ASS0721 Health And Social Care | The Concepts of Self-Care

Title:

Demonstrate how health and social care workers apply relevant legislation to safeguarding issues in practice.

Written assignment on care home of the health and social care services that the Care Quality Commission regulate.

Introduction

The concepts of self-care, enablement, and self-management are important in the delivery of effective and safe healthcare practice by the social and health care workers. Effective communication is essential in health and social care since it influences working with service users and teams. It is a professional obligation of every individual to safeguard the human rights, health, and well-being of people regardless of his or her role or level. The essay will focus on some of the common illnesses that are related to frailty and long-term conditions including their impacts on the Activities of Daily Living.

The essay will provide a discussion of the principles and values in health and social care practice and their benefits to individuals and their families. The paper will explain the models of care and the role of social/healthcare workers with regards to service delivery. The essay will appraise the principles of positive health interventions related to self-management, self-care, and enablement. Lastly, the essay will explain the links between legislation in relation to the accountability of practice including its impacts on the protection and safeguarding in social and health care.

Common and familiar disease conditions related to prolonged ill health conditions in the frail people and results on daily activities of patients.

The most familiar and frequent illnesses which are associated with prolonged and long-lasting poor health and frailty include dementia, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and people with multiple long-term conditions. The word frailty is mostly misused to explain a range of disease conditions in elderly individuals, which include impairment of the cognitive abilities and their general debility among others (Oven et al., 2012, pp.16-24). In contrast to that, becoming old is not a cause of frailty and neither disability does, such as amputation in the physically healthy elderly individuals. However, a general agreement is growing among professionals that frailty exists as syndrome on its own, and it occurs majorly in a subset of older persons. These individuals can be regarded as the most vulnerable and at high danger of being hospitalized, low life expectancy, and high dependency to those who are around them (Panza et al., 2015, pp.389-412).

As a result, these negative effects of health lea

It remains a well and long-established clinical explanation that recommends concern over the elderly people’s prognosis and vulnerability. This shows that an insult like a new drug, little infection or just a minor surgery may result into a disproportionate and dramatic change in the elderly state of health: from mobile to immobile, independent to dependent, lucid to delirious, and from postural stability to falling. The oscillations of dependency usually observed in frail individuals can be termed as unstable disability which reflects the obvious changes in the functionality which are neither strange to the clinicians working with elderly people (Cameron, Lart, Bostock, and Coomber, 2014. pp. 225-233).

 Frailty and other long-term disease conditions have negative impacts on their activities of daily living, such that falls subject them to fear of navigating through some environments. They are also associated with infliction of psychological fear of falling further leading to the development of severe immobility. Fluctuating disability results into day to day un-functionality of patients to fully become dependent hence requiring close healthcare provision and monitoring. Delirium results into confusion and reduced awareness, associated with a reduction in the integrity of brain and function (Hasson, Blomberg, and Duner, 2012, pp.23).

Discussion on the principles and values found in health and social care system and their merits on both families and individuals.

There are utilities which lie at the center of work in health and social care which act as the guiding principles to the workers for them to understand the do’s and don’ts as well as what is more crucial when providing support and care to their clients. Six of them are now recognized and applies to health and social workers. They comprise the 6Cs’ namely; compassion, care, courage, communication, commitment, and competence (Bower et al., 2012. pp.7)

 Care involves the virtue of having somebody’s best interest within the heart and doing whatever it would cost to promote and uphold their quality of life and wellbeing, while compassion is the ability to put oneself into another person’s shoes and be able to experience what they feel and understand their situation of life. The ability to perceive someone’s need and having the skills and knowledge to avail it is referred to as competence (Clark and Weale, 2012. pp.293-316). Careful listening and attention and the capability act and speak in ways well understood by the person involves adequate communication as courage describes fearlessness to make trial of unfamiliar stuff or express oneself if a concern arises about anything. Commitment is a value of showing dedication to support and provision of health and social care with well understanding of the responsibility of oneself as a health worker.

