Applying best practise Flashcards
What is best practise?
Best practice involves practitioners following the values of care in health, social care and childcare environments to ensure they provide high quality, personalised, safe and compassionate care that promotes equality, diversity and the rights of individuals
CASE STUDY:
Read the information below about Sunnyside Day Centre for older adults
The staff provide the same meal for all of the older adults attending the lunch club. They think it is important that everyone is treated the same. The staff make sure the food provided is soft or cut into small pieces. This is because older people struggle to chew because of wearing dentures and they suffer from arthritis making it difficult for them to cut up their food
Is this best practice? Justify your answer
This is not best practice because they are not valuing the diversity of the individuals and providing for the different needs of individuals. They are patronising them by cutting up their food which might make them feel embarrassed/incapable. No choice is being given for the individual service users. They are also stereotyping and making assumptions about them based on their age
Give examples of what would count as best practise for Sunnyside Day Centre for older adults
- Giving the service users a choice about what meal they eat
- Senior workers training carers in how to provide effective care and avoid discrimination or patronising behaviour
- Treating them with dignity and respect by using their preferred form of address, asking them if they would like their food cut up rather than doing it for them
- Not judging the residents bout their beliefs and views and avoiding stereotypes about their needs and capabilities
- Effective communication by speaking to the residents about what their dietary/other needs are
What are the key aspects of best practise?
- Being non-judgmental
- Respecting the views, choices and decisions of individuals who require care and support
- Person-centred care
- Following anti-discriminatory practices
- Valuing diversity
- Using effective communication
- Following agreed ways of working
- Providing training and development opportunities for staff
- Mentoring, monitoring and performance management
- Attending regular staff meetings to discuss issues or practices
What does being non-judgemental mean?
Respecting a person’s feelings, experiences and values, even though they may be different from your own (avoiding prejudice or criticising individuals)
What does professional development mean?
The process of improving and increasing the skills and capabilities of staff (e.g. through regular training)
What does monitoring mean?
Measuring and checking that staff are providing appropriate care. This could be through observations, inspections, collecting feedback from service users or staff, etc.
What does mentoring mean?
The process by which more senior members of staff provide feedback and advice to less experienced care workers in order to help them improve the care provided
What does performance management mean?
An ongoing process between a care worker and their supervisor involving meetings and observations over time to provide feedback on their performance (and quality of care provided), and setting targets for further improvement
What does agreed ways of working mean?
This means ensuring that all staff members understand how they should work, and follow the policies and procedures which are in place to ensure the best quality care is provided
What are the benefits of valuing equality, diversity and rights for service users and care providers?
Benefits for the service user:
- Helps ensure service users feel respected by staff and their needs are met
- Makes them feel like they have some control over the care they receive (empowerment)
- Prevents service users from experiencing bullying and discrimination so they can develop their self-esteem and confidence
- Service users will know how to raise a complaint if there is an issue with their care and will feel they will be supported
- They will develop trust in the service provider/practitioners leading to more positive relationships
Benefits for the staff/service provider:
- Helps to protect them from complaints of discrimination
- Protects them from experiencing discrimination themselves from colleagues or service users
- Trust built ensures effective communication takes place
- Makes sure the staff feel safe in the workplace and respected by colleagues
- The staff have a system of redress if they experience any discrimination
- Means they can carry out their role effectively