Working in partnership in health and social care

Working in Partnership in Health and Social Care HND Health and Social Care Course

Questionnaire 1. How will you define working partnership?

Working partnership could be defined as a mutual relationship within the participating members based on trust which improves the quality of service and benefits both, the people involved in the working partnership as well as the people who are being served. In health care centre the working partnership is between the health care employees, the health care centre employers and the people who are being taken care of. A healthy working partnership between the employers and the employees gives the care takers a sense of responsibility and a clear understanding of their duties (Gilmore et al, 2011).

Working partnership is very essential for the growth of any industry. If we discuss the importance of working partnership in the field of health care then this becomes even more important as a good working partnership amongst the management and the working staff of any health care could help the people being taken care of in the health centre and also the people who have the responsibility of taking care of them.

A good working partnership ensure that the organization and the people working in the health and social care centre have a common goal and they both approach their goal with equal sense of responsibility and determination.

2. What is the purpose of a team?

A team comprises of 2 or more individuals who come together to work for a common goal and are equally responsible for the success or the failure of the common objective. The purpose of a team is to have people who are experts in their own field come together to form a big group and work together towards a common objective. A group of highly motivated people when come together to work as team, the results become better as each of them comes up with their own ideas and the team as a whole has more risk taking capability than an individual.

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A team working in any health care centre ensures safety of the patient and ensures proper care of the people in the health care (Leathard, 2013). It makes sure that the quality of service offered is as expected by the people being taken care of in the health centre and which helps in a speedy recovery. A team is better equipped to handle situations of emergency and is capable in decision making which benefit each and every member of the health care centre. Each and every member of the team is important and the quality of service offered depends on how well managed the team is.

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3. Have you worked in partnership in health and social care?

Yes, I have partnered with other individuals working at the health centre during my job at the Yale health care centre. I found that working in a team is more effective way of working than working individually. My job in the health care team was to take care of all the supplies required by the organization. I was responsible for ordering and managing all the things of daily needs of the patients and the staff at the health care centre. For this I had to interact with the staff and the patients on a daily basis to get the exact requirements and then had to work closely with the management to define the budget and suppliers for the same for each month. I tried to minimize the wastage of the perishable goods and ensured that proper supply of the daily need products is maintained within the health care (LĂŠgarĂŠ et al, 2011).

4. Explain four philosophies of working in a partnership in health and social care.

The four philosophies of working in a partnership in health and social care are:

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Empowerment: Empowerment in health and care units means to authorize or enable the staff, the caretakers and the people who are being taken care of. This ensures that everyone in the health care centre has the freedom to make their own choices depending on what works best for them. For example in a health care, people could choose their own timings for consuming food. This ensures that the situation where the patients have to have their meals even when they are not feeling hungry never comes.  Respect: Respect for the patients at the care centre and also for the staff working to take care of the patients is very necessary (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2010). This makes sure that the patients and the staff doesn’t lose their individuality and are given the proper attention required by them.  Independence: Independence at a health care centre ensures everyone in the health care centre has the independence to choose whatever they feel best suits for them. They are allowed to take decisions hence helping the management to come up with a plan which suits every individual at the health care centre.  Making informed choices: This is the most important principle for running a health care centre. Making informed decisions/choices is very important for both the patient and the care taker. This principle means that any decision taken towards how a patients would be administered depend on the individual communication with the patient. The patient is the best person to decide if any routine etc. is working for him or her. Based on this he could communicate to the care taker what could work out best for him or her.

See solution of Unit 3 Employability and professional Development

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5. Draw a map of your team showing who you work with in collaboration within health and social care.

As shown in the figure above, I work in the supply team which works closely with the caretaking staff, the doctors, the patients, the vendors, the finance team and the top management. The requirements of the supplies come from the patients, the caretaking staff and the doctors. The consolidated list is created and quotations from different vendors are obtained. This quotation is then sent to the top management for approval of the vendor. Once the vendor is approved the finance team takes care of the funds release to the vendor. Finally the transport and security team help to get the product to the centre (Munn & Winter, 2013). The discussion clearly shows how integral is my team to the working of the institution.

6. List types of relationship that occur while working in partnership at heath care centre.

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The different types of relationship which occur at health care centres are: 

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General relationship: This type of relationship is the one which is there within the people working in the same team. They share a general relationship and are available for help when required.

Limited relationship: This type of relationship could be between the finance team and the supply team in the above example. The two teams interact only when an approval of any financial expenditure is required. In other times these two teams never interact.

Relationship at will: In the above example the relationship at will could be between the vendors and the supply team. The supply team interacts with the vendors only when there is a requirement to procure the items required in the health care centre. At other times there is no communication at all.

7. Evaluate partnership relationship that could occur with the service users in different departments in the health and social care.

Following are the different types of relationship which could occur between the service users and different departments in a health and social care centre:   

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Caretaking Staff: This is the team with which the service users interact the most. This is a general relationship. The service users are mostly dependent on this staff.

Medical Staff: Medical staff does a routine check up on the service users and this relationship is at will (Pearce & Doh, 2012).

Finance Team: The finance team interactions with the service users are very less and hence the relationship between them is at will.

Top Management: The interaction of the service users with the top management is very limited and usually none at all. This could be termed as limited relationship.

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8. Why is your team important to you, the service the organization and to those who use the service?

The team which I work with is the supplies team and its job profile is to manage the supplies which are required by the people who work in the health care centre and the people who are being taken care of in the health care centre. In my opinion the job profile of my team is very important as it’s a job which serves everyone in the health care on a regular daily basis. The job requires a daily evaluation of the different requirements within the health care centre and it also needs partnering with the various vendors for procurement of the required products. The importance of the team lies in the fact that the team is the very core of the functionality of the health care centre. The health care centre could never work without the support of this team. The team has to be proactive and has to anticipate the requirements which could come in near future.

