledge and skills for performing their duties. These employees should be either trained or
skilled staff should be hired in place of them. Because of the diversity of users of services,
some staff members are showing racism. These employees need counselling. The
management should make it part of the policy that racist behaviour of employee will not be
tolerated and disciplinary actions should be advised against such employees. This will reduce
the abusing behaviour of employees. It should also be part of the policy that every incident
should be reported to CQC within 24 hours. The dedicated administrative assistant should be
responsible for any delay and appropriate inquiry should be undertaken. The policy should be
communicated to all staff members in written form.

4.3.

Recommendations to Develop Own Contributions to Meeting Good

Practice Requirements in ABC Care Home in the Future

The contribution of a manager in policy formulation is quite vital. However, for an active
contribution of the manager, I would like to make following contribution.
i.

The manager should monitor all the activities by himself.

ii.

A daily visit to all sections and departments should be made.

iii.

The communication with patients and their family members should be increased.

iv.

The queries of the patients and their family members should be properly addressed.

v.

Administrative assistant should be monitored continuously.

vi.

The problems should be discussed with all staff members including administrative
and nursing staff. The suggestions of the staff should be noted down.

vii.

The performance of the employees should be monitored in the light of policy

guidelines.
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viii.

The disparities in access to healthcare services should be identified and evaluated.

ix.

The events should not be monitored in terms of their frequency only but also in terms
of severity.

x.

The communication written form should be promoted to keep the records.

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References

Adams, R., 1996. Social Work and Empowerment. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Bartholomew, K. & Horowitz, L.M., 1991. Attachment styles among young adults: a
test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2),
pp.226-44.

CPA,

2014.

Principles

of

good

practice.

[Online]

Available

at:

http://www.cpa.org.uk/bhl/bhl02.html [Accessed 10 February 2014].

FASSIT, 2014. Code of Practice for Social Care Workers. [Online] Available at:
http://www.fassit.co.uk/social_care_code.htm [Accessed 12 February 2014].

Grumbach, K. & Bodenheimer, T., 2004. Can health care teams improve primary
health care practice? Journal of the American Medical Association, 291(10), pp.124651.

Price, B., 2006. Exploring person-centred care. Nursing Standard, 20(50), pp.49-56.

Weiner, B., 1974. Achievement motivation and attribution theory. Morristown, N.J:
General Learning Press.

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