Exploring Principles of Care and Good Practice
Principles of health and social care refers to practices and norms that are being adhered to at the point of health and social care. Healthcare professionals should adhere to good practices and follow principles of care in their dealings with all service users. They must people seeking care with dignity, keep them safe from injuries, respect and promote patient’s independence, maintain privacy of patients and communicate with patients in clear, empathic, non-judgmental and sensitive manner. The aim of this essay is to comprehend the principles of care in health and social practice and offer explanation how they are implemented in practice. The paper will also explain the impact of regulation, policy, legislation, standards and codes of practice on health and social practice. Last but not least, how to strike a balance between autonomy and protection of vulnerable people is explained.
Understand how principles of care are implemented in health and social care practice
Care workers empower patients and service users by promoting specific values, which are crucial to both thee client and care providers. These values are based on a set of principles which help workers to offer personalized care. These principles include confidentiality, ant-discriminatory practice, supporting individual rights, individualized care and protection from abuse. To meet the needs of all clients, social care service has adopted principles of anti-discriminatory, promotion of confidentiality and equity to ensure all its clients are cared for. ABC maintains confidentiality of information and protects privacy of its clients and their health information. Maintaining confidentiality is necessary for building trust with clients, valuing clients, and promoting professionalism (Worsleyet al. 2013). At Home Care, personal health records are not shared without the consent of the patient. Clients are informed circumstance under which confidentiality may be not kept, especially where there is risk of danger to the client and others (Worsleyet al. 2013).
Social care provides advice and helps protect clients against abuse. The health and social care practice provides support to service users by putting in place measures so as to ensure all people seeking care are protected from abuse and harm (Worsleyet al. 2013). The procedures that have been put in place at the Social Care ensure patients are free from harm. Additionally, care services has adopted measures outlined in the National Health Service policy to protect its clients against exploitation. This policy spell out strict procedures that should be observed to avoid any sort of patient neglect and abuse.
Social care recognizes that people are entitled to their own lifestyles and beliefs. These rights come with responsibilities to other people. Code of practice, standards and government legislation outline rights clients are entitled to when obtaining health and social care services for instance, clients have right to independence, freedom from discrimination, safety, dignity and confidentiality (Juth, 2013).
Care providers at ABC are aware of and acknowledge individuals’ personal identity and beliefs as a way of respecting diversity. They listen to and observe what others say and do. They are open to the life of other people and value diversity. Care services also strives to ensure everyone receives services of equal quality. It also strives to meet the needs of everyone. At care services, clients are treated as individuals while their different beliefs, likes and abilities are at the center of care. The elderly are provided with special services to meet their underlying conditions. Health workers take into account the beliefs of individual service users and are cultural aware and sensitive to the needs of their clients. ABC serves clients of diverse socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and meeting their respective needs is prioritized. Care workers also promotes equity by ensuring the needs of all clients seeking care are identified and met. They must comply with the Equality Act 2010, which covers 9 protected aspects (McColgan, 2011). Care work must abide to the safety regulations of the organization, carry out risk assessment to identify and mitigate such risks.
Care practitioners promote effective communication with clients in ways that empower clients to feel their opinions about care are respected and valued. They encourage communication that is clear, effective, and characterized by empathy and compassion.
Understand the impact of policy, legislation, regulation, codes of practice, and standards on health and social care practice
It is critical for health and social care workers to be mindful of the legislation, policy, codes of practice and regulation governing their practice. National Health Service regularly updates its policies, regulations, legislation and standards to ensure they respond to changing cultural, ethnic and financial climate. The Care Act 2014 that overhauled old pieces of legislation concerning social care in United Kingdom brought sweeping reforms for the care and support of adults. It consolidates various facets of social care into one statute. Care Act 2014 offers provisions, regulations and policies for health and social professionals working in the field of social care. Therefore, this Act is relevant and impacts the delivery of social care services in Social Care. It is person-centered and its aim is to promote wellbeing and independence of adults in the UK. This person-centered act promotes individual wellbeing particularly when executing care and support function. It makes clear that social care should be personalized for the individual rather than having people fit into existing social care (Fernández, Snell, & Marczak, 2015). This means that service users should influence and take control of the assessment of their needs. Thus the act empowers the service users to take charge of everything that supports their specific needs. Assessment of needs to support individuals is central to this Care Act. It focuses on meeting diverse needs of people and recognizes that people have diverse care needs in society. This includes requiring local authorities to give advice and information on existing social care and promote integration. It requires local authorities to provide services that aid prevent individuals from developing needs for care. This Act also spells out a legal framework that require local authorities to protect individuals at risk for neglect or abuse (Department of Health 2014). The implications of Care Act include increased responsibility for local authorities providing social care, putting individuals first and increasing service user choice. Other legislation and policies pertinent in the health and social care practice include Rights to Action, Every Child Matters and Quality Protects.
Code of practice lays out the standard of conduct expected of health and social care practitioners. These codes hold care workers accountable for their actions and behavior. They guide practitioners to uphold dignity, privacy, wellbeing and rights of those seeking services. The codes ensure care practitioners work in collaboration with peers to delivery safe, high quality and compassionate care to those seeking services. Codes of practice also ensure providers to care, support and communicate with clients in a clear, effective and empathic fashion to foster the safety, health and wellbeing of service users.
Adult safeguarding policy focuses on supporting adults from abuse (Chisnell & Kelly, 2016). Regulations and legislative measures are necessary to promote safety of service providers and users at work. Regulatory agencies often make legislation and regulations to protect employers, employees and clients. Health and social care workers must adhere to organizational policies in the course of delivering care.
Individual organizations have codes of professional conduct to hold care practitioners accountable for their practice. In caring for patients and clients, practitioners are required to protect confidential, seek consent before giving any treatment, maintain their competence and build trust. The revised codes of practice spells out universal standards required of healthcare providers to uphold. These codes put patients at the center of practice and helps providers to protect service users and patients better (Haworth, Forshaw, & Moonie, 2002). They also reflect needs of service users and patients. These codes help the providers to priorities people, preserve safety and practice effectively.
The Care Quality Commission introduced new standards that require service providers to monitor and strive to make sure key elements of social care service are responsive, effective, caring, well-led and safe to accomplish all service user needs. These Standards are informed by basic principles of compassion, responsive care, support, dignity and be included (Care Quality Commission 2015). The Care and Support Regulations require local authorities to preclude costs of meeting needs from an individual’s personal budget as far as certain circumstances are concerned.
Consider the Application of Principles of Good Practice in Carrying Out Care
Good practice is accomplished by integrating various principles to support the delivery of services. Principles of dignity, independence, choice, equality and human rights that reinforce successive standard frameworks are at the heart of regulatory frameworks. Within the context of care centered on these tenets, it is noted that care workers should strive to strike balance between protecting independence of clients and protecting them from harm.
Care workers have a duty of care to protect their clients from danger in the course of delivery care services them to them. Care workers must be aware of the value of reflecting person-centered approaches in their decisions. The fundamental standards reflect the principles of good practice. For example, care workers should ensure all care reflects the preferences and needs of service users. Moreover, service users should be treated with respect and dignity and treatment must be provided with service users’ consent (Barnes, Boland, Linhart, & Wilson, 2017). Good practice also means ensuring all treatments and care provided to service users are safe and appropriate (Barnes et al. 2017). It also means protecting clients from abuse and neglect in the course of delivery care.
Person-centered approach focuses on promoting independence, upholding rights of individuals and providing greater choice of provision. The Care Act 2014 promotes person-centered care by putting forth individual wellbeing at the heart of care and support. Equality is embedded in person-centered approach to ensure everyone obtaining service is treated without discrimination, fairly and with respect and dignity. Equality also ensures wishes and views of service users are taken into account in decision making process. Equality Act 2010 underpins the rights of vulnerable groups
Care workers and managers are required by law to protect service user privacy by keeping records confidential and safeguarded against unauthorized viewing. Respect for privacy is at the heart of delivery of services at service users’ homes. Service providers providing care at Care home are encouraged to conduct activities in utmost secrecy.
Appreciate how rights and autonomy need to be balanced against the need to protect vulnerable people
One of the principles of health and social care practice is to promote an individual right to autonomy. Social care professionals must support the rights of service user to control their own lives and make decisions (Worsley et al. 2013). The maximization of autonomy often come into conflict with the need for protection. Decisions that may appear eccentric should be accepted provided the individual’s capacity to make decision is intact. This gives greater degree of autonomy, permitting individuals to make choices and decision that practitioners may find irrational (Worsley et al. 2013).
