Supporting Individuals Through Significant Life Events

This document discusses the impact of significant life events on individuals and their social networks. It explores the role of healthcare assistants in providing support and compares the support provided by different agencies. The document also examines the relationship between individual impact and wider social networks.

SUPPORTING
INDIVIDUALS
THROUGH
SIGNIFICANT LIFE
EVENTS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
ACTIVITY 1....................................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P1. Discussion of the impact of expected and unexpected significant life events on individuals
................................................................................................................................................1
P2. Discussion of impact of different significant life events on individual's social networks3
M1. Critical Discussion on the Relationship Between Impact on individual and impact on
wider social networks.............................................................................................................4
D1. Critical Evaluation of Impact of Significant Life Events on Individuals and Wider social
networks.................................................................................................................................4
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P3. Comparison of how different external voluntary and statutory agencies support
individuals..............................................................................................................................5
P4. Discussion of Role of Healthcare or care assistant in providing support to individuals..6
M2. Critical Analysis of barriers to partnership approaches for individuals and families.....7
ACTIVITY 2....................................................................................................................................8
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................8
P5. Analysis of the relationship between organisational policies and practical support
available in health and care settings.......................................................................................8
M3. Critical Review of effectiveness of policies and procedures..........................................9
D2. Critical Reflection on organisational approaches to promoting effective and coordinated
support....................................................................................................................................9
LO 4.................................................................................................................................................9
P6. Provision of a period of appropriate support to an individual and their social network. .9
P7. Investigation of referral processes available to support an individual and their social
network.................................................................................................................................10
M4. Reflection upon effectiveness of own role in supporting individuals...........................11
D3. Critical reflection on how effectively care facilities respond to individuals.................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Significant Life Events are defined as the cases which occur in a person’s life. These are
those activities and cases in which there is influence on a person’s health and wellbeing. There
are various events that are essential in an individual’s wellbeing. It is very important for an
individual that it is important so that all people are able to manage the work. There are different
events in which it is important to evaluate and analyse the different factors which are analysed in
effective manner (Anderson, Ewert, and Keener, 2018). The present report consists of two cases
which are based upon two different individuals. The first part of report includes assessment
which provides information regarding assessment which influence the significant life events. The
second part of the report includes explanation of way in which different procedures and policies
are followed for managing the people living in society. This report also includes reflection on
how individuals who have experienced significant life events are supported in care service
provision.
ACTIVITY 1
LO 1
P1. Discussion of the impact of expected and unexpected significant life events on individuals
Significant life events are having crucial influence on the individual who are
experiencing the same (Bian, Sloane, and Baillargeon, 2018). This also affects the lives of
individuals. As a healthcare assistant, it is very important for analyse as well as discuss the effect
of significant life events on the individuals. The following diagram shows the stages, events and
potential of event in Jane's life
Conceptual Diagram of Jane's Event:
Discussion:
Discussion – Jane is an 80 year old female who was suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. Due to
this, she faced various problems like loss of memory, mental dysfunctionality and short term
memory. As Jane is very old and she has problem of memory loss, Alzheimer disease is very
1
Age: 80 Years
Potential Impact:
1. Irritation
2. Confusion
3. Impaired Memory
Actual Impact:
1. Hypertension
2. Memory Lapses
3. Blackouts

common in such old age people. During this phase of life, people are more prone towards and
healthy lifestyle and lack of mental capacity. In case of Jane, It is seen that she was not able to
live a healthy life and atmosphere around her was full of irritation and she started behaving in a
weird manner which caused irritation to her family and friends. She was not able to do her daily
activities and tasks in proper manner as she was having problem of impaired memory. Jane was
diagnosed with care facility and it was seen that she was having problem of memory loss and in
worst scenarios, she was having problem of blackouts. Due to this condition, she got faint and
extreme fits at some time (Bigby, and Beadle‐Brown, 2018). She was also having problem of
hypertension and because of this she was not able to sleep properly. She was given proper
isolation for managing her health condition and improvement it as fast as possible. There is an
impact on the care facility in cases where she refused to take medicines because according to
her, these medicines will make her sleepy. Alzheimer disease has great impact on life of Jane.
She was not at all prepared for experiencing old age and suffering from this disease. The
immature behaviour of Jane is leading to bad impact on her life.
Conceptual Diagram of Harry's Event:
Discussion:
Harry is a 15 year old youngster who has been diagnosed with cancer. The significant life
event takes place when the normal functions of his body have stop being working properly. this
can also occur when the cells start growing in abnormal manner within the body. In context of
Harry, cancer was diagnosed few weeks before and he was quite severe as cancer has reached to
stage 3. There are are some impacts on the person who is suffering from this situation. One
example of this is constant body ache, fatigue lymphedema which can spread within the body. In
the case of this diagnosis, the impact of the cancer on life of Harry started with consistent loss of
appetite (Bleidorn, Hopwood, and Lucas, 2018). He was talking to various patients were also
2
Age: 16 Years
Potential Impact:
1. Fatigue
2. Body Pain
3. Lymphodema
Actual Impact:
1. Loss of Appetite
2. Depression
3. Panic Attacks

experiencing the same problem. Due to this, he was very scared and stopped eating and he was
also having no appetite for food. He was also suffering from depression (Boullier, and Blair,
2018)(Cantor, and et. al., 2019). The concern as a healthcare assistant is to take care of
inspections as well as examinations of various individuals with significant life events. It was
concluded that Harry e was having problem of depression and he was not feeling well and he
cried a lot. Such patients can suffer from severe panic attacks that was evident on his mental
health.
P2. Discussion of impact of different significant life events on individual's social networks
From the above discussion, it is concluded that the impact of various events like Alzheimer
and cancer is great on the life of individuals who are experiencing the same problem. It is very
important that the impact of these health problems must be analysed on the care networks of
individual. The influence of significant life in packed on Harry and Jane is mentioned below –
Jane's case
Impact on individuals – there is major impact on life of individuals who are having this problem.
Some of these include irritation, memory loss, eyesight problem and constant pains. People also
feel irritated and frustrated if there having this problem.
Impact on families - health condition like Alzheimer is very common in old people but as
families are not prepared for this unplanned event, they have to suffer mental stress and
emotional breakdown. Jane was an old lady and her family is supporting her in every manner for
her well being.
Impact on friends - there are lot of chances where friends and relatives are also suffering from
emotional breakdown and mental stress because they are missing old Jane who was there friend
and talked to them everyday.
Impact on wider social networks - divided social networks of individual consists of neighbours,
distant relatives or individuals the person is usually meeting. This can also include colleagues
and staff for shopkeepers. These are having minimal impact on the event as they are not
emotionally attached to the person.
Harry's case
Impact on individuals - Harry a teenager and he is diagnosed with cancer which is a devastating
event for him. This has created sadness and depression in his life as it was unexpected event.
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Harry is having various expectations from life which she is not able to fulfill because he might
lost his life at early age.
Impact on families - there is huge impact on family of Harry as he is very young and diagnosed
with this kind of disease. This is quite a major shocking event for the family of Harry as their
having an emotional breakdown because the family members of never expected that this will
happen with them.
Impact on friends - Harry is a teenager and at this phase of life the bond of friendship is the most
strong. There are various experiences in which friends are helpful in doing daily activities and
tasks (Christian-Smith, 2019). Because of condition of Harry, the friends of him are facing
emotional breakdown as they are not prepared for unexpected death of their friend.
Impact on wider social networks - these are not associated with individual but there can be the
problem and have a great impact. Due to unexpected event like cancer in life of Harry has
created problem in developing social networks.
M1. Critical Discussion on the Relationship Between Impact on individual and impact on wider
social networks
It is very important that impact of significant life event it is properly discussed for ensuring
intensity in order to influence the individual, family and friends. In case of Jane, It is seen that
magnitude of relationship between impact on individuals and on peers is not very effective. This
is due to reason that at this phase of life, people are more tend towards suffering from mental or
physical health issues. In case of Harry, there is strong relationship between the impact of
significant life event and life of Harry (Culverhouse, and et. al., 2018). Cancer is known as an
unexpected disease which was found in in Harry who was only a teenager. This is an emotionally
challenging moment for Harry.
