Working in Partnership
Working in Partnership
Embedded Files
Your role will involve you working with many people who have a variety of roles. This is known as ‘partnership working’.
Developing good relationships will help to improve the quality of care provided.
The main working relationships in health and social care can be categorised in which of the following ways?
Think of four options and select picture.
1, 3, 4 and 5
Remember - People outside the care environment should not be involved in the care of an individual.
Individuals and their friends and family
People outside the care environment who you trust to advise you
Your colleagues and managers
People from other workplaces, including advocates
Volunteers and community groups
All working relationships should involve mutual respect and should value other people’s skills and knowledge with a focus on working together in the best interests of the individual receiving care and support.
Select each tab for more information.
Working with individuals
An individual’s carer may provide support by visiting or providing food to them in their social care or health setting.
You should be helpful and make sure that this is built into the care plan and routine, and is understood by other workers.
You might also support the individual to share their wishes with the carer.
Working with other professionals
Other workers might provide a service to someone you provide care and support to. For example, a dietician might advise the individual about their weight and help them agree a plan for their meals and snacks, taking into account any preferences or special dietary needs.
As the worker likely to see the individual most regularly, you could encourage them to keep to the diet and support them to report back how the diet is working or if it needs to be changed. If the individual was not eating or unwell as a result you would arrange for the diet to be reviewed quickly.
Very often health care support workers or adult social care support workers are in a position to play an important role in making observations and links with other workers because they are in regular contact with the individual. They are very important partners in the overall health or social care provision to an individual.
The importance of people working together should not be underestimated as serious case reviews, which are the reviews carried out when a vulnerable adult dies or comes to significant harm, often identify failings in partnership working as being a key factor in what went wrong.
Effective partnership working
Good communication between everyone is essential. Health and social care workers must value and respect one another, having belief in everyone’s ability to work together to achieve shared goals.
For this to happen health and social care workers must:
Select each tab for more information.
Trust each other
Trust is important to all good working relationships and is essential if partnership working is to be open, honest and successful.
Everyone involved in partnership working, both the person receiving care and support and the workers, must be confident that they can rely on the people working with them.
Work in ways that promote respect
It is important to work in ways that promote respect. You should understand and respect the contribution that each individual plays in planning and providing care. This applies to every person being supported, their carers and support network, as well as to other workers.
Keep accurate records
Accurate records must be kept to ensure that all those involved are kept up to date on the individual’s progress and care.
If an incident occurs, information must be shared efficiently and safely. All records must be up to date, understandable and stored securely.
Communicate effectively
For communication to be good and effective it must be open, accurateand understandable. Ways of communicating and language must be right for the individual so you can be sure that they understand what is being said. Workers should avoid using jargon which can be misunderstood.
When working with people who have communication needs, it may be necessary to consider translators, pictures or communication boards to support them to communicate well.
Advice and support
There may be times when there is disagreement between workers from different agencies or between the person receiving care and support and those who support them.
Conflict that is not resolved can affect the quality of care.
You should ask for advice about partnership working and resolving conflict whenever you face any problem. You can ask your manager or other workers who are familiar with your workplace and have the skills and experience to advise you.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse