Collabrative Working in Health and Social Care free essay sample

Using a model of reflection, reflect how you may effectively contribute to working with others and why this is important in health and social care This essay will describe the key policy drivers for collaborative working in health and social care and the importance of effective collaborative working. It will also relate to and discuss my personal experience of collaborative working. Also, it will outline the roles of different members within health and social care teams. Finally, how my own reflection on personal ability in collaborative working identifies the need for development. According to nursetogether. com (2007), collaboration implies working together for the greater good, but it actually encompasses far more. Community care. co. uk (2003) argues that, collaboration and multidisciplinary working are key drivers of the government’s health and social care policies. The department of Health (1992) has also highlighted the need for collaborative working to be incorporated into a National health strategy. This white paper places collaborative working in the centre reform. It defines collaborative working as a partnership of individuals and organisations formed to enable people to increase their influence over the factors that affect their health and wellbeing. The framework identified key areas for priorities targeted under the recognised health service. The collaborative ventures had to target certain high vulnerability groups in the community, such as women, certain socio- economic groups and ethnic minority groups, Targeting practice (Department of health 1993) identified aspects of good practice to be promoted within community health practice. This includes building health alliances within and beyond the health sector and providing quality service, good communication, good working relationships as well as shared aims and values, mutual respect between professional groups and shared learning. Policies such as the NHS PLAN (2000) have identified the need for collaborative working by looking at drivers and frameworks such as the National Service for children, young people and maternity services. The NHS plan mentions that frameworks and drivers have ‘expressed the need for joint working between health and social services to ensure a joined up or collaborative approach to patient care. The NHS PLAN (2000) has aimed to create a service designed around patient needs by encouraging health professionals to work together in collaboration to meet the needs of patients. The NHS plan (2000) mentions how it is important to involve inter education within the healthcare system. The need for this is mentioned in the plan that it promotes a more collective approach towards patient needs, by sharing of knowledge and information by healthcare professionals so that better decisions can be made regarding patient care. Turner and Palastanga (2005), state how different personalities can cause conflicts in collaborative working and how strategies to understand one’s own behaviour and to deal with difficult people is an important aspect of collaborative working as this enables effective service delivery. There are apparent barriers in communication and working patterns that can affect team work. This has been recