F/618/5289 Effective Communication in Health and Social Care Practice Assignment Sample
F/618/5289 Effective Communication in Health and Social Care Practice Assignment Sample
Task 1: Report
Introduction
National Health Service is the primary health and social care service in the UK. It is a public body that is focused on providing healthcare of a wide variety for people who are UK permanent residents. The following report will discuss primarily the impact of communication on specific work settings. The specific reasons for people working in that healthcare system to communicate efficiently are also highlighted in this segment.
Reasons why people communicate
National Health Service (NHS) recognises itself as a patient-centric organisation where effective communication and information are regarded as no less than a top priority. Staff have to make sure to work the extra mile through which information is presented in the most accessible way possible. Since they deal with patients with peculiar limitations and as a nationalised healthcare organisation, it is crucial that a range of languages and presenting formats are applied in order to be reached and deciphered by the particular audience (Clay et al., 2023). NHS England is a strong advocate that the role of accessible forms of communication is the backbone for providing improved access to services, understanding people better so that they could be guided accordingly to make more conscious choices about their treatment options and also to initiate social inclusion in health and social well-being of the population.
The staff can practise effective communication as a resourceful approach to the provision of having more simple and quick communications with service users (Hammersley et al., 2019). When the matter is specifically about life and death, the organisation does not want to leave any scope of misinterpretation due to unclear conversations. Effective communication is also helpful in developing fruitful activity and catering to the support choice of patients (Blastland et al., 2020). Patients are dealt with more compassion once the healthcare workers truly try to understand the disease and more importantly the pain of parents apart from simply analysing the history and medical reports. Personalisation and empowerment go a long way in healing the patients both physically and mentally.
Impact of communication on relationships in the work setting
The impact of effective communication goes a long way in creating sensitivity and tolerance, especially in the healthcare sector where diversification is evident. This particularly caters to the policy of NHS England’s diversification beyond the extent made mandatory by the law. An example of a such law-mediated policy is the Equality Act of 2010 and it is established on the basis of approaches that have a sure-shot chance of creating equal opportunities (England and Improvement, 2021). The Act goes beyond mending simple equality approaches and is extended to addressing impetus, particularly in the employment options matter like policies, processes and practices. The goal of such an elaborated approach lies in the principle of developing an ideal inclusive approach. The fuel for this approach to sustain is based on the inputs and contributions of all employees that are considered and evaluated for permanent implementation. This is expected to ultimately serve the workplace and re-innovate it particularly to be a mirror for the communities that are mainly served. NHS particularly extends its resources in incorporating inclusion as it is one of the most effective tools in eradicating health inequalities. There is no doubt that effective communication and listening to understand is the foundation of this approach (Boulton et al., 2022). This example fits perfectly in terms of little things that matter in the long run for sustainable development.
Approaches used to manage challenging situations
Accessible Communication Standards are one of the major approaches that are implemented for managing challenging conversations. NHS Staff particularly ensures detailed individual reports of the patient are recorded in a relevant manner (Albury et al., 2020). This ensures not wasting time in repeated searches but having all that is needed in case of communication and specific patient requirements for future visits. As per the Accessible Communication Standards, it is the liability of individuals to declare their needs, conditions and another medical history as and when asked (Parker et al., 2020). So all this information is required to be secured and maintained in a systematic manner. There are some specific requirements that need to be considered before providing provisions for mitigating challenging situations.
Communication support is very much significant and interpretation in terms of professionalism. Information is not contained within a standard set but deviated in terms of universal format or language. Effective communication is supported in terms of aids and adjustments which are not limited to any specific contact methods. Hence, alternative methods are very useful to avoid confusion in communication. Staff are asked to make relevant decisions based on the NHS policies that are the standards for advising about secured and systematic management for data handling (Thompson and Morgan, 2020). For managing challenging situations, Document and Records Management Policy along with the Data Protection Policy are available.
Communication and language wishes and preferences
The principles which direct the NHS Staff in communicating different language wishes and preferences are highlighted in this section. These principles are directed mainly through the communication standards that strictly follow premium quality care for all irrespective of their social status in this nation (Ninnis et al., 2019). In order to carry forward sustainable goals that are feasible for long-term goal orientation, NHS England is an advocate for systematic and effective usage of limited resources. Some of the preferences of the staff for maintaining such standards are elaborated (Doherty et al., 2022). The staff of NHS irrespective of their particular department are expected to promote a system through which both online and offline information is available and accessible based on inclusivity.
It is the responsibility of the staff to opt for ensuring reasonable efforts are taken so that engaging and finding facilities available in the NHS is not a task anymore. Staff should prefer finding ways through which barriers such as bug encryption crucial information access is prevented (Weatherburn et al., 2020). Often, NHS staff opt for communication support through allies who share similar communication barriers like the patients or even involve an interpreter. Hence having a diversified workforce is an asset for this organisation. In terms of situations guided by the policy, there might be cases where the involvement of an interpreter is mandatory. Cases might also require an advocate or special communication professional who will be guiding systematic conversations with patients to understand their situation (Cruice et al., 2020). The funding required for such additional support will be provided by NHS England.