It has to take adequate steps to partner with multiple vendors so that in case of shortage of items alternate arrangements could be made (Reeves et al, 2011). The team is important to me because I feel that I have a job of great responsibility in hand. The job gives me a lot of excitement as every day I face some new challenges which make the job very interesting. (See here HNC Organizations and Behaviour Assignment)

Task 2 Case Study 1 QU1 Strategies to improve partnership working in health and social care

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There is no doubt in the fact that working in partnership is very beneficial for both health and care centres as well as for the patients. But there are number of issues which need to be taken care for the success of partnership working. From the case it is clearly evident that the partnership between the local community mental health team and mental health trust was not functioning properly. The main reason for this was lack of clarity of roles and repetition of the roles. In a collaborative working style, it is very important to ensure that all the members from both the partners must be told about their roles very clearly and distinctively. This task can be achieved by appointing a strong person as a leader who has got the decision making skills and excellent communication skills (Reeves et al, 2010). The leader’s main tasks would be to ensure that all the members are clear about their roles and hence there is no confusion regarding the roles. In order to achieve this objective the leader must be able to effectively communicate the roles and responsibilities to each and every employee. The leader should also be capable enough to make important decisions regarding the repeated roles. There various repeated roles should be merged into single one role, so that there is no clash among the employees regarding their roles.

If the employees are clear about their role then, automatically the quality of the services will get better and hence the patients will get better care. Hence, in the case the main problem of distinctive roles and responsibilities can be achieved with the help of a good leader and his efficient leadership.

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QU2 Type of partnership in the case study and the different models of partnership that can be considered in health and social care In the case study, the type of partnership is general or collaborative partnership. In this type of partnership both the partners have equivalent privileges and responsibilities regarding the functioning of the care. In the case both, local community mental health team and mental health trust have got same right to take decisions for the benefit of the patients and health and care centre as a whole. In this kind of partnership, each and every member of the organization holds the complete responsibility of any kind of arrears and commitments towards the patient. Also, in this type of partnership both the partners have got equal right on the profits and the benefits of the care centre (Umberson & Montez, 2010).

The other types of partnership which could be used in this case is limited partnership. In such type of relationship, one of the partners will assist in the functioning of the care centre but they will not contribute towards the administration of the care centre. This kind of partnership is helpful as the other partners works as silent partner and hence the main decision taking power remains in one hand and also usually in this kind of partnership there are no problems of clash of roles, as the members of the partners will help only where they would be needed. (Read hereUK College Research Skills Assignment)

Task 3 Case Study 3 QU3 Potential barriers to partnership working in health and social care services In the case, the most critical barrier is communication. There is no proper communication between the care takers and the community or the administration. The nurses are facing problem in taking care of Mr. M as his condition was serious and hence not possible to take care at home.

But neither the family members nor the community members understand the situation. If there would have been a proper and efficient communication, then people will understand the situation clearly and hence will be able to take the required necessary steps at much faster speed. Even the family members must be communicated properly about the situation of the patient so that they do not hesitate in raising up their funds for Mr. M. If the budget will be increased then, Mr. M can be easily accommodated in the private nursing home. There should be a proper flow of information so that all the important, relevant and urgent message could reach to the concerned person.

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The other barrier can be the unskilled or inexperienced staff in the partner firms. The employees may not be confident and motivated enough to work in partnership (Zambon, 2010). In a partnership all the workers work together and hence if any of the worker is not able to perform well then he will fell dejected and discouraged. Hence, in this the potential barriers to working partnership is lack of proper communication and unskilled & inexperienced work staff. If these two issues are solved then, the problems of both the family and the community will be solved.

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QU4 Possible outcomes of partnership working for service users, professionals and organisations The possible outcomes of working in partnership working for service users, professionals and organizations are as following: Service User: The partnership working proved to be positive for the service users as it increased the efficiency of the staff members. With more number of workers available for the job, better care of the patients is possible. Working in partnership increased the long term availability to the staff members and hence the quality of the services improved as the workers are well versed with the style of working. Hence, working in partnership increased the positive outcome from the service users.

Professionals: Working in partnership do have a positive outcome on professionals also as to make their partnership successful they need to share their capability and knowledge with the other members in the team. This will increase the knowledge of the members and hence they will be able to perform the job in much better way (Gilmore et al, 2011).

Organizations: The most important outcome of working in partnership for organizations is that the investment is distributed among partners and hence no one person bear all the burden. During partnership the worker from varied background come together and work and hence a diverse cultural work environment is created. Also, there is an inflow of more of the knowledge and skills in the organization.

So, it is clear that all working in partnership leads to a positive outcome but only if properly executed and implemented. Relevant and proper methodology should be followed. Proper flow of information flow will lead to the positive outcomes.

See all assignments of East End Computing & Business College References 

Gilmore, A. B., Savell, E., & Collin, J. (2011). Public health, corporations and the New Responsibility Deal: promoting partnerships with vectors of disease? Journal of Public Health, 33(1), 2-4

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Leathard, A. (Ed.). (2013). Interprofessional collaboration: from policy to practice in health and social care. Routledge

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Légaré, F., Stacey, D., Gagnon, S., Dunn, S., Pluye, P., Frosch, D, & Graham, I. D. (2011). Validating a conceptual model for an inter‐professional approach to shared

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decision making: a mixed methods study. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 17(4), 554-564.

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Minkler, M., & Wallerstein, N. (Eds.). (2010). Community-based participatory research for health: From process to outcomes. John Wiley & Sons

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Munn-Giddings, C., & Winter, R. (2013). A handbook for action research in health and social care. Routledge

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