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D1. Critical Evaluation of Impact of Significant Life Events on Individuals and Wider social
networks
According to de the above-mentioned analysis, It is seen that the significant life event of
Harry and JANE have great impact on social networks as well as peers. In context of Jane, there
is more effective evident. She was suffering from irritating behaviour and memory lapses which
was impacting life of Jane in negative manner. In case of Harry, friends dear and social network
was having a large impact on event experienced by this person. There is high impact on life of
individuals if cancer exist.
LO 2
P3. Comparison of how different external voluntary and statutory agencies support individuals
Duty of health care assistant is to analyse and determine the different external voluntary and
statutory agencies which will support individuals that are experiencing significant life events.
Where is comparison on how these agencies are supporting individuals –
Jane's case
Voluntary agency- Alzheimer's society – this is a society within UK which is responsible for
spreading the knowledge and awareness about people and their behaviour if they are suffering
from Alzheimer (Davey, 2018). There are various campaigns like fundraising, knowledge
campaigns which are organised for helping the patients who are suffering from Alzheimer
disease. There are lot of ways by which this organisation is supporting the people who are
suffering from Alzheimer. This organisation has an innovative service which allows individuals
to use telephonic or face to face method for getting help from this service group. There are wide
range of professionals who are helping these individuals by motivating them and building
confidence among them to deal with their situation.
Statutory agency - National health service
This is an agency in UK which is one of the most effective as well as appropriate agency which
is involved in providing support to the individuals who are suffering from Alzheimer (Dupéré,
and et. al., 2018). In case of Jane, this organisation is providing Full support to him by providing
face-to-face assessments and giving a proper home care through different professionals.
Harry’s case
5

Voluntary agency - Cancer research UK
This is a voluntary organisation within UK that is associated with involving in different
researches on the individuals who are suffering from cancer. This organisation is working for
searching different type of treatment for helping people to cope up with this disease. This
organisation requires skillful professionals and funding for providing care home for patients.
This organisation also develops cancer plans and is working with organisations like NHS for
supporting cancer patients.
Statutory agency – NHS England
NHS is a big organisation which is involved in supporting the people who are suffering from
cancer (Falk, and Dierking, 2018). Harry is provided support through intervention. This
organisation also helps family e and peers by inclusive approaches in the career planning
method.
From the above discussion, it is concluded that statutory organisation as well as external
voluntary organisations are involved in providing support to the individuals who are suffering
from various significant life events. There are various factors for comparing the different aspects
of life. Jane requires more personalized care according to the analysis of these organisations. On
the other hand, Harry requires to be provided with good treatment and medication for his well
being.
P4. Discussion of Role of Healthcare or care assistant in providing support to individuals
The individuals who are experiencing significant events in life, it is very important for
health care assistance to provide effective support for the people in order to provide convenience
and ease. It is very important to provide support to various individuals as it will help in
determining responsibility and roles which are involved in maintaining well-being and health of
the individual. It is very important for the society that there is awareness among the health care
practitioners for increasing the knowledge about health issues (Garland, and et. al., 2019). In
context of Harry and Jane, for the health care assistant it was important to have an effective as
well as appropriate responsibility which is described below –
Assisting individuals - this is an important role which I had to manage why supporting different
individuals true significant life events. It was very important for me too to analyse overall
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condition of patient and provide him proper treatment and medication. I have undergone an in
depth research for analysing the condition of patient and protecting these individuals from
further harm. This responsibility is required for managing the support which is provided to these
people.
