Working with Professionals in Health and Social Care Practice Essay

Introduction

Partnership plays an important role in the health care industry. According to researchers, “partnership is a key issue in both policy and practice, here in the UK and further afield” (Brooker, 2011, p. 3). Working in partnership with other professionals in Health and Social Care practice has many benefits which contribute to the overall health outcomes. There is much evidence that effective partnership working is “fundamental to the aimed of clinical governance, with its emphasis on creating an environment in which clinical excellence will flourish” (Brooker, 2011, p. 3). As a matter of fact, the benefits are provided by partnership working coordination, cooperation, collaboration, and expertise. Based on practice knowledge, it is possible to use a comparative approach to discuss multi-disciplinary /partnerships working in two different service areas, such as a Community Team and Mental Health Service. Partnership working in health and social care settings depends on policy and policy improvements. For this reason, it is necessary to consider changes in the context of partnership.

There is a close relationship between the law and policy application and research and practice within the field of social care; therefore, working in partnership with other professionals in Health and Social Care Practice contributes to the achievement of the established health care goals. Health and Social Care can be viewed as two supporting partners in pursuing the common goals targeted at improving public health.

The meaning of the concept of multi-disciplinary/partnership work

It is necessary to have a good understanding of the concept of multi-disciplinary/partnership work in order to assess its strengths and weaknesses. According to researchers, “partnership working as a concept is defined as organizations or individuals working together or acting jointly” (Fatchett, 2012, p. 83). For health care professionals, it means working with others to achieve common goals.

There is much evidence taken from academic literature that multi-disciplinary/partnership working in the service areas like Community Team and Mental Health Service is effective, reliable, and promising. A community Team is aimed at improving and supporting patient-centered services, assisting in the coordination of care. In other words, the community initiative is focused on the improvement of care delivery at the community level to affect health outcomes in a positive way and ensure high-quality coordination of care. Additionally, a Community Team facilitates the transition of care across different services provided to community members. Mental Health Services are provided by professionals specialized in managing common mental health problems by applying an integrative approach.

The analysis of the concept of multi-disciplinary/partnership working within health and social care shows that the partnership approach allows addressing a number of challenges faced by professionals in their daily activities. This approach has been explored from different perspectives, including theoretical and practical perspectives. From a theoretical perspective, collaboration in care services should be achieved through joint actions of professionals because of the complexity of this approach.

At the same time, working in partnership means being involved in integrated working to achieve the established goals in a rapidly changing environment. Currently, health and social care services are interrelated as they are directed toward improving the well-being needs of community members. It becomes clear that people of all age groups require well-planned and properly coordinated health and social care interventions, involving various professionals (e.g. social workers, nurses, community support workers, mental health specialists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, physicians, and others (Williams et al., 2017). Policymakers are focused on fostering partnership in all areas of the health care industry. Partnership working is organized between different sectors of the health and social care industries. Undoubtedly, due attention is paid to the adopted laws, rules, and regulations, which often lead to structural change and modification of financial incentives (Willaims et al., 2017). If the separate health and social care agencies work independently, the delivery of health and social care services is still inefficient. There is a need for establishing an effective whole-systems approach to adore the needs of community members who need these services. Hence, the agencies like a Community Team and Mental Health Services should be working collaboratively or in partnership to achieve positive outcomes.

Discussion of the nature of partnership working

Partnership working is highly valued by professionals if it takes place in one setting or service area. The issue of partnership working or integration is a complicated issue. It requires consensus on what should be integrated into the areas of health and social care delivery. In most cases, the term partnership working is associated with alliance and collaboration. In fact, the major goal of partnership working is to develop “some common understanding between different interests of its purpose and objectives” (Willaims et al., 2017). Integration is reflected in policy development and practice involving different professionals, clients, and geographical areas. There are several factors that affect

partnership working, including organizational structures, financial frameworks, regulatory systems, budgets; governance systems, existing history of partnership working successes and failures, human factors such as the level of professional competence, HR practices, leadership strategies, and management strategies (Willaims et al., 2017). Besides, partnership working has been shaped by the current policy which is aimed at improving the well-being of the nation. According to researchers, “joint working between health and social care has long been a policy priority in England, with growing interest by the previous New Labour government in achieving ‘joined-up solutions to joined-up problems’” (Glasby et al., 2011, p.1). According to researchers, there are several reasons for establishing a partnership working:

improvement of the efficacy of care
provision of flexible services
redistribution of services more equally to achieve positive outcomes
improvement of the experiences of care users (Glasby & Peck, 2003).

Researchers assume that the development of current policy and laws pertaining to care delivery requires altering the established professional roles and ways of working to improve the quality of health care services (Fatchett, 2012, p. 94).

