Multi Agency Working in Human Services: A Case Study

This report focuses on a case study that reflects on the issue of bad parenting and their ill habits. It outlines the key roles and legislation involved in multi agency working in human services and evaluates the impact of national policies on such agency working. The report also discusses the theories and models of social care and the contribution of service users in the decision making process.

Case Study and Reflective
Account
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Outline the key issues in the Case Study................................................................................3
Brief overview of each professional role and the legislation that inform their practice........3
Demonstrate the type of Multi Agency meeting....................................................................4
Demonstrate understanding of service user contribution in the decision making process.....4
Theories and models of social care........................................................................................5
PART 2 ...........................................................................................................................................5
Outline what you learned about yourself using a reflective model........................................5
Reflect on knowledge you have gained including legislation, policy and practice guidance
applicable to Multi Agency working......................................................................................6
Reflect on and evaluate your role within the meeting............................................................6
Analyse and evaluate your experience of working as part of a multi agency team...............7
Provide a conclusion that summarises your learning and development ................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
Multi agency working is a collection of people from multiple agencies which are grouped
to achieve a common goal. Working in collaboration is necessary because it offers a variety of
support which is required to complete a task or top resolve a issue at a time (Jasper and et.al.,
2016). The report is based on a case study which reflects on the issue of bad parenting and their
ill habits. The report will focus on outlining the key roles and legislation involved in such
practice and theory of Multi Agency Working in Human Services. The report will also evaluate
the impact of national policies on such agency working.
MAIN BODY
PART 1
Outline the key issues in the Case Study
The case study is about Lola who is a 6 week old baby. Her father, Clive used to take
drugs but took help and managed his ill habit until child's mother, Donna was pregnant. When
her mother was 15, she was suffering from Schizophrenia which some how got managed due to
well medications and assistance of medical health worker. One of leg Lola's leg seemed strange
to her parents so they took their child to general practitioner for check up. After critical
examination it was found out that Lola had multiple fracture in both arms and legs. Both of her
parents did not have any idea about the situation, thus the main issue which can be observed by
multi agency workers in such case study is the negligence of parents. The case was looked by
multi agency team who helped in outlining issues and giving solution for resolving such
problems. Another issue is that they are blaming hospital for not taking care of their daughter
during birth. The habit of substance abuse in Clive may have emerged after the delivery of baby,
at such state no individual can take care of a baby which may have resulted in dropping off baby
from hands or any minor accidents during bathing. More investigation will be carried out by
multi agency team and decision will be taken crucially keeping in mind that Clive has started
taking drugs again and Donna cut her wrist due to overdose.
Brief overview of each professional role and the legislation that inform their practice
The member of non governmental agency and doctors have been assigned in making
multi agency team for taking care of Lola and resolving the issues. The workers may observe the
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issue of drug intake in Clive as major one along with the condition of Donna. The condition of
both parents are not clearly stable. Schizophrenia may get slightly managed with proper
medicines but it have large side effects which involve mood and actions. So it seems that due to
this condition mother was not able to take proper care of baby. The role of professional in this
condition is first provide best medical expert to the given child (Beckett and Horner, 2015). The
condition of baby was very critical because of multiple fracture, so doctors especially
orthopaedic surgeon which are in the team of multi agency should gave proper medical attention
to child. The non governmental agency as a part should focus on resolving the issue by
thoroughly investigating with the previous hospital where the birth of child actually took. They
should also consult with their neighbours and family members for getting the details on how the
parents used to behave with the child. The Children Act, 1989 provides a framework which
safeguards the children from being abused and provide day care or adoption for young children.
The legislation will focus on the welfare of specified child.
Demonstrate the type of Multi Agency meeting
The multi agency team have been formed to look into the case of baby Lola, in this team
specialised doctors and people from non governmental agencies have been gathered to conduct a
meeting. The tools which are utilised to assist agencies are standard letter of invitation, opening
statement based on case, agenda of meeting, action plan and review (Sallis, Owen and Fisher,
2015). In standard letter of invitation people from other agencies have been invited for
evaluating the case deeply. The agenda of meeting will be outlined by elaborating the case with
every member of team. Open statement will be made by investigators based on issues identified
by analysing the case study. The past and present action of baby's parent will be mentioned
depending upon which an action plan will be formed and opinion of every individual will be
considered. The issues like negligence of parent, blaming hospital for not taking care of their
daughter during birth, habit of substance abuse and condition of Schizophrenia will be critically
analysed. Once a solution is being made, team members will review the strategies which are
formed for resolving the issue and stabilising the condition of baby.