Administration - in context of a care assistance, it is important for me to support individuals as
they are tackling from severe diseases. It was very important for me to maintain a proper record
of these patients and provide them treatment in effective manner. The medical records will
include past medical condition, current treatments. All the information is provided to the health
care professional. Moreover, other information related to fee structure, admission dates and
expected time frame for treatment it is also informed to health care professional (Gordon, and et.
al., 2018). It was required by me to manage the referrals, contact details of the patient and proper
information about the patient
Care network management - this is another role of the health care assistant which is related to
the adopting and performing various activities related to individuals experiencing life events. I
had to take care of creating a Care network for patients. This included healthcare professionals,
peers and the professionals from different field such as physiotherapist, psychology, etc. all these
have to be managed in proper manner for providing effective treatment to the individuals. This
consist of managing the norms and channels of communication and providing information like
inspected outcomes and medical reports to the professionals.
Monitoring - this is known as a very important role which includes supporting of the individuals.
As a healthcare assistant, I was involved in monitoring the medical procedure by assisting
professionals in effective manner. I have developed a timetable for the patients according to their
age as a less health issue which will help them to take proper diet and medications and improve
their health conditions as soon as possible.
.
M2. Critical Analysis of barriers to partnership approaches for individuals and families
There are a lot of barriers to the partnership approaches which are needed to be analysed for
determining the effectiveness of organisation for supporting individuals. There are following
barriers:
 Physical Constraint:
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This is a major barriers which is associated with having a partnership which is supporting
individuals in the physical constraint. This is associated with the approaches for partnership
approach for supporting the individuals (Luciano, and et. al., 2018). The reason behind this is
that there are lesser spaces in which care network is discussed for managing health and wellbeing
of individuals.
 Staff Attitudes:
This is also a barrier which includes adopting the partnership which is associated with
attitude of employees and staff. The reason behind this is that it is important for
managing the individuals and staff for challenging the different functions within the
organisation.
ACTIVITY 2
LO 3
P5. Analysis of the relationship between organisational policies and practical support available in
health and care settings
There are lot of policies as well as regulations in the healthcare setting that are involved in
providing care and support to the individuals. These are the policies which occur due to the
relationship with practical support from the organisation. The healthcare professionals have to
provide effective and proper care as well as support the individuals who are managing the health
issues of individuals. There are various policies adopted by NHS which are helpful in in
providing effective services to the patients. The first policy is associated with confidentiality. It
is concluded that all the healthcare professionals must ensure that they are keeping the data of
patients confidential and secure. According to this policy, individuals are provided support in
order to maintain their confidentiality. It is very important to provide all the workers and patients
security and confidentiality. This policy provides benefit to Harry and Jane in order to have
secure life. Details of these people cannot be shared with other people without their permission.
This is helpful in developing effectiveness among the patients and managing their concern about
the services which is not disclosed to other people (Magnusson, and Stattin, 2018). This is
helpful in maintaining the ethics for people in the healthcare industry. This policy is according to
the legal guidance and requirements which are to be followed by healthcare professionals of all
organisations in order to help the individuals from any harm. This policy is helpful in framing
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the confidential as well as protection of information regarding the patient. Just policy is helpful
for providing practical support to the patients. People who are suffering from Alzheimer are
more concerned about data as well as information regarding their life in order to improve their
health. On the other hand, cancer patients also require to have confidentiality about their health.
According to the data protection policy, the healthcare professionals are requested to protect the
information and data of the patient. These professionals must not harm patient by collecting any
useless information and leaking that information to other people as it will affect health of the
patients. This policy will help in in developing trust and confidence with the patient. In context
of Harry and Jane, It is seen that they are facing significant events which are having a great
impact on their life. All the healthcare professionals who are treating them have to protect their
information from other people so that they are able to provide good treatment to these patients.
M3. Critical Review of effectiveness of policies and procedures
There are different procedures and policies which are used for providing health facilities
for delivering effective services. There are various policies which are used for delivering services
in proper manner. There is need for providence of accountability among health services with in
setting of organisation. The healthcare organisations are important for managing the services of
organisations and improving them in proper manner. There are different regulations and policies
which are important for managing the way for attaining proper services. It is very important for
the healthcare organisations to manage the work in proper manner.