It is critical to offer support to individuals in the planning of their tomorrow’s general wellbeing and accomplishment in order to upgrade their quality of life, even if it only involves short-term care. The wellbeing of an individual relates to several areas which includes dignity of persons; emotional, physical, and mental health; abuse and discrimination protection; involvement in work, training, education, and recreation; socio-economic wellbeing, personal, family, and domestic relationships; suitable living standards; and the person’s contribution to his or her society (Makai et al., 2014, pp.83-93).The key values which must be pursued in health and social care service provision include autonomy, empowerment, inclusion in social activities, paying respect for diversity, citizenship, protection, and care for vulnerable groups in the community we live.

Explanation of care models and the responsibility of social and health care worker in association with provision of services.

 Care models widely explain the modes in which healthcare services are made available. Ownership of well-articulated care models ensures that every health worker has the same view of the broad picture, working for common set goal achievement, and the ability to assess performance on general agreed backgrounds and foundations (Millar, and Hall, 2013, pp.923-941). There are various models of care present in literature. They comprise of care availed across the field of health settings which include medical coordination, allied health, nursing, bereavement, and volunteer services from both generalist and specialist providers in hospitals and primary care. The models of care have components and systems with involved designs and implementation (Marmot, Allen, Bell, Bloomer, and Goldblatt, 2012, pp.1011-1029).

The individual model is a group of integrated care models that deal with the coordination of personal care for patients at increased risk or those with more than one disease conditions together with their caregivers. These models target to promote delivery and promotion of health care to who, where and when it’s appropriate, and to outdo division among the health and social care providers. The regulation of care for such patients goes beyond just once a time of care, and where cooperation among different providers is much needed. It also embraces the integration concept across the course of life. Among the integration, models include the case-management model, individual care plan models, patient-centered care, and the chronic care model (Ventola, 2014, pp.491).

Case management is a process of collaboration that encompasses the exchange of information and enabling care alongside a continuous effective coordination of resources. The target goals of this model are namely; achieving optimal health, appropriate use of resources and ease of access to health care, and balance with the rights of the patient to self-determination (Sorensen et al., 2012, pp.80). The principle of case management is to ensure coordinated patient care by allocating a case manager, whose role is designated to case managers with certificates who may or may not have medical know-how and also advanced primary care nurses or other health professionals.

 The important parts of case management include; definition and selection of pointed persons whose case management is most fitting, adjusting patients plans of care, individual assessment and plan of care, time to time patient monitoring. There is clear evidence that that case management reduces hospital admissions and re-admission as at the same time promoting the satisfaction of patients (Sorensen et al., 2012, pp.80).

Planning of care is also an approach to care integration for patients with multiple illnesses and long-term conditions. It aims to provide more specialized and personalized care which brings about shared plans of care mapping processes of care, it clearly articulates the duty of every provider and the clients in the process of care, as well as maintain prospective and retrospective information concerning care for certain patients. The care plans remain as reference points for any health service provider who is involved in an individual’s care. The healthcare coordinators assess the patients’ needs, formulate plans of care and regulate the delivery of multidisciplinary care. The success of the plans of care extending to the interface of health and social sectors depend more on the power of influential that is given to the care coordinators. Health care plan designing should be well considered to make sure that the intended outcomes are achieved (Steventon et al., 2013, pp.501-508).

Another model is the patient centered medical home which is aimed at bringing appropriate changes to the organization and provision of primary care to clients at their homes. It was formed due to people lacking access to primary care, challenges of getting through with divided systems of care and the unaffordable care costs to patients and their families (Van der Eijk et al, 2013,pp.45). It is spearheaded by some of the primary care agencies with its principles widely tested by a large number of consumers and organizations. It is a group practice which is directed by professional physicians and that is able to avail easily accessible, comprehensive, continuous and well-coordinated primary health care in the family as well as the community.

