Working in Partnership: A Comprehensive Guide to Effective Collaboration in Health and Social Care

This comprehensive guide explores the intricacies of partnership working in the health and social care sector. It delves into various partnership philosophies, analyzes the effectiveness of relationships, and examines the impact of legislation, policies, and practices on collaborative efforts. The guide also identifies potential outcomes for service users, professionals, and organizations, highlighting both positive and negative aspects. Furthermore, it addresses common barriers to successful partnerships and proposes strategies for overcoming them, ultimately aiming to enhance the overall effectiveness of collaborative initiatives in health and social care.

UNIT 5 WORKING IN
PARTNERSHIP
1

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1..............................................................................................................................................4
1.1................................................................................................................................................4
1.2................................................................................................................................................6
TASK 2..............................................................................................................................................8
2.1................................................................................................................................................8
2.2..............................................................................................................................................10
2.3..............................................................................................................................................12
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................13
3.1..............................................................................................................................................13
3.2..............................................................................................................................................15
3.3..............................................................................................................................................17
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................20
2

INTRODUCTION
Working in a partnership is making and creating the commonly helpful and profitable
connections that increase the knowledge and quality of the consideration. This ensures the
connections and relations between the people with the carers, administration etc. So the
partnership in a health and social care is defined as the working and giving services of two or
more people so that they can attain the maximum advantages of resources which are available
and can convert them for the welfare for the society (Green, 2015). HSC partnerships are
always used to be proved effective and efficient which helps in achieving the goal of the
providing the good treatment and care to the patients. This assignment focuses on the
partnership that can be successful in a health and social care with the explanation of the
different partnership philosophies and the relationships evaluations with reference to a given
case study. Further, there will be the analysis of the partnerships methods with the current
practices and legislation that are being practised in the health and social care. There will also an
evaluation of the prospective outcomes that can be used by the service users and the HSC
professionals and the assessment of these outcomes and results that can be improved for the
working in partnerships.
3

TASK 1
1.1
A partnership working is a major element of HSC that requires the different providers of the
HSC for working together to share their ideas and knowledge on the specific improvement area.
There are some philosophies associated with the HSC that help in bringing the information,
skills, care, accountability, and responsibility etc. With respect to the given case study of MR
Ian, that is suffering from some mental health issues and the different authority and their
partners tried to help him by using these philosophies (Cameron, et al. 2014).
Empowerment:
This partnership philosophy in HSC will assist in empowering the service users' needs to take
the best decision that should be taken into consideration of the all resources available and
consideration of all alternatives and situations. In the case study of the Mr Ian, The REP team
has taken the decision by assessing Mr Ian and found that the when he was drunk he used to
become more aggressive and he was not able to take the decisions at the time of drunk so
decision was taken by the service users to allocate two male staff for working in that case
(Timor‐Shlevin and Krumer‐Nevo, 2016).
Independence:
It focuses on the parties’ independence for the partnership as they are free to make their own
decisions and choices related to the planning and other management. Health care centre
independence means that every member of the HSC has the freedom to select whatever they
consider the best suitable thing for them. In the case of Mr Ian, the key workers by their own
choices took the case of Mr Ian to the REP (Risk Enablement Panel) that apparently assist in the
effective management of the case and help Mr Ian at the most possible levels (Golightley, and
Goemans, 2017).
Respect:
4

It is very essential and necessary to respect the patients at the care centre also staff workers
that are taking care of the patients should respect them as it makes sure that the patients are
providing the proper attention and care. In the case of Mr Ian, proper care and respect was
given to him by the organisations and authority and taking care of the fact that he doesn't use
to talk much and at the time of drunk he used to more aggressive so the organisations and
members who are engaged with the case of Mr Ian tries to talk with him whenever possible.
Making informed choices:
This is the most significant philosophy of the health care centre and working in a partnership.
The decisions that are taken in the favour of the patients should be informed if possible and it
should also be known to the caretaker and the organization that has taken the responsibility of
the patients. In the case of Mr Ian, he was not able to understand anything as he did not talk to
anyone but the decision taken for him was known to everyone.
Autonomy:
Autonomy is must and essential in the case of Mr Ian and another care centre. The
organisations and call centres which are associated with the case of Mr Ian are having the right
to carry out their respective tasks. The key workers of the REP that are assigned for the case of
Mr Ian have also given the autonomy looking the sensitivity of the case.
Thus the different philosophies of the partnerships help in effectively and efficiently assigning
the responsibilities and roles for ensuring the effectiveness and equality in the HSC (Dickinson,
and O'Flynn, 2016).
5

