Specific responsibilities of people who work in health and social care settings Flashcards
What is the care value base?
The care value base was established by the Care Sector Consortium in 1992. They set out the codes of practice of all health and care professionals.
What 5 rules in the care value base ensure that policies and procedures are followed by service providers?
- promoting anti-discriminatory practice to ensure that care services meet the needs of all people regardless of their religion, culture, ethnic background, disability or other personal differences
- empowering individuals, enabling them to take control of their lives and the decisions that relate to their treatment and care
- ensuring the safety of staff, and of the people for whom they care
- maintaining confidentiality and privacy
- promoting good communication between carers, and between carers and their clients.
Define “code of practice”
standards of behaviour and professional practice required of health and care practitioners, set and monitored by professional bodies such as the GMC, NMC or the HCPC.
What is the GMC?
The General Medical Council - sets and monitors standards of behaviour for doctors
What is the NMC?
The Nursing and Midwifery Council - sets and monitors standards of behaviour for nurses and midwives
What is the HCPC?
Health and Care Professionals Council - recently formed and sets out and monitors standards of behaviour for social workers and a range of other health professions, such as paramedic and physiotherapist etc.
What legislation exists to ensure vulnerable groups of people aren’t discriminated against?
The Equality Act 2010
The Human Rights Act 1998
What does the The Equality Act 2010 do?
Prevents discrimination on the grounds of:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnerships
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
What does the Human Rights Act 1998 do?
The Act guarantees rights to people cared for by ‘public authorities’ to be treated equally, with fairness, dignity and respect. Public authorities, or organisations, include hospitals, GP practices, social service departments, schools and colleges and many care and nursing homes.
What does the The Human Rights Act 1998 guarantee?
Guarantees an individual the right to:
- access to education
- freedom of expression
- freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- freedom from slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour
- liberty and security of person
- respect for a private and family life, home and correspondence
- freedom of thought, conscience and religion
- peaceful enjoyment of possessions and protection of property
What must health and care workers do to promote anti-discriminatory practice?
- Address their own prejudices and adapt their behaviour to meet the clients’ needs regardless of their background
- actively challenge both intentional and unintentional discrimination against clients and patients
- ensure the setting is a welcoming and accessible environment for all
- compensate for the negative effects of discrimination in society
- celebrate the contribution that a wide and diverse range of people can bring to the setting and society
- understand and meet the individual needs of ALL service users
How can adaptations be made to meet individual needs?
- to ensure wheelchair users have full access to and movement within the setting, ramps may be needed, doors widened, toilet faciliries adapted and
kitchens and dining rooms arranged to allow for easy movement - if a service user has a hearing impairment, written and visual communication may be necessary, quiet areas available for important conversations
and meetings and a signer or interpreter should be employed ti ensure communication is clear - in a multicultural setting, dietary requirements will need to be met and religious and cultural festivals respected and observed
In what ways can service providers empower service users?
- putting the individual at the heart of service provision and promoting individualised
care - promoting and supporting individuals’ rights to dignity and independence
- providing active support consistent with beliefs, cultures and preferences of health and social care service users
- supporting individuals who need health and social care services to express their needs and preferences
- promoting the rights, choices and wellbeing of individuals who use health and social care services
- balancing individual rights to health and social care services with the rights of other service users and staff
- dealing with conflict in specific health and social care settings, to include GP surgeries, hospital wards, residential care homes for the elderly, residential care
homes for vulnerable children and young adults, and domiciliary care settings.
What is empowerment?
supporting people to take control of their lives and futures by taking a full part in discussions and decisions about their care and treatment.
Why is empowerment so important?
- If service users are empowered, they will be fully involved in discussion about and planning of their care, and they will fully understand the options open to them. It will ensure individualised care, with the service user at the heart of the service.
- Their needs and preferences will be known and respectfully considered. As their rights to dignity and dependence are promoted, their self-esteem will be boosted.
- If a person’s cultural differences are ignored, they won’t feel respected. This means they won’t feel empowered so won’t contribute to the planning of their care.
- Not all service users will have the confidence or personal skills to participate fully in their care. They may need specific support e.g. translator, interpreter, signer, advocate. Translators + interpreters are essential for ensuring good communication. Signers play a key role in ensuring that people with hearing impairments can fully participate to communicate their care needs + preferences. Advocates and family and friends can often play a key role in ensuring that the service user’s needs are understood and met.
How can the beliefs, cultures and preferences of service users present challenges for care providers?