Appraisal of the principles of positive interventions of health associated with self-care, self- management and enablement

It would only take a few health professionals to stage a move for a change or changes of lifestyle. The biggest challenge for health officers is the issue of changing behavior and how this would be effected. Staging a change of self-care behavior for their patients, and not only their patients but every patient is very important just not only to prevent health problems in future including heart and lung diseases but also in mediating the etiology of long-term health challenges. The government's health policy in action is promoting self-centered care and rising trials to prevent what is preventable (Bravo et al., 2015.pp .252).

There are numerous reasons why self-care matters a lot to all the stakeholders in the health sector including the government and the health professionals. Long terms disease conditions impact on uncountable people which account for a big number of general practice consultations. Thus, it is widely recognized that self-care centered to the patient is a major determinant of the health effects of these patients (McAllister, Dunn, Payne, Davies, and Todd, 2012, pp.157). The modes in which patients have to come up with disease conditions regarding emotional and stress end results is a very paramount aspect of the wellbeing of the patient. Thus, the effects of the patient’s quality of life and the prevailing costs to the community and society of poor patient self-care are very significant.

Patient-based and centered self-care contributes to positive health outcomes in several ways and which every stakeholder can appreciate. Patients are enabled to keep adherence to medications and treatment as advised by their health providers (Bravo et al., 2015. pp. 252). It also becomes very easy for them to maintain excellent physical fitness and health via lifestyle changes such as smoking and alcoholism. Informed patients who are caring for themselves are able to monitor symptoms and to make self-care decisions. It is also possible to monitor and manage emotion and stress impacts of illness, interact perfectly with their health providers which ensures that their health needs are addressed effectively, and use of social networks to achieve their needs (Moorhead et al., 2013, p.75).

There are wide interventions intended to improve and promote as well as enable self-care for patients. They are of different levels of intensity, content and theoretical underpinnings, ranging from education, theories of change of behavior, and techniques of behavioral counseling. The mentioned interventions are for instance providing useful information, giving priority to barriers and motivations to change, educating patients on modalities of copying up with their life situations, making good designs of action plans, how to deal with negative emotions of disease, support and close monitoring of patients, and involving the family and society, in addition to offering adequate social support (Brett et al., 2014. pp.637-650).

The links between legislation (in England, the UK and other nations) related to accountable practice and its impact on safeguarding in health and social care.

The four nations of the UK, that is England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales own their laws and systems in place that help to safeguard their children and adults from being abused, neglected, and being ignored. The individual nations have legislation frameworks, practice and guidance to recognize and note the people who are at an increasing risk of harm, and also take a step to protect them from further harm. Each nation stands to be responsible for its policies it formulates and implements and its laws regarding health and social wellbeing of its citizen and also education. Thus, it covers the majority of the aspects of safeguarding the health and social care of its people (Gostin, and Sridhar, 2014. pp. 1732-1740).

Laws are made to counteract any abnormal behavior that can result into harm to the people who require health and social care and help to protect their wellbeing such as information confidentiality, rights to access of heal care and social services at convenience. Each nation also sets up guidance on what health and social care organizations should undertake to play their part in service provision to their clients. Although health and social care system vary in each of the nations, they all base their operations under the same principles (Mechanic, 2012, pp.376-382).

Conclusion

In this essay, I have demonstrated clearly on how health and social care workers put into practice the respective legislative laws to protective and safeguarding issues in the daily practice and service delivery. The various enabling concepts have been introduced, self-management and care and the significance of health and social care provider in the provision of effective and safe practice. Additionally, the paramount and crucial impact of intercommunication on teamwork and with service consumers. As stated by the Care Quality Commission, safeguarding encompasses protection of the health of people, their wellbeing, and their rights and freedoms. However what level or role someone has, it constantly remains his or her professional responsibility to do reporting of any issues about undergoing in the workstation which may endanger the people’s safety. This essay has discussed how different health and social care stakeholders play their various roles in their day to day provision of services to clients. We have also seen how the vulnerable are usually safeguarded and with their rights and freedoms.

References

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