Factors to consider when promoting effective communication
There are certain factors that have to be considered universally before the promotion of effective communication in an organisation like NHS England. The appropriate situations guided specifically by the policy, publication or events targeted may sometimes demand people to have particular communication approaches for communicating with relevant groups. It is important that information is catered to alternative formats and languages as soon as possible which follows acceptance requests and no chance of unwanted delay. NHS regards certain standards which they regard for good communication (Williams, 2022). It specifically focuses on giving an individual a meaningful dialogue that will serve in understanding their health conditions.
The job requires certain adjustments that the staff may have to endure in order to adapt styles particularly meeting the individual patient’s need in order to achieve particular techniques in order to have aids for different communication styles (Hoffmann et al., 2021). The work is very hectic and there is no doubt about that but as far as feasibly possible they are required to promote and practise different communication styles and ask for additional support as much as possible. It is, to say the least, that some communication approaches are invisible or maybe somewhat subtly apparent (Barnes, 2019). This will help the staff to better understand individuals and encourage them to talk freely in defining their overall health conditions thoroughly and also serve any needs they have.
Utilise a range of communication methods and styles to meet individual needs
Individuals who are not comfortable or fluent in English or particularly use British Sign Language are mandatorily required to have access to a professional interpreter. The expenses will be paid by NHS England in case it is very much essential to be a part of NHS meetings and events. The conditions do apply in the case of deafblind manual alphabet usage and it has a particular role to play in case of a complaint or enquiry requirements. With such cases in operation, it is very important for the staff to arrange for an interpreter or translator in order to convey particular information in which interaction can occur between the programme lead, patients and other subsidiary healthcare professionals.
The requirement of a specific interpreter should be booked with the supervision of a superior. Particular care is essential for booking an appointment with a professional that has expertise in the appropriate language. Dialects have to be considered in certain cases too. Certain requirements include a licence, a particular qualification and even certain specialist skills that are required to handle this situation (Gore et al., 2022). In the case of living up to the NHS standards, it is also required that the interpreter has expertise in handling sensitive matters such as in the healthcare sector. Since this sector deals with sensitive life and death scenarios, it is very crucial to understand the experience, nature and even gender of the interpreter that suits the particular context and exact circumstances.
Individual’s reactions when communicating
The acceptable responses to an individual’s reactions when communicating as per the NHS Policy are highlighted in this section. In order to serve the patients, service users, carers and experts have to be involved so that every service is following the NHS England protocol. Such closed monitoring betters the information required for delivering top-quality engagement, information gathering and consultation activities. In most cases, the individuals have the provision to get in touch with the department leader as well as the division in which the problem is a part. This should be considered as the minimum bar that would be able to contact and mitigate the issues through simple and straightforward communication channels like email, telephone or by posting.
Barriers to effective communication
Effective communication barriers in the healthcare industry especially in the working context of NHS England are discussed in this section.
Differing standards of expectation
Patients and healthcare professionals often have different views on treatment methods, duration and even time required for discussing care options (Sanders and Blaylock, 2021). These conflicts are very frustrating for both patients and healthcare professionals that affect their attitude as well as the quality of care.
Abuse
Cases of marginalised populations being affected by abuse by their healthcare providers are not just a handful. This effect communication between patients and their healthcare professionals. Racial discrimination and gender biases are some of the sensitive issues that this sector is not fully eradicated.
Language barriers
This is probably the most common issue of communication barrier that also includes professional jargon in the context of communication in healthcare (Priestman et al., 2019). Such barriers are very crucial in restricting meaningful conversations that are essential for developing top-quality healthcare and treatment.
Ways to overcome barriers to communication.
In the context of all these barriers discussed, special arrangements are to be considered in order to navigate the discussion in case any of the special communication aids are not available at that moment (Freeman, 2019). For example, there might be a need for an immediate face-to-face meeting or some form of acceptance in the workplace in the form of video or audio chatting. In certain cases, some information is shared in languages other than English which is required for the patient to understand (Backhouse and Ogunlayi, 2020). In such a context, translation and perspective of context is very significant for others who are not well-versed in that language.
Extra support or services
The customer Contact Centre of NHS England is one of the contracts that are useful in being a provider of translation and interpretation services. The staff from the NHS in other teams and departments have to interact with the Centre so that appropriate use of services to backup communication as a response to individual concerns can be catered to (Brown, 2020). In the case of specially-abled patients such as deafblind, deaf or having hearing impairment can be converted over telephones using the Next Generation Text or popularly called text relay.
Conclusion
The detailed discussion about communication norms prevailing in a renowned health and social care system in the UK is discussed thoroughly. The concerned organisation for evaluation in this report is the National Health System (NHS). In hindsight, the reasons for requiring communication by healthcare professionals working for the NHS are the focus of this report. Furthermore, the report discusses the specific impacts that communication has on the workplace setting in this particular healthcare sector. The specific approaches that are implemented in bettering communication which ultimately helps in handling challenging situations are also discussed in this report.