D2. Critical Reflection on organisational approaches to promoting effective and coordinated
support
The organisational approaches for the management of promoting as well as effective
support for evaluating the improvisation of health. It is important for managing the better care
and assisting of individuals for managing the life events. This can be explained with an example,
the organisation is setting the individuals for enhancing the competencies and managing the
significant life events (Messerschmidt, 2019). There are various procedures which can be
improved by enhancing the use of technology, as well as better training through simulations in an
appropriate manner to enhance the outcomes of the same.
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LO 4
P6. Provision of a period of appropriate support to an individual and their social network
It is very crucial for providing time for supporting the individuals and the social network for
determining overall support which can be provided to people facing the significant life events.
The case of Harry and Jane as described below
Jane's case - this old lady was diagnosed with Alzheimer few weeks ago. She was provided
medications and her family was guided for how to treat her in effective manner. It is ensured that
she is having good health and all the family members are knowing the medical condition in
proper manner. This lady is is suffering from Alzheimer and this is creating problem to her
family members too. Jane was diagnosed with Alzheimer after doing lot of diagnosis. This
impacted life of Jane a lot (Nahum-Shani, and et. al., 2018). She was kept under supervision and
she was given continuous monitoring by the healthcare professionals as well as assistants. It was
ensured that she is provided moral support and proper medications so that she can improve her
health quickly.
Harry’s case – Harry was provided support and care after he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.
There were different tests which work conducted because there were symptoms and he was
continuously falling ill. He was provided immediate medical care and admitted where he was
provided all the necessary facilities. There were different tests which were required for getting
actual information about severity of Cancer stage. He was provided all the facilities where he
was treated for the. Latest technologies and equipments word used for improvising his health
condition. External support was also provided to Harry by psychologist whose responsibility is to
enhance the comfort zone as well as acceptability of Harry’s condition.
P7. Investigation of referral processes available to support an individual and their social network
There are different referral processes which are available within NHS for supporting
individuals and managing the care networks. This is important for the times of significant life
events. This is mentioned below -:
 Referrals through GP:
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This is known as an effective and appropriate processes which is essential for managing
the work. It is important for providing support to the individuals who are associated with GP.
It is important for a general physician which is a professional who requires to see symptoms
and referring to specialist. It is very important for the people to be registered as GP for the
refferals. The authorisation is given by the GP in a written format, which could be used
within the care facility in order to get referrals from the organisation.
 Referrals through health professionals:
In case a person does not have a GP, then there are other health professionals within the
field that could get an individual referred to a certain professional or specialist in written format.
This is another way through which individuals experiencing significant life events could get
referred.
M4. Reflection upon effectiveness of own role in supporting individuals
It is very important for the healthcare assistants for managing as well as evaluating the
need for supporting individuals in an effective manner. There are different significant events
within life of individuals which has to be managed in proper manner. It is very essential to
manage the conditions for the health of individuals (O'rand, 2018). It is very important for the
people that they are managing the life of individuals. However, it was quite challenging for me to
manage the care network appropriately, for which I would be undergoing additional training.
D3. Critical reflection on how effectively care facilities respond to individuals
It is important to analyse and critically evaluate that care facilities are required for
managing different work in proper manner. There are various factors in the locality which have
to be managed in proper manner for analysing the care network. It is essential that all the
individuals are provided effective challenges for managing the work in proper manner. It is very
essential to manage the different barriers such as lack of communication within the same
(Oakley, 2018). This provides help in analysing the referrals. It is important for having effective
communication and ensuring a better response for experiencing significant life events.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it is concluded that there is need of managing the significant
life events. It is important for determining the responses and care in effective manner so that
individuals are manages properly. It is imperative that how voluntary and statutory agencies for
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supporting the individuals. It is important that all the care and responses are essential for
managing the impact on friends, family and wider social networks. It is important for managing
the role of healthcare or care assistant in providing effective support. It is important to analyse
and evaluate the context for determining the link between the two in proving care and support.
There is need for managing the plans for appropriate support to individuals.
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