Partnership Working Models, Legislation & Practices in Health Care

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of partnership working in the health and social care sector. It begins by highlighting the importance of collaboration and teamwork in improving healthcare quality and promoting best practices. The report explores various philosophies that facilitate collaboration, emphasizing communication, understanding, and transparency. It examines different models of partnership working, including unified, coordinated, coalition, and hybrid models, and reviews current legislation and organizational practices that support partnership working. Furthermore, it analyzes how differences in working practices and policies can affect collaborative efforts. The report concludes by reiterating the significance of collaborative practices in enhancing healthcare standards and fostering positive relationships among healthcare professionals and service users, ultimately leading to improved service delivery and patient outcomes. Desklib offers a wealth of similar resources for students seeking academic support.

Working in Partnership in Health and Social Care
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................18
Reference List................................................................................................................................19
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Introduction
Collaboration and teamwork have long been considered benchmarks in the field of health and social care
due to its characteristic positive impacts on not just the quality of health care provided, but also on the
way, it has been able to promote good practices in the industry. While experts believe that collaboration is
the key to efficiently deduce and work on a particular health care service user, others have been of the
view that collaboration is not just important amongst care workers and users, but amongst the care
workers themselves.
This study will focus on the various aspects of collaboration in the health and social care industry, with
due emphasis on the rules and regulations that demand the same. In subsequent parts, light will be shed
on personal experiences, as well as the various advantages such collaboration possesses. This will help
the readers in understanding the possible outcomes of upholding collaborative practices, whilst giving
them enough information regarding the many potential barriers that arise in actual health care units.
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Task 1
Introduction
Health and social care workers provide services to some of the most vulnerable citizens, who are in dire
need of not just physical attention but emotional as well. Through extreme focus on the needs of the
service users, health care units all over the world have been able to develop certain tendencies that
ultimately result in better quality of services, provided with a much higher sense of responsibility. The
College of Social Work (TCSW), one of the most sought after institutions in the field of health and social
care, has released official statements regarding the improvement of their services based on better
collaboration amongst the service providers and users (“Social work agencies must collaborate to
improve services”, 2018). This move has inspired other similar institutions to focus more on developing
better methods of interaction with their users, thereby directly affecting the way in which they uphold
teamwork.
Discussion
The initial aspect of collaboration in health care arises from the underlying principle of communication
and understanding. According to experts, communication within a health care unit depends heavily on the
ability of professionals to listen to the problems that users come up with, in order to bring about positive
change (“Practice development: Collaborative working in social care - Background - Why use
collaborative methodology?”, 2018). In the domain of health and social care, this aspect is thought to
be crucial. Understanding, with a mix of proper etiquettes and compassion, is the first philosophy that
health care units, especially in UK, have sought to establish as an industry standard. Organizations, which
seek to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals, have to accordingly align their operations with this
philosophy in order to increase their perceived value. This is considered as the first milestone that any
unit in the health and social care industry has to accomplish.
The greatest advantage of having this philosophy in place with the objectives that a health and social care
unit wishes to achieve, is that communication not only helps in proper establishment of industry
standards, but also affects the efficiency with which the required services are provided. According to
leading organizations in the UK, a lack of communication could involve inflexibility, loss of important
information when passing hierarchal structures, inappropriate attitudes as well as mistrust and criticism
(Sheehy, 2018). Therefore, the philosophy behind upholding communication in the workplace, to
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improve the collaboration with which health care professionals generally function, is not misplaced and
completely in agreement with the requirements of the industry.
One major philosophy that has had quite an impact on the health care units’ sustainable functioning, is
that care workers are not just entitled to provide the service user with the prescribed treatment, but go
beyond such structures to provide services that actually make their lives better. It is no exception that
many health care users face diverse situations in their houses, which makes it even more difficult for them
to cordially accept the treatment bestowed onto them (Sundström et al., 2018). The needs for integrated
adult support throughout the service domain have increased almost ten folds since the beginning of such
institutions in the UK.