1.2
The relations of the partnerships between in the health and social care centres should be
strong. There should be the effective maintenance of the relationships as it helps in the
providing effective care and treatment to the patient. The relationships can be ensured and
considered by the working together for the common goals as in the case of the Mr Ian the REP
centre and their key workers were working collaboratively to provide the proper care and
treatment to Mr Ian so it should be maintained at the personal, individual and organizational
level. There are other different relationships within the case that should be maintained with the
service users, organization and the professional groups. The relationships of the partnerships
within the health and social care should be effective for the internal as well as the external
practices, parties that will ensure its success. Following are the ways that will evaluate the
effectiveness of the partnerships relationships in the HSC (Gould, 2016):
There are minor issues, problems, and the contrary situations in the administrative and
operational front- When the operational and administrative staff would be effective and
efficient there would be lesser and fewer issues and problems and thus the administration and
operations would run effectively and smoothly. In any case, if the system and the organization
have many problems and issues then the relationship partnerships will not be effective and
there will be no coordination and collaboration among these systems, processes and the
policies. Thus in the case of Mr Ian, there was the proper coordination and cooperation among
the staffs and workers and they have the understanding that if the case is out of control it
should be transferred to the other department. And also they were aware of the way of
handling the situation and the circumstances (Glasby, 2017).
The users of the services are happy and satisfied with the services and the performance that
is provided to them in regards to the specific cases- There would be the effective facilities and
the services given to the service users and the team performance will also be better if the
processes, policies and the practices will be aligned. There should be made of facilities and the
services quite effective and stronger by streamlining of all practices and services.
6

Thus it can be said that the relationships of the partners in the HSC should be strong and sound
that is created and developed among the different peoples like service users, care workers, staff
and the senior workers of the health sector. As in the case of Mr Ian, there was a strong
relationship among all the authorities, teams, panels, therapist, support workers and also
within each individual team and authority. Thus the partnership in the working place within the
partnerships will tend to give the positive outcomes and results and help in attaining the better
satisfaction while working in partnerships (Glasby, and Dickinson, 2014).
7

TASK 2
2.1
The type of the model in a partnership working within a health and social care sector defined
the organizational structure that is being followed by it. There are several models that are being
used it the HSC sector that facilitates the effective execution of the partnerships (Carpenter, et
al. 2017).
Unified model: This model of the partnerships focuses on the diversification of the services for
the patients and the service users. The management structure involves the staffing,
management and training of the employees. There is no separate or different area or structures
for this activities and the main aim of this type of the structure is to make the distribution of the
services to the service users. It used to build the effective relationships within a partnership
working and also helps the partners to work together in an effective and efficient manner. The
partners of this working structure have also the well‐defined objective and goal. The main
benefits of this structure are it has a separate system of the financial workings (Bowling, 2014).
Coalition model: The various activities are associated and integrated together but their
workings are different. The training and management and staffing of the staffs and workers are
associated with each other. The partners who are involved in the working use to do only that
work which is being assigned to them. The benefits of this model adoption are: The services and
activities cooperate in joint actions and activities. The partners use to work individually and
separately and the knowledge of the all the segments and activities are not necessary.
Hybrid model: It is the mixture of the two partnerships models in the health and social care
sector. This is usually made by the unified and coalition model. This model has various benefits
that can be used in the HSC. This model can be used for making the effective choices and
provide effective treatment to the services and provides the effective services.
Coordinated Model
8

This model ensures the providing the positive experiences to the patients and rendering the
treating the patients with proper care so that the patient can be cured in a timely manner. Also,
it helps in seeking the complex diseases in the health and care settings. The main benefit of this
model is that the professionals of the different agencies can fulfil the individual needs and the
coordination can be maintained by the panel that has more than two agencies.
In a nutshell, there is a variety of the services that can be rendered to the service users by the
partnership workings with the help of the models. All the models have their own benefits that
can be utilised by the partners according to the availability (Pass, and Shi, 2017).
9

2.2
The legislation, policies and practices in the health and social care have set the regulations and
rules that are being designed and structured by the government to secure and protect the
patient and the staff who are working within an organization of the HSC. Following are the
organizational policies and practice, current legislation for the working partnerships in the
health and social care are as follows (Barth, et al. 2017):
Mental capacity act: This act was proposed in 2005 and the basic aim and objective are to
empowering those people and individual who are not capable of making decisions and make
the plan for them that can benefit themselves. As per this act, everyone has a right of taking the
decision for their life to be happy. As in the case of the Mr. Ian as he was not well and having
mental problems and he was not able to make the decision on their own when he was drunk as
it was assessed by the related agency and the association so this activity can be applied in the
case of Mr Ian Here the assessment of the mental capacity had been done.
Children’s act: The main objective of this act is to provide the security and safety and fulfilling
the child needs so that the future of the child can be secured. As in the case of Mr Ian during his
childhood, he had experienced physical, sexual and emotional abuse that results in the great
depressions and mentally instability (Turner, 2017). According to this act, these all things are
illegal and in this case, Mr Ian can be secured and saved. The health and the safety are taken
into the consideration in this act and it also helps in achieving the economic wellbeing and
makes a positive contribution.
Community care act and NHS 1990- This is also an important legislation for the working in the
partnerships in HSC that has the duty and the role to assess the people within the care settings
it also ensures for providing the proper support to the service users.
Organizational policies and practices:
10

