Unit 5 Working in Partnership HSC Sample Assignment

Introduction

The assignment is based on working in partnership with health and social care services. It comprises of 3 Tasks. Task 1 is based on certain basic principles of health and social care partnership working. Certain questions have been presented that have to be answered on the subject. Task 2 is based on the case study wherein a study and discussion would be carried out on the various strategies that could be employed to improve the working in partnership in health and social care. It will also discuss on the various models that exist and the best fit model in respect with the case study. Task 3 is also based on a different case study that will answer on the potential barriers that are encountered while working in partnership for health and social care. Task 4 is an individual presentation that would be enclosed separately as a presentation.  These three tasks will give a detailed insight on working in partnership with the health and social care and people realizing their goals and objectives to be common.

TASK 1 – Questionnaire

This task is based on the questionnaire that has its basis on the basics of working in partnership in health and social care.

AC 1.1

1. How will you define working partnership?
Working partnership could be defined as growing inclusive, relations that are mutually beneficial and help in improving the experience and quality of care that is being rendered to the service users. This may also comprise of the relationships that exist among the clients, service providers, and service users for a longer term association. When the partnership working is effective then the output or the results obtained are of much higher quality.
Partnership working is encouraged in all the sectors, areas and the professional environment. It helps in keeping team spirit and realizes the potential of each and every individual. It helps in bringing performance in them.

2. What is the purpose of a team?
Team is a group of people working together towards a common goal or the objective that they need to achieve. The team has certain specialized, expertise and skilled people who have been working together with specific purpose that remains uniform and common to all. Individuals can work but when they get together to work with others in team, they tend to learn and develop their existing skills and potential. Team work enables and even materializes the hardest and impossible works ever. Team is meant for the following purposes (Leathard, 1994):

• It is to ensure that bigger task is being bifurcated into the smaller tasks and then as per the expertise that is handed over the respective individuals.
• Based on the area of expertise and skills, the responsibilities and roles would be allocated and assigned.
• Team will help in keeping a common and set goal that would be achieved by all the team members.

3. Have you ever worked in partnership in health and social care?
Yes I have worked in partnership in health and social care. I had been the part of the team wherein I had team with various doctors who had to research on the medicine and cure for the cancer that was spreading among the people. In the pathology department, it was seen that I had to fulfil my responsibilities and besides these, the supervision on the roles and responsibilities of others also has to be done.

4. If Yes/No explain 4 philosophies of working in partnership in health and social care?
The 4 major philosophies that are related to working in partnership with health and social care are:

• Empowerment of the various service users – It is important that the service or the care workers have to work in partnership with various care takers so that they could train them on the basics of the health and self social care. This will hep them in taking their tasks themselves without being much dependent on the care workers.
• Enact of various legislations that affect the working in partnerships – The health and social care foundation or the agency has to work as per the various strict legislations that are available as per the health and safety act in the health and social care.
• Independence and Autonomy of the Service Users – It is important that the care workers and the medical workers have to coach and guide the service users to become autonomous and independent in their daily activities.
• Models of Medical for various service users – The principle says that all the models as per the health and social care have to be applied in the field of work that they are applicable. It is necessary that as per the model and its components, the responsibilities and roles had to be assigned and given to the various team members working in partnerships in health and social care (Lymbery, 2006).

AC 1.2

5. Draw a map of your team showing who you work in collaboration with in health and social care.
The map of the team that I was the part was in hospital. I was part of the team of the pathology.

 

This chart shows that hospital is headed by the managing director. Under him there are various heads from different departments and these people will in turn have their own teams and members who will work in closed coordination with each other. These teams would be given responsibilities as per their area of expertise and skills.

6. List types of relationships that can occur when working in partnership in health and social care.  
There are many types of relationships that occur when working in partnership in health and social care:

• Project Partnership – These relationships are project specific and have to be completed and fulfilled within the timeline. Each and every assignment could be developed as a separate project that would be handled as per the aims and objectives of the project or the task. This project would have their own targets and objectives that have to be fulfilled.
• Ideological Partnerships – In this the decision taken should be mutually agreed among the various parties. This decision making would be reached when the members would discuss among themselves and then arrive at a common consensus.
• Problem Solving Partnerships – This is the relationship that has to resolve the problems of the various parties who are involved and working in partnership with each other. These are specific partnerships that will help in resolving even the long pending matters and problems.
• Ethical Partnerships – This partnership will ensure that the good relations are maintained among the various parties working in partnerships with health and social care. These partnerships would exist with the ethical relationships being maintained by all the parties.

These major types of relationships exist in the health and social care.
7. Evaluate partnership relationships that can occur with service users in different departments in health and social care.
The relationships in working in partnership with health and social care are very important to be maintained. These relationships are kind of negotiations that could be done among the various parties who are working in partnerships in health and social care. It is therefore necessary that all the parties working in coordination with each other have to join hands and work in partnerships with each other professionally keeping aside the personal issues and problems. The various tips that can help and make these relationships successful are:

• Sharing of expertise and work – The work would be shared and the expertise would also be that will help in achieving the potential and effectiveness for the team members.
• Improving on the potential of networking – Partnership teaches a lot of potential improvement and achieving the performance among the various employees.
• Team work and joining hands with each other – The people get along and learn from each other.
• Maintaining the relationships in a non-hierarchical way – Without any hierarchy in place, the people maintain good relations with each other.

TASK 2 – Case Study 1

QU 1. Using the case study 1 and other factors learnt on this course, devise strategies to improve partnership working in health and social care.

The local mental health community team has become part of the mental health trust. The people now have to improve the working in partnership with health and social care. The strategies that these people can employ in order to develop and improve the partnerships and relationships among the various team members are:

• There should be listing of the complaints and the problems that the community members have been facing on the compliant cards – This will keep track of all the issues and problems that exist in the community.
• A suggestion box could be placed in the community where these community problems cards could be dropped. This suggestion box would be a record and anonymous people could fill the cards and drop in this box. People will feel secured and ensure that their problems will go in the right hand and will be resolved easily.
• Monthly meeting of the various doctors, medical representatives and the other people facing issues should take place. This meeting will resolve all the complaint cards that are dropped in the suggestion and problem solving box. These meetings will ensure that all the major issues and problems are addressed openly and resolved. When it would be open then there would be many suggestions, ideas and innovative reverts that may help in resolving the various issues and problems.
• The medical team should also work in team with each other so that they could resolve the issue ASAP rather than keeping it unresolved.
• The senior authorities should also coordinate with the various team members and give the strategic decisions immediately rather than escalating and avoiding them.

?These strategies will ensure that a set of correct processes are being followed and abided by. These strategies will ensure that the process is being followed and the problems are resolved on priority (Mittman et al, 1992).

QU 2. Highlight the type of partnership in the case study and analyze the different models of partnership that can be considered in this case study in health and social care.  

In this case study, it has been noticed that the community members and people have been sending the complaints but they are not getting resolved as the medical representatives and the part of the mental health team are not responding or quickly agreeing to the problem. It could be said that we need to associate two kinds of partnerships to get this issue resolved. The project partnership will ensure that the project of handling and resolving of the issues of the vendors would be done in time as per the deadlines that are mutually agreed. The problem solving partnership will ensure that the existing problems of the community are resolved and attended to on priority. These partnerships will work in closed coordination with each other to resolve the matter. The entire assignment of sorting out of the problems of the community has to be taken up with the partnership of the medical team working in closed coordination with each other. Their matters have to be resolved on priority so that the health and social care laws and regulations are abided by in all ways.
Partnerships have to be combined in many occasions when the work is not getting resolved and completed within the timeline. In the case study, the same was happening as people had problems and they were not getting resolved for a longer time.

TASK 3 – Case Study 2          

QU 3 In the case study 2, analyze the potential barriers to partnership working in health and social care services. 

Partnership working in health and social care means that all the team members are working in closed coordination working in various relationships and resolving the various issues.
In this case study it has been seen that Joe Simpkins has been trying to resolve the problem of Mrs M. He has tried within the radius of 40 miles but the nursing beds are not available. And the availability is there is the remote location that could not be preferred. Above all the private nursing beds are available but as per the norms of nursing their fees is quite high and even Mrs. M cannot afford it. It has been observed that the District Nurse when visits Mrs. M she can even understand the kind of pressure that the family members have been facing due to the health deterioration of Mrs. M. They are also worried as they cannot afford the private nursing beds for her. The potential barriers that are encountered when working in partnerships with health and social care services are:

1. There is lack of team work and working in closed coordination with each other – When the team has clear roles and responsibilities then they need no ask their seniors and other team members in fulfilling their profiles. The clarity in role enables 80% of the work to be done as per the timelines (Levin, 2004).  
2. There is budget but the funds are not released and approved in time – Sometimes the budgets are there but the hierarchy for the approval is quite high and complex, this in turn forces the individuals in wasting their time. In this case too, the beds are there but in remote locations and to re-locate those beds they need the approval form the senior authorities that will take more time.
3. The senior does not support the team – The senior who is head of the team should expedite the process. He should pass the approvals and the processes as soon as possible as per the turn around time. Unless these issues would be sorted out, the matter will not be resolved at all.
4. The limit of beds and services limit the process and the patients or the service users keep on facing these issues – The location and the requirement of beds and the services has to be assessed first and then the services have to be defined in the department and among the care workers.

When the barriers exist, it becomes the responsibility of the senior and the leader to resolve the barriers thereby he has to resolve the issues (Rummery & Coleman, 2003).  

QU 4 Using information on from your work placement/experience or knowledge gained on this course; evaluate possible outcomes of partnership working for service user, professionals and organizations.

It is very important that we work in partnership with the service user as well as the professionals and the various organizations. Unless we work in closed coordination, we will not be able to resolve the issues and the problems. This is due to the reason that each and every role is not limited to an individual; rather it is also linked and associated with various other people involved in the entire project. Unless the people work in closed coordination, loopholes and the problems will exist in the entire process or the flow chart. Team work and working in partnership with organizations, professionals and services users will have the following outcomes:

• There would be greater efficiency and productivity – When people will work in partnerships then the skills would be divided, the people who are expertise in a specific field will take up that job and take it to the best outcome. This way the tasks will become simpler and easier to be performed.
• The projects and tasks would be completed within the stipulated timelines or schedules – When all the individuals will do their tasks as per the said deadline then the entire schedule would be adhered to in all ways.
• The team will tend to gain new skills, competencies and potential in working – Each and every person working in team will coordinate with each other and utilize the skills and competencies of each other and learn in order to grow and develop from each other’s effort.
• The impossible aspects of the jobs would also be realized – It is said that when we work in team, we tend to generate and work upon more and more ideas. This helps us in developing ourselves not only personally but also professionally. The individuals could not do certain tasks individually hence there is necessity of having the group for it.

Hence working in partnerships with each other in various areas and grounds not only encourages us to materialize and gain the insights on the various aspects but also improves our skills and competencies.

 Unit 5 Working in Partnership HSC Sample Assignment is offer to guide students of Health and social care course.

Conclusion

Working in partnerships in health and social care is one of the most important aspects that help in the working in teams and realizing the potential of each other and getting the tasks done in time. It has been seen that there are many principles, concepts and practices that are related with the working in partnerships. The health and social care demands that the people should work in closed coordination with each other and realize the tasks. Although when working in partnerships we may face various barriers and problems yet we need to make each other comfortable and resolve all the issues. There are various types of partnerships that exist when working in partnerships in health and social care. These relationships are: Ethical, Ideological, Project and Problem-Solving Partnerships etc. Sometimes these relationships and partnerships have to be combined together in order to resolve and get the working and team work possible. In the nutshell it could be stressed out that working in partnership will ensure that there is effective communication, possibility of error resolution and working in closed coordination with all the partners who are involved in health and social care services enabling effective services for all the health and social care service users. The partners and the people working partnership with each other will be able to realize their potential and goals that they have to achieve. Working in partnership is said to be a simple success formula only when the team will realize and take up their individual responsibilities and roles (Glasby et al, 2006).

References

• Glasby, J., & Dickinson, H. (2008). Partnership working in health and social care. Bristol: Policy Press.
• Hudson, B. (2002). Interprofessionality in health and social care: the Achilles' heel of partnership?. Journal of interprofessional care, 16(1), 7-17.
• Munn-Giddings, C., & Winter, R. (2013). A handbook for action research in health and social care. Routledge.
• Lymbery, M. (2006). United we stand? Partnership working in health and social care and the role of social work in services for older people. British Journal of Social Work, 36(7), 1119-1134.
• Rummery, K., & Coleman, A. (2003). Primary health and social care services in the UK: progress towards partnership?. Social Science & Medicine, 56(8), 1773-1782.
• Glasby, J., & Peck, E. (Eds.). (2003). Care trusts: partnership working in action. Radcliffe Publishing.
• Leathard, A. (Ed.). (1994). Going inter-professional: working together for health and welfare. Psychology Press.
• Levin, E. (2004). Involving service users and carers in social work education. London: SCIE.
• Mittman, B. S., Tonesk, X., & Jacobson, P. D. (1992). Implementing clinical practice guidelines: social influence strategies and practitioner behavior change. QRB. Quality review bulletin, 18(12), 413-422.
• Glasby, J., Dickinson, H., & Peck, E. (2006). Guest editorial: partnership working in health and social care. Health & social care in the community, 14(5), 373-374.