Last but not the least; the health care units all around the world had faced serious criticism for not
maintaining the required transparency in their decision-making, which was posing a great threat for the
users. To eradicate such practices, the philosophy of collaboration was greatly effective. Not only did this
improve the ways in which senior managers made their decision-making more visible, but it also
improved the way through which the management could try to empower their respective workforces. This
philosophy is again highly correlated to the fact that practitioners should focus more on evidence before
they act, thereby increasing the credibility of the care-service provided.
There is direct link between the philosophies behind collaboration and the relationships that are present in
a health care setting. In broader spectrums, operational relationships in any health care setting consists of,
but is not related to, the collaboration amongst the service users and the social care workers, and the
relationship between the workers themselves.
Initially, the relationship between the social care workers and the users could be used to assess the
newfound approach that health care units have undertaken. For example, the Aldgate Health Clinic for
Men is setting benchmarks through extensive focus on reflective practice and an approach that is
completely solution-focused. This has only been possible because the workers have developed strong
bonds with the service users, thereby understanding exactly the requirements of each individual
separately.
In terms of the relationships that exist amongst workers, collaborative practices help them in not just
improving the type and quality of services, but also increase their compatibility with the organization.
Workers are more adept with the levels of improvement that is expected not just from the organization but
also from the workers themselves (Dunér and Wolmesjö, 2015). Through collaboration, workers can
themselves identify the needs for development as well as the learning required to improve efficiency. In
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addition, a healthy workplace relationship amongst the service providers also directly improves the rate at
which new ideas and practices are shared amongst themselves. It should be kept in mind however, that all
of these relationships will only be sustained if the health care unit upholds the aforementioned
philosophies through their everyday functioning.
Conclusion
Collaborative practices and teamwork is the backbone for the present companies that seek to establish a
strong market position in their respective industry. While collaboration is facilitated by many
philosophies that major institutions in this domain seek to adhere to, there are many positive impacts of
using the same. This is a major reason why health care units in the UK are seeking to improve the
relationship that exists not only amongst their workers, but also amongst the service users and working
professionals. The main aim of such practices however, is that it could directly affect the standards that
most health care units try to follow in their everyday functioning.
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Task 2
2.1 Analyze different models of partnership working across the health and social care sector
It is necessary to promote a sense of effective partnership in any workplace. There are various
models which guide the management of an organization to form a structure of their working
methods. In a health and social care (HSC) setting, it is necessary that a proper model is being
followed to ensure that the workers and patients are guided properly to ensure the effective
working of the HSC (Glasby and Dickinson, 2014). There are four partnership working models
that are being used in a HSC setting. They are:
 Unified Model of Working: This model of working is considered as a person-centered
and it is used to meet the demands of the service users and their families or loved ones.
The organizations that follow the model of unified care giving develop a keen interest in
an individual’s personality, interests, behavior and medical care requirements. The
health care workers involved in this organization is dedicated towards the service users,
their families, hospitals and other healthcare associations to provide them with suitable
packages.
 Coordinated Model of Working: There is no appropriate definition of coordinated
model of partnership working. It can be vaguely defined as the assessment of the needs
of individuals by professionals from different agencies (Dickinson and O'Flynn, 2016).
The coordination of services is achieved by a panel of multi agencies or task group. Joint
commissioning between health and social care results in a multi component approach
that has the ability to generate better results.
 Coalition Model of Working: A coalition is collaboration between two or more
independent organizations. The organizations that follow this model mainly use this as a
temporary measure to combine services for a limited period. This model has better
opportunities to minimize the level of wasted resources and support the care of
individuals in a tailored way.
 Hybrid Model of Working: The organizations approaching this model of working have
the authority to combine the best services of public, private and social sectors. These
organizations depend on business entrepreneurship to reduce their dependence on
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government funding (Bryson, 2016). Their primary goal is to improve citizen services
and wider economic benefits to the communities in which they operate.