At the same time, the English Department of Health tends to criticize those health and social care agencies that fail to work jointly, developing effective partnership working processes. The services of different agencies should work collaboratively because the nation needs high-quality care delivery, without any limitations and inequalities in service provision. According to experts,

All too often when people have complex needs spanning both health and social care good quality services are sacrificed for sterile arguments about boundaries. When this happens people, often the most vulnerable in our society…, and those who care for them find themselves in the no man’s land between health and social services. This is not what people want or need. It places the needs of the organization above the needs of the people they are there to serve. It is a poor organization, poor practice, poor use of taxpayers’ money—it is unacceptable (Glasby et al., 2011, p. 2).

The English Audit Commission assumes that the multiple benefits of partnership working should be recognized by professionals in health and social care agencies. Some of these benefits include:

providing the ability to deliver the properly coordinated packages of services to clients
ensuring the ability to resolve the so-called ‘wicked issues’
providing the ability to minimize the impact of organizational fragmentation and the impact of any outcomes resulting from it
giving massive opportunities for gaining access to new resources
providing aligned services delivered by all partners to address the needs of clients;
improving the use of resources
fostering stimulation of more efficient, creative approaches to current problems
having a strong impact on the “behavior of the partners or of third parties in ways that none of the partners acting alone could achieve” (Glasby et al., 2011, p. 2).

Application of the health and social care theory to compare different models of partnership working

Applying health and social care theories, it is necessary to compare different models of partnership working and assess the benefits of inter-professional work that is based on the integration of services provided to clients. In social science theories, human society is aimed at improved interaction. Based on research findings, activity theory, discourse theory and the theory of interactionism and the theory of professionalization support the idea of working in partnership which is based on teamwork, strengthened social identity, reduction of conflicts, improved team relations, the connection between professions and increased role of social power on partnership working (Reeves et al., 2010).

There are several models of partisanship that can be implemented in health and social care services, including

virtual partnership
policy-driven partnership

These models reflect the needs of clients as both of them are aimed at achieving positive health outcomes and resolving various health problems in a proper way. In other words, the models of partnership working are based on integration practices that require the use of an effective “leadership approach that is collaborative, facilitative and catalytic to reflect and respect the different contributions of managers and professionals; it needs to be dispersed and distributed to all levels of the organizations” (Williams et al., 2017, p. 1). As a rule, partnership working is based on the work of multi-disciplinary teams that are considered to be the key tools of the integration process. Professionals from different fields can use their skills, expertise, knowledge, and experience to produce generic practices and foster creative strategies to address the needs of clients or service users. As integration practices that are implemented by professionals in the course of partnership working encounter a wide range of problems, due attention should be paid to learning and knowledge management. This fact means that leaders, managers, and practitioners should be focused on the development of new skills and professional competencies to ensure effectiveness in partnership model governance (Williams et al., 2017). Besides, working in partnership depends on the proper inter-personal skills of professionals which are crucial in building trust relations and promoting reciprocity; high level of diplomacy and consensus-seeking attitudes; innovativeness and creative decision making to assess the connection between professionals from different fields of health and social care services (Williams et al., 2017).

All in all, the use of current national health policy calls for implementing efficient partnership working through the fulfillment of the key requirement -to work collaboratively. This approach requires using the proper skills, knowledge, and experience to achieve positive outcomes. In addition, it is crucial to provide learning and development of professional competencies to “ensure a joined-up, caring and effective service which meets the needs of the patients and their families and does not add to their worries and concerns” (Fatchett, 2012, p. 82).

Conclusion

Thus, it is necessary to conclude that partnership working within health and social care services is important to address the needs of clients in the most efficient way. In today’s environment, health, and social care services are interrelated as they help to improve the well-being needs of community members. Obviously, service users of different age groups require well-planned, efficient, and properly coordinated health and social care interventions, which involve various professionals. Community Team and Mental Health Service professionals should work collaboratively to provide patient-centered services and ensure coordination of care.

References

Brooker, C., Nicol, M., Alexande, M. F. 2011. Alexander’s Nursing Practice: Hospital and Home – The Adult. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Glasby, J. & Peck, E. 2003.Care Trusts: Partnership Working in Action. Radcliffe Publishing.

Glasby, J., Dickinson, H., Miller, R. 2011. “Partnership working in England—where we are now and where we’ve come from,” International Journal of Integrated Care, 11. Retrieved from:<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3111890/ >

Fatchett, A. 2012. “Working in Partnerships and Policy Agenda,” in Social Policy for Nurses, Polity Press.

Reeves, S., Lewin, S., Espin, S., Zwarenstein, M. 2011. Interprofessional Teamwork for Health and Social Care. John Wiley & Sons.