Domiciliary Care in Improving Safety and Quality

This article discusses the impact of domiciliary care on improving safety and quality in healthcare. It explores legislations, communication, professional values, and risk management. The importance of safe and effective practice and its impact on social care delivery is also highlighted.

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DOMICILIARY CARE IN IMPROVING SAFETY AND QUALITY
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The City and State Where it is Located
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Domiciliary care in Improving safety and Quality
Domiciliary care is a type of medical care provided to patients at their homes. The
services are home-based but the patients still need additional support from health providers
different from their normal schedule (Bar-Zeev et al, 2012, p. 368). The support may be
informed of household activities, provision of personal care. These assistances are designed
to improve health status and independence of an individual. Quality assessment affects social
and health care delivery because values norms are stipulated to safeguard the interests of the
patients (Allen et al, 2014, p. 346). Quality and safety affect social healthcare delivery
positively or negatively depending on the care providers. Experienced staff works best to
ensure that patients are safe from any medical risk.
Legislations on Quality and Patient Safety
All healthcare practices have done based on the legislation that guides health officers
in their operations. The legislation is provided by the government in an attempt to safeguard
the rights of all people and attain quality healthcare to it's the citizens. There are various
health legislations established in the United Kingdom that are made specifically for
improving patient safety and healthcare quality to those people receiving home-based
medical care. First, the Health and Social Care Act of 2012 was established to promote
equality in healthcare. Prior to the adoption of the law, there were inequalities in terms of
healthcare provision in the country. Through the implementation of this legislation, many
health groups have been brought together towards achieving a common goal. The groups
included in this Act include the Health Department, Clinical groups, and Public Health
Associations. The legislation came with amendments on the responsibilities of the health
groups and local authorities responsible for overseeing and supervising all healthcare
practices in the country (Basner et al, 2014, p. 1325). Secondly, another law called the Equity

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Act of 2010 was passed to bring equity through an integration of all activities performed by
the concerned groups. The aim of this Act was to improve daily businesses and make all
healthcare organizations accountable for their operations. Accountability is important in
ensuring safety and quality service delivery because charges are placed for any facility the
does not adhere to the standards of the legislation.
Effects of Communication on Healthcare Provision
Communication is a critical component that determines the performance of any
organization in all aspects of life. Many theoretical frameworks have been provided by
medical scholars, social workers, and psychologist to elaborate on the importance of
communication in healthcare provision. The analysis of the impacts of communication to
healthcare should focus on how to improve home-based care to patients, and overall safety
and quality. According to statistics done by scholars, more than half a million people die
yearly in the world due to errors and risks incurred in hospitals and other health centres (Lo et
al, 2012, p. 725). Effective communication helps in minimizing medical errors and related
risks. Many reports have been published by various England medical journal groups. From
these reports, it is clearly shown that medical errors reduce with higher rates when patients
are involved in the medication process and decision-making. One of the theories that explain
the relationship between communication and healthcare is Peblau’s Theory of Interpersonal
Relationship. This theory puts more emphasis on the relationship of a nurse and the patient in
the therapeutic context. The type of communication that happens in this process is affected by
environment, cultural beliefs and attitudes of both the nurse and the client. Effective
communication is essential in the decision-making (Bode, Gardin and Nyssens, 2011, p. 228).
For effective decision-making appropriate decision-making to be achieved, the patient's
consent is important.

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Importance of Professional Values in Safety and Quality
Values are guidelines that direct a certain professionals towards achieving the
objectives of that profession. Values motivate and encourage an individual in the healthcare
operation (Sellman, 2011, p. 205). Behaviour is also affected by values, therefore, they are
standard frameworks applied in all actions lying within the limits of the profession.
Healthcare officers are guided by medical norms. First, confidentiality is one of the values
adhered to by all health professionals. The need to apply this value in the placement is of
great importance because it ensures that the rights of the patient are kept confidential from
other people. Autonomy is another professional value that is relevant for this placement
activity (Grimshaw 2015, p. 768). Autonomy is the ability to avoid causing harm to other
people. Autonomy is important because it ensures the safety of the patients is maintained at
all cost. Lastly, justice is applied in this scenario to avoid exploitation of patients during the
service delivery, therefore, reducing the cost of providing healthcare support to home-based
patients.
The Balance between the Needs of the Patients and Risk Management
The needs of the patients are prioritized in a healthcare setup. The fulfilment of the
patient requirements have been reported to face a lot of risks. For effective quality
improvement, health-related risks should be managed since some of them cannot be
completely avoided (Borthwick, Short, Nancarrow, and Boyce, 2010, p.1). To achieve this
balance, some of the factors that should be put into consideration are applied while providing
healthcare services to home-based care patients. Some of the practices to be included in this
practice include; promoting the independence of these patients, considering their opinions,
and giving them a chance to make a choice on the medical modalities to be used in the
process. To manage risks, medical practitioners should collaborate and consult from

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experienced professionals. For effective risk management, new skills should be established
because they improve safety and quality.
Importance of Safe and Effective Practice and their Impacts in Social Care Delivery
Safety is important because it improves quality assessment. Patient safety and quality
of healthcare practices are important factors that determine performance of any health and
medical facility. Through patient safety, clients' experience improve (Grimshaw et al, 2015,
p. 756). This is because of the quality of services delivered to a particular patient determine
his/her perception of the facility. Norms and ethical standards developed in the organization
affects the quality of services either positively or negatively, therefore, quality is a dependent
entity. The safety of patients is one of the measures used to assess quality. It is seen a norm
that prevents patients from all practices that may cause harm to them. In other words, patient
safety is an approach taken to avoid risks and accidents that may arise during medical care.
Domiciliary care is accomplished through safe handling of patients, therefore, improving
healthcare services.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the quality of services provides to the patients is a direct indication
satisfaction of the patient. Good communication and interaction with the home-based patient
is pivotal in positive outcomes from the patients. Risks interfere with safety and quality
improvement. The risks occur due to ignorance of the healthcare officers. Ignorance is one of
the barriers that arise from the lack of good communication between staff members. Poor
communication between staff and patients may also lead to a reduction in the quality of
services and safety

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Allen, J., Brown, R., Hutchinson, A.M., and Livingston, P.M., 2014. Quality care outcomes
following transitional care interventions for older people from hospital to home: a systematic
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Bode, I., Gardin, L. and Nyssens, M., 2011. Quasi-marketisation in domiciliary care: varied
patterns, similar problems? International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 31(3/4),
pp.222-235.
Grimshaw, D., Hebson, G., Rubery, J., and Ugarte, S.M., 2015. "It's All About Time”: Time
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Sellman, D., 2011. Professional values and nursing. Medicine, Health Care, and
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Effects of clinical communication interventions in hospitals: a systematic review of

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