In order to make a partnership in HSC successful, it is necessary that the organizational policies
and interactions among the staff are in good note. The people associated with the HSC must be
able to identify the practices that enhance the structure and performance of their organization
(King et al., 2016). The present and relevant practices of the organization that maintains unity
and proper functioning of the staff include agreeing to the ways of working, generating risk
assessments, increasing employment practices, including the documents provided by the
government departments. When the organization practices the aforementioned activities, the
functioning of the HSC is considered sufficient.
2.2 Review current legislation and organizational practices and policies for partnership working in
health and social care.
There are many acts and legislations that ensure the efficiency of the partnership in a health and
social care setting. There are mainly four which are of significant importance. They are:
 Mental Health nursing (1994): The government and the service users have stated that
under this policy the role of service users should be developed in such a way that they
can have the right to comment on the activities undertaken by the nurses. The report also
stressed on the fact that the effective working of mental health nurses depend on the kind
of relationship they have with the service users.
 The Health of the Nation- A Strategy for England (Department of Health)- 1992:
The goal of this strategy was to improve the physical and mental health of the people of
England. It was being disclosed by various surveys that mental illness was that area
which required special attention.
 NHS and Community Care Act 1990: This particular act stressed on many objectives
that could be used for caring for people. It advertised the concept of care enabler rather
than care provider as it sounded more like the commercial version implemented through
market strategies (Curtin et al., 2017). This act encouraged the use of unified model of
partnership, describing the need of involvement from both care receivers and care
providers.
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2.3 Explain how differences in working practices and policies affect collaborative working
As a consultant of the board of AHCM, it was easy to identify the differences in working
practices and policies. The working practices and policies affect collaborative working as well.
The collaborative approach requires the various organizations to come together and share their
knowledge and ideas for the improvement of a particular area of an organization (Cook-Sather,
2016). Though effective collaboration is a key aspect of successful implementation of service
provision, there are certain limitations that affect the methodology of collaborative working:
 Confidentiality- Due to the involvement of various organizations there might be issues
of trust which can give rise to tension between the organizations regarding sharing of
information (Bryson, 2016). This has a possibility to threaten the confidentiality of each
organization.
 Service Users- There is a possibility that for service users and care givers the planning
and structure might happen without the involvement of the service users and their
families. Their opinion might not be taken into consideration.
 Time and Workload- With the development of partnership collaboration, the
organizations involved might take more time to function for the patients.
 Boundaries- There is a possibility of overlapping in the dimensions set by the
organizations regarding the practices and policies involved (Dickinson and O'Flynn,
2016). It might happen due to the increased involvement of services users and the carers.
The possibility of the professionals being the care users at some point has also been
sighted.
 Disputes- The differences in the opinions of various professionals regarding the policies
and provisions of care might be a matter of concern in the health and social care setting.
From the experience as a consultant in AHCM, the above differences can be highlighted as the
issues that might impact the effective working of the collaborative partnership in various HSC.
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(Source: Created by the author)
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Task 3
Evaluate possible outcomes of partnership working for users of services, professionals and
organizations [P3.1]
In case of partnership working for users of services, professionals and organization, the
outcomes are both positive and negative. The positive outcomes include the following:
 Improved services
 Empowerment
 Informed decision making
 Autonomy
The outcome may occur in any such situation where the employees of a particular business
organization helps in delivering improved services to the service users, which is highly beneficial
for their well being. In this case, the service users will be benefitted with the partnership
philosophies (Dickinson and O'Flynn, 2016).The responsibility of health and social care sector is
to enable the staff, care takers with proper care and empowerment in health and social care states
to take care of the people.
(Source: promoting positive partnership working, 2018)
Each and everyone have the freedom to make their own choices, regarding the things that are
best for that individual. People are allowed to make their own decision which in turn helps the
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Figure 1 Promoting positive partnership