Demonstrate understanding of service user contribution in the decision making process
The contribution of service users are immense in the process of decision making. The
perspective of service uses helps in understanding the actual need and demand of society which
must be included while taking decisions regarding health care system. The service user in this
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case are Lola, Clive and Donna. The person centred care is highly supported by such users which
directs the health providers and multi agency teams workers. It focus on rendering support and
care with dignity and respect to all individual irrespective of their age which also involves in
forming judgements. The outcome of health care, treatments and care is provided by service
user, due to this outcome the service care unit may alter their operation and working process if
any complainants are received from users. The decisions which are associated with taking
decision on functional and operational issue then their suggestions and feedbacks are considered.
Theories and models of social care
The family life cycle theory is based on the series of modification that majorly occurred
in family dynamics and how such type of alterations may change the phases of development. The
father stopped using drugs and the mother was constantly visiting medical health worker in
respect to give their new born child a good life. The cycles which are vital in such theory are
independence, marriage, parenting and senior years. The part of marriage and parenting got
disturbed due to habit of substance abuse and medical issues in specified case study. The social
care workers may use this theory to determine basic life cycle of family. The cognitive
behavioural model offers social workers a certain framework which aids them in addressing the
issues which they might have an impact on social and professional outcome (Kvale and et.al.,
2016). The cognitive behavioural model may be extensively used for mental patient which helps
in making their dysfunctional behaviour stabilised. The model not only based on cognitive
variables but it also focus on dealing with behavioural dimensions into the formulated strategies.
PART 2
Outline what you learned about yourself using a reflective model
I have used Gibbs reflective model for sharing my experiences through learning and
developmental process. The model has provided me a framework for evaluating my experience
by following various stages. Firstly, description of experience is shared which involves in
understanding the key issues in the case study of Lola and further outcome of such situation.
With this I learned that my analytical skills are high and by looking at the case my observation
skills got enhanced. Another factor related to model is expression of feelings, by looking at the
condition of Lola I came to know that good parenting is very essential. The experience was
evaluated by going through some legislation which protects the right of children and assist in
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understanding about the concept of regulations. However, at the end conclusion and care plan are
drawn through which I came to know that by using my convincing and medical knowledge I
have the capability to guide the parents of specified child. In such guidance I will indicate how
adversely their negligence and ill habits made their child suffer. I learned that my mentoring and
communication skills are high. Through such model I got full information about my learning and
developmental skills.
Reflect on knowledge you have gained including legislation, policy and practice guidance
applicable to Multi Agency working
While looking into the case I came across with large number of legislation and guidelines
which may be applied in such scenario. Such information assisted me in gaining high knowledge
about laws and acts about protecting and safeguarding the rights of child. The multi agency team
has been set up in which I am a vital part as a doctor, the legislation and practices helped in
building confident and safe future of such working staff. The formation of such agency was
necessary to deal with all aspects of issue in detail and to provide better future to the child. Most
experienced and potential doctors and candidates from non governmental agencies were selected
to conduct investigation on case. The main purpose and roles are to give better quality medical
attention to the child, evaluate the working of the hospital which was blamed to cause multiple
fracture in child. The final report was made which included all recommendation and care plan,
such report clearly explains how government will be functioning with social workers and doctors
for drawing a final decision. This helped in gaining knowledge about how government works
while dealing with such sensitive case according to policies and regulations.
Reflect on and evaluate your role within the meeting
My role within the meeting was crucial, as a doctor I evaluated how damaged the legs
and arms were of baby. I explained all the issues which were monitored by me and then I
reflected how important it is to give quick medical attention to the child's physical condition. I
assessed the needs and wants of patients health care while considering the social as well as
personal circumstances which lead into such condition. The knowledge and skills which I
learned from analysing the case study was reflected in this meeting. My role in the meeting can
be more evaluated by using Belbin team roles. As per this theory, various roles have been
assigned to number of people in multi agency team like implementer, shaper, coordinator, team
worker, resource investigator, specialist. For developing a team the roles, team members,
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individuals performance and team performance are considered. My role in this meeting was
equal to a coordinator whose task was to balance the people as per their duties and guide on how
the process will be conducted. Full medical attention was provided by me and my team members
to the given child for making her condition stabilised. The team members are my supporters from
medical department along with some social workers who focus on interacting with subject
parents and get updates on their daily behaviour and actions.
Analyse and evaluate your experience of working as part of a multi agency team
My experience as a coordinator in multi agency team was motivating and challenging. I
learned many skills from such episode which made me realise my strengths and weaknesses. My
experience can be reflected by use of Tuckman theory which is generally utilised in coping up
with team building challenges. Many challenges were faced by me during team formation and
task allocation. The members who were assigned to complete a particular role tends to behave
independently. As some time passed, during storming stage the team members started to know
each other. With clashing thoughts many arguments took place while coming into a conclusion
but it was handled by me and some other coordinators through motivation and effective
communication. Once the storming stage phased out, norming stage came which lead into
harmonious working among team members which included in agreeing on regulations and rules
by which they function. As per my opinion during this stage people start trusting each other and
they worked collectively in resolving the issues. I analysed that my work was not only limited to
showing my medical skills but it also made me a good leader having all qualities one can have to
lead a team.
Provide a conclusion that summarises your learning and development
From the report I can conclude that, my learning and developmental skills enhanced
within the team. There were time when I had to motivate all team members for presenting their
perspective on case study, such practice made my motivating skill good. From learning about
legislations and regulations my knowledge gained about the acts which are government have
made on basic human rights and safety. My problem solving and planning skill was also
enhanced while resolving the conflicts and assigning the task to undergo. The leadership
qualities which were lacking in me due to constant working in hospital assisted me in high
learning and development. The care plan was made which lay emphasis on managing the issue of
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multiple fractures, drug use and schizophrenia all together of people who were introduced in case
study and during formation of such plan my monitoring and observation qualities uplifted.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that, Multi agency working is a aggregation of
individuals from various agencies who are working together to achieve shared goal. When
working is done in collaboration it has ability to offers a mixture of support which are required to
deliver quality work and specified time period. For resolving the issues in case study, such type
of multi agency team was made in the report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Beckett, C. and Horner, N., 2015. Essential theory for social work practice. Sage.
Jasper, R. and et.al., 2016. Multi-agency working and implications for care managers. Journal of
Integrated Care, 24(2), p.56.
Kvale, E.A. and et.al., 2016. Patient‐centered support in the survivorship care transition:
outcomes from the Patient‐Owned Survivorship Care Plan
Intervention. Cancer, 122(20), pp.3232-3242.
Sallis, J.F., Owen, N. and Fisher, E., 2015. Ecological models of health behavior. Health
behavior: Theory, research, and practice, 5(43-64).
Tuinman, A. and et.al., 2017. Accuracy of documentation in the nursing care plan in long-term
institutional care. Geriatric nursing, 38(6), pp.578-583.
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APPENDIX
Provide care plan that would meet the service user’s needs and all of the concerns
A care plan are made for providing a particular direction of carte which may be provided
to the client for proper care and support. A care plan commonly flows from patient diagnosis list
and must be organised for meeting with the needs of specific person (Tuinman and et.al., 2017).
The issues like habit of substance abuse, negligence of parent, blaming hospital for not taking
care of their daughter during birth and condition of Schizophrenia have been narrowed down
which lead to multiple fracture in baby. The service users needs to make a care plan concerning
on multiple fractures, drugs usage and Schizophrenia through most effective person centred care.
Such care plan is given below.
Diagnosis Intervention Rationale
1) Multiple Fractures – The
fracture may be diagnosed by
undergoing X ray of provided
baby in case study.
2) Drugs use – Blood test may
be taken which indicates the
presence of drugs in sample.
 Secure a board under
the bed of patient
 Render secondary
comfort measures by
gentle massage and
back rub.
 Special care should be
made while bathing
and dressing the baby
 The existing life
situation and adverse
impact of substance
abuse must be
addressed to such
people
 The recent level of
 A soft mattress helps in
giving comfort to the
broken arms and legs
 Assist in improving
blood circulation and
lowers the area of
pressure as well as
fatigue in muscle.
 It lowers the habit of
denial and helps in
understanding the
thought process of such
individual.
 It helps in coping up
with the current
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3) Schizophrenia – It may be
diagnosed by evaluating the
symptoms like hallucinations,
agitation or disorganised
speech.
functioning related to
family members may
be assessed
 Encourage patients to
get involved in
therapeutic writing
 Planning frequent and
short chats with client
throughout the day
 Determine the way
through which family's
function may be coped.
 Provide information
about how important
taking medicines and
seeking help of medical
assistance is necessary.
situation in their family
and will eventually
leads in giving up the
habit for the child.
 The practice of writing
helps them in getting
more concentrated
which eventually make
their anger and stress
go away.
 The client gets a
chance to become
comfortable and safe in
such short visiting.
 With the identification
of family needs, the
unit of family may be
stabilised.
 By taking proper
medications and help
of medical practitioners
the condition may get
stabilised. All such
activities help in
providing better care to
Lola.
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