- if service users speak little or no English, information will need to be presented in a range of languages, translators may be necessary and support may need to be given to access English lessons
- there may be a need to provide a wide range of foods for people with different religious requirements, for example Jews and Muslims do not eat pork, Hindus and Sikhs do not eat beef and many Buddhists are vegetarian
- religious observances may need to be considered, for example Muslims will need a prayer room and opportunity to pray up to five times a day, Roman Catholics may want to attend Mass on Sundays and other holy days, Jews may want to attend the synagogue on Saturdays.
Give examples of conflicts in health care settings/services
There may be a conflict between:
- the equally valid preferences of one service user and that of another – for example conflicts arising from the choice of music or other leisure-time activities in the sitting room
- the client’s right to choice and protecting their personal safety – for example a person suffering from dementia may wish to live independently in their own home but if they are not able to use the cooker and the oven safely, this may pose fire risks and other dangers to themselves and others
- the different rights that service users have – for example the right to confidentiality and the right to protection from harm, if a service user discloses incidents of sexual or physical abuse
- the respect for the cultural or religious values of a service user and promoting their health and wellbeing – for example Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in blood transfusions, and a blood transfusion may be essential for their own or their children’s survival.
What do care practitioners need to do when dealing with conflict?
- Never resort to aggressive behaviour
- Listen carefully
- stay calm
- try to see both sides of the argument or issue
- make sure that you know where the doors or other exit points are
- remove anything that could be used as a weapon
- allow the aggressor personal space, do not stand too close to them
- summon help as soon as possible, by using a panic alarm, shouting for help or by phoning the police or security.
How can people who work in health and social care ensure safety for individuals and staff?
- use of risk assessments
- safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse
- illness prevention measures, to include clean toilets, hand-washing facilities, safe drinking water
- control of substances harmful to health
- use of protective equipment and infection control
- reporting and recording accidents and incidents
- complaints procedures
- provision of first-aid facilities
What must employers do to maintain a safe working environment for all?
- ensure that the organisation has a robust health and safety policy and that there is someone with official responsibility for health and safety at the setting
- undertake a risk assessment to identify the risks and hazards at the workplace, and take action to reduce the likeliness of harm or injury
- provide up-to-date information on health and safety issues
- provide health and safety equipment to carry out all procedures and treatments
- provide health and safety training
- keep a record of all accidents and incidents.
What is a risk assessment?
identifying and evaluating the possible consequences of hazards and the level of risk that the hazard will cause harm. When employers carry out risk assessments, they examine all the procedures and activities that take place in their organisation and assess the level of risk involved.
Explain how a risk assessment would be carried out in a care home
In a care home, for example this will range from risks associated with routine care procedures to organising social events and taking service users on outings. The responsibility for carrying out the risk assessment will often be delegated to a senior member of staff or a supervisor, for example a senior care assistant in a residential
home may have responsibility for assessing the risks associated with the bathing of a new resident. It is the responsibility of the care home manager to ensure that the senior care assistant
has had the training to carry out this task.
What should you do if a child or vulnerable adult shares information that raises concerns about their personal safety / abuse?
Follow the setting’s safeguarding policies.
- Listen carefully to the service user and avoid asking them questions, let them tell you in their own way and words.
- Explain to the service user that the information must be shared with someone more senior.
- All care settings will have a designated safeguarding officer who will take over responsibility for investigating the claim or accusation.
- The safeguarding officer will ask you to provide a written record of what you have been told.
How can service users, staff and volunteers be protected from infection?
Following policies and procedures at your setting to minimise infections, such as:
- Washing your hands before you start work and before you leave work, before eating, after using the toilet and after coughing or sneezing and before and after you carry out any personal care, particularly if this involves contact with body fluids, clinical waste or dirty linen.
- Safe handling and disposal of sharp articles such as needles and syringes to avoid needle-stick injuries and to ensure that infection is not passed on through viruses carried in the blood or bacteria.
- Keeping all soiled linen in the designated laundry bags, or bin, and not leaving it on the floor. When handling soiled laundry a protective apron and gloves should be worn. Hands must be thoroughly washed after handling soiled linen. Separate trolleys should be used for soiled and clean laundry to avoid cross-contamination and the spread of disease.
- Wearing protective disposable gloves and aprons when you have contact with body fluids, or when you are caring for someone with open wounds, rashes or pressure ulcers, for example.
- Cleaning all equipment according to the agreed procedures of your setting.
- Wearing protective clothing for any activities that involve close personal care or contact with body fluids.