Thus Health and social care practitioners are faced dilemma when balancing between respecting the right to autonomy and protecting clients from harm. Autonomy refers to the freedom to make own life choices (Twomey, 2015). Protection requirement involve a requirement to protect one from foreseeable harm. It also encompasses living free of degrading treatment. The statutory guidance complementing Care Act 2014 includes empowerment along with protection as major safeguarding principle. Paragraph 14.219 of this guidance calls for finding balance between safeguarding and empowerment. Autonomy depends on one’s mental capacity to competently make independent decision. The Mental Capacity Act of 2005 is pivotal in helping determine the mental capacity of an individual to make own decisions. It supports the right of an individual with mental capacity to make their own decisions. For people who have lost mental capacity, the Act provides for others to make such decisions in the best interest of the client. The challenge arises when those with decision making capacity refuses support and assessment. The Mental Capacity Act 2004 makes practitioners reluctant to question the capacity and choices an individual makes even problematic elements are identified in decision making. They often step back to allow the individual with capacity to decide and make a choice (Day et al. 2012).
Fyson and Kitson (2007) argues that autonomy should be facilitated and promoted in patients rather that expecting to emerge safely. To minimize the likelihood of abuse, they recommend that autonomy should be facilitated by effective protective measures. These researchers also call managers and care professionals to review the canon that encourages independence as the only acceptable goal. Reflecting on the dilemma of balancing autonomy with protection, Manthpe et al (201l) argues that while needs and wishes of a person should form the basis for a personalized intervention. Protection must also be at the core of practice.
Care practitioners often show strong commitment to supporting one’s independence to choose over protection. They are more oriented towards autonomy as far as the duty of care. In so doing, they disappoint individuals who rely on them to give direction. They fail to take into account the help clients may require in realizing their capacity to make autonomous decision.
Respect for autonomy, patient preferences and choices present challenges to care delivery. Protection is not equal to denying individual views, feeling and wishes. It is also not about the removal of all dangers to service users’ wellbeing and safety. Therefore, where rationale exist for intervention to be made, notwithstanding the mental capacity of an individual, autonomy may be shelved in the temporarily to preserve the capacity to exercise self-determination in the long-term.
References
Barnes, D., Boland, B., Linhart, K. & Wilson, K. (2017). Personalisation and social care assessment – the Care Act 2014. British Journal of Psychology Bulletin, 41(3): 176–180.
Care Quality Commission. (2015). Market Oversight of ‘difficult to replace’ providers of adult social care: Guidance for providers, March 2015. CQC, London
Chisnell, C., & Kelly, C. (2016). Safeguarding in social work practice: A lifespan approach. Los Angeles: Learning Matters.
Day, M.R., McCarthy, G. & Leahy-Warren, P. (2012). Professional social workers’ views on self-neglect: an exploratory study. British Journal of Social Work, 42(4):725-743
Department of Health. (2014). Care and support statutory guidance: issued under the Care Act 2014. Crown Copyright, London.
Fernández, J-L., Snell, T., & Marczak, J. (2015) An assessment of the impact of the Care Act 2014 eligibility regulations, PSSRU Discussion Paper 2880, London School of Economics.
Fyson, R. and Kitson, D. (2007). Independence or protection –does it have to be a choice? Reflections on the abuse of people with learning disabilities in Cornwall. Critical Social Policy, 27(3):426-436.
Haworth, E., Forshaw, C., & Moonie, N. (2002). GCSE health and social care for OCR: Double award. Oxford: Heinemann Educational.
Juth, N. (2013). Challenges for Principles of Need in Health Care. Health Care Analysis, 23(1), 73-87
Manthorpe, J. el al. (2011). Individual budgets and adult safeguarding: parallel or converging tracks? Further findings from the evaluation of the Individual Budget pilots. Journal of Social Work, 11(4):422–438.
McColgan, A. (2011). Equality Act 2010. 1st ed. Liverpool: The Institute of Employment Rights.
Twomey, M. (2015). Why worry about autonomy?’ Ethics and Social Welfare, 9(3):255-268.
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