Task 2: Presentation and Report
Equality
- Equality is a broad spectrum encompassing a number of different aspects that cater to creating an almost ideal scenario with fairness as its motto (Goldberg et al., 2019).
- In the context of the workplace, equality primarily focuses on giving equal opportunities and scope to all job applicants irrespective of their background, race and social status.
- Certain values incorporate the way in which morality is encompassed into the organisational culture.
Under no provision should a job candidate or an employee be treated differently. Particularly religion, sex, race and age should not be under the radar of solely forming biases against an individual as they are secured under the protected aspects of the discriminatory laws (Adamson et al., 2021). Equality not only promotes equal pay and opportunities but also promotes developing fair judgement in which individuals are based on nothing but their merit.
Diversity
- Diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand and its ultimate aim is to ensure that no employee is left unacknowledged specifically due to his ethnicity and background.
- Diversity in the workplace is definitely an asset in terms of the modern corporate scenario (Otten et al., 2022).
- It is very effective in learning and validating each individual employee’s strengths and weaknesses and utilising them in the best possible manner to ensure maximum utility of their potential.
In the context of a workplace setting, there are mainly four kinds of diversity identified. These are namely external, internal, organisational and in the global context. Some of the benefits of incorporating diversity in the workplace include increased productivity and enhancement of problem-solving and critical analysis skills alike.
Inclusion
- Inclusion in terms of workplace inclusivity is defined as an acceptance in which employees are welcomed and feel validated for their work and talents in their team and for the top hierarchy as well (Warren et al., 2019).
- An inclusive environment promotes thriving working conditions and employees are supported irrespective of where they come from and what their background is.
One of the greatest benefits of an inclusive workplace environment according to research is higher revenue prospects.
Employees who feel validated have a more potent role in being ready to look for innovative ideas. The company culture becomes more tolerant such that they can invest in widening their recruitment efforts in order to engage a more diverse talent pool.
Impact of barriers to inclusion
- Perception: Probably the most potent barrier to inclusion is social perception.
- Old traditions crippled the way into modern society although they long ceased to be relevant in the modern era.
- Students with disabilities are barred from having a normal education and that of candidates while they apply for jobs (Livingston, 2020).
Most of them are stereotyped as fit only because of them being differently abled and the same issues are prevalent in the context of students or candidates from minority communities as well.
Location: In extremely remote locations, students are unable to attend schools due to the distances and even no specific incorporation for those who might have differential requirements such as ramps for specially-abled students and others.
In the context of barriers to workplace discrimination, bullying and biased perception are the most common.
Workplace bullying: There are certain behaviours that do not fit in the bill of professional behaviour. Bullying involves harassing emails, abusive language, character-detrimental comments and even yelling towards a specific employee mainly because he belongs to a minority or is of a particular race or culture towards which the hostility is directed (Gould et al., 2022).
Biassed perception: Human beings are no saints when it comes to prejudices. In cases where the boss has already made pre-founded notions about one of his employees simply because he does not like him or her personally, will evidently have an impact on an individual’s success.
Legislation relating to equality, diversity and inclusion in service provision
- Some of the main legislation related to the incorporation of equality, diversity and inclusion in the service provision is discussed in this section.
- The first one is evidently the Human Rights Act of 1998 and the second one is the Equality Act of 2010 (Romansky et al., 2021).
- There are certain older laws particularly the Disability Discrimination Act which still hold relevance but it is all encompassed within the Equality Act.
The Equality Act of 2010 is widely contextualised in terms of providing legal protection to those individuals who are at risk of discrimination in the workplace and also in case of the society in general. This law was potent in replacing all the existing discrimination laws with a single Act. It catered to strengthening reprimands against certain discrimination followed by protection in other scenarios.
The Human Rights Act on the other hand is very much focused on defining the freedom and fundamental rights of every citizen of the UK specifically entitled (Jonsen et al., 2021). There are certain norms under this Act that the people of the UK can fight for in terms of the integrity of their fundamental rights in the legislation system of the UK. The aim of this act was to incorporate UK laws with rights that are within the realm of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion in work practice
- Avoiding unconscious bias: It is primarily the duty of the leader to make his team well-versed about how detrimental the effects of unconscious bias are.
- One of the most effective ways in which employees can be truly acknowledged such biases is that they are encouraged to question, evaluate and be critical of their inherent personal assumptions (Creary et al., 2021).
- Pay equity: Managers should be as fair as humanly possible in leveraging the playing field such that there is a scope for every employee to be having fair pay scale.
Reviewing analytics is one of the major factors that can help organisations improve and detect which particular employees are underpaid depending on their skills, expertise and workload. Such insights are helpful in catering to a greater analysis such as reviewing trends which surface whether such underpaid employees are mainly people of colour, minority and specially-abled, especially in the context of particular job roles and strike a comparison between two people having the same talent prospect but discriminated due to certain differences in their backgrounds alike.
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