Agreed working ways:
These ensure the regulations and rules which define the working ways in the HSC sector and
render the services to its users. For example, for rendering the effective services in the Food
hygiene regulations in the health and social care the Food hygiene rules and regulation should
be followed (Tricker, and Tricker, 2015).
Professional organizations:
Some belongings of the professional institutes related to the health and social care concerns
about the health issues for the users of the public sector.
Voluntary organizations:
Most of the voluntary organizations strive for the challenges and problems in the society and
the removing of the social causes. Anti‐smoking was being promoted by the health and smoking
action organization that was established in the year 1971(Tricker, and Tricker, 2015).
In the case study of Mr Ian, there was an effective collaboration of various authorities, panels,
therapists etc. that have followed the policies and regulations for the effective implementation
of the actions (Ginter, et al. 2018).
11

2.3
A policy is the course of the action that has been designed by the business or the government
for determining the decision making. When these policies and practices are present in the
business for the working in a collaboration of more than two organizations then there will be
positive and negative effect both. The working practices and the policies are being developed
and defined well as per the standards that have been set by the government. It makes the step
by step processes and makes it standard and smooth in all areas. As due to the consistent
practices in the working the service users and the care workers and the staff of the HSC all
make their work in a collaborative approach. It helps in resolving the various problems, issues
and the standards. The major difference that can be seen in the working practices should be
followed at HSC with the collaboration of the standards as it helps in the effective
implementation of the standards and strategies which has been set. As in the case of Mr Ian,
there were different authorities, panels, organizations and therapist which was focusing on the
solving the case of Mr Ian and transferring that case with the proper collaboration so different
practices and policies helps in the collaborative working in the case of Mr Ian. Following are
policies and the practices used for the collaborative working:
NHS: This institute provides the services in the HSC sector which supports the policies and
procedures that includes the patient's courses such as the meditations, stress and anger
management. It can be also used by the agencies and the panels for the case of Mr Ian for
providing the managing with his stress.
Government: The main purpose and aim of the government are to help the different sector in
the form of the financial, arrangements related to the need, resource allocations etc.
Education: The main focus is on the schools and the colleges as it is the main organizations and
system of this industry and ensures the right of knowledge and study. This should be promoted
in every aspect.
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TASK 3
3.1
Possible outcomes for the users of service within the partnerships workings:
The outcomes can be the negative and positive aspects of the partnerships workings which are
as follows (Sanderson, 2014):
Positive outcomes:
 The services nature has been improved in the comparison of the services that are given
before.
 It renders the positive impact on the users of the services as it also helps in the
informing the decision in a better way that enhances the employee's skills.
 There will be the increment in the autonomy and the empowerment that can enhance
the performance and will render the better results in the health and social care.
Negative outcomes:
 There may be the lack of communication that may lead to the conflicts that can create
anger and harm for the service users of the partnership workings.
 There may be also the level of the frustration that can be seen among the service
providers which can also be a barrier.
 There may be also the duplication of the data (Dickinson, and O'Flynn, 2016).
The outcomes for the professionals
Positive outcomes:
 The partnerships will create the better relationships with the professionals within the
partnerships workings which will lead to the new skill and knowledge.
 There will also the clear and defined roles and responsibilities within the HSC sector
between each staff and member that are working in a partnership.
 The duplication can be minimized and scale of the economies can be achieved by
optimum utilization of the resources.
Negative outcomes:
13

 The professionals may face the challenges and situation of the conflicts due to the
partnerships.
 There may also the situations of the no proper communication between the
partners
 As the reliability increase so the problems of the funding may also occur this can be
due to the mismanagement of the funds.
The possible outcomes within partnerships workings for the organizations:
Positive outcomes:
 This will render the provision of services and promotes the principle of sharing.
 The working roles and practices are same and common that helps in the attainment
of the goals and improved performance.
 There will be the adoption of the coherent approach.
Negative outcomes:
 The cost may be high and there may be the increment in the expenditures.
 There may be the gap of communication
 The shared purpose may be lost (Fleming, et al. 2015).
Thus in the case study which is based on Mr Ian, there was the different team, authority and
panels that have worked for the case of Mr Ian to provide them relief for his illness and all
these have worked in a partnerships and provides the positive outcomes for the organizations
and the service users like Mr Ian. The case was out of control so it was referred to the other
department as is the advantage of partnerships workings. All organizations seek help in the
case of the emergency to avoid the barriers and challenges. This also affects their decision
making (Schedlitzki and Edwards, 2014).
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3.2
The barriers to the working in the partnerships in the HSC are being mentioned below:
Structural barriers: Health and social care centre differ in their structure and there are
structural differences within the HSC. This may cause troubles in maintaining the relationships
with the organizations. The services are also divided among the partnerships in the
organizations. There are also different organizations and authorities which were treating Mr Ian
and there structure also varies that have proved to some barriers in working with the
partnerships (Thompson, 2016).
Financial barriers:
The financial mechanism or the resources may also vary for the different organizations
irrespective if they are working together as a partner. For example, the NHS financial resources
mechanism may be different than any other organizations and this type of variation may create
some problems and issues in the partnerships. As in the case of Mr Ian, there was various
authorities and team and their financial structure was also different ;like Risk enablement panel
(REP) and the Local authority long‐term team (LTT) both were working for Mr Ian also had the
different financial structure which has led to some barriers in their workings (Needham, and
Carr, 2015).
Procedural barriers:
Each and every organization of the HSC have their predetermined and set procedures for
handling the specific demand of the patients and some of them are customized as per their
structure. Thus when a partnership establishes, the whole system and the procedures need to
adjust and changed which affects the whole organizations a lot. For example, the way of dealing
with the case of Mr Ian was different by the REP and it also differentiates in the case of the LTT
working procedures (Cătălin, et al. 2014).
15

Professional barriers:
Every healthcare centre and the organizations have its own policies, values and the processes
that are set as per their standards. When the organizations go for the partnerships they have to
face the professional barriers and they should respect and understand the professional and
personal interest of each other to avoid the conflicts within the organization (Blais, et al. 2015).
16

3.3
There are various strategies that can be implemented for converting the negative aspects into
the positive aspects. Also, the overall outcomes can also be improved. Some of the mentioned
strategies for improving the outcomes for working as partnerships in the HSC are:
1. It should be realized by the organizations to make sure that the parents and the staff
should consider that there should be the quick decision taken wherever necessary. For
example, in the case of Mr Ian, the staff have considered that Mr Ian uses to very
aggressive in the case of the excessive drinking so they take care of this thing.
2. There should be a proper matchup of the qualifications so that there may be the
effective job and duties assignments which lead to the effective attainment of the goals
and objectives. And the case should not be given to the nurses and normal staff in the
case of the special patients like in the case of Mr Ian the case should be monitored from
the very beginning by the higher department (Brett, et al. 2014).
3. There may be the strategies that can be implemented may be in the form of the
providing training to the people and the staff for a better result. As the case of Mr Ian
was very special he had the mental problems and some problems in their legs also so
there may be the assignment of the special, talented and trained staff or group that can
cure and improve the conditions of the Mr Ian
4. There may be also the implementation of the effective risk assessment system that can
minimize the risk in the partnerships workings. In the case after knowing that Mr Ian
does not talk too much and becomes aggressive sometimes and it became the risks for
the caretaker and maid that are working for Mr Ian and most of the time the situation
has arisen where police needed to came and broke the door. So, in that case, the risk
was known but nobody has taken consider.
5. Moreover, there may be the sharing of the awareness among all parties that are
involved in the partnerships. The awareness should about the knowledge of the policies
of HSC sector. In the case of Mr Ian, this strategies could also be applied for the effective
performance as per the set standards (Oliver, and Pitt, 2013).
17

All these strategies can be applied in the HSC partnerships workings for ensuring the
effectiveness and enhancing the positive outcomes, it will also improve the negative
impacts of the partnerships. Various authorities and agency can also apply the strategies
associated with the case of Mr Ian for the effective results and there may be the more
chances of being well quickly (Aveyard, 2014)
18

CONCLUSION
Thus it can be concluded from the above report that the partnership working is proved to be
effective in the sector of the HSC and it can be implemented as the strategies which led to the
better results and improved performance. There are some philosophies that can be applied for
the effective performance of the service users. There may be some major challenges that can
be faced while working in partnerships which should be resolved effectively. It has also been
evaluated that the follow up of rules, policies and legislation ensures the working in a
partnership that can be boost by the effective collaboration. There are also some strategies that
can be applied for the improvement of the services and the performance in the HSC sector.
From the given case study it has also been analyzed that there should be proper care should be
given by the police and the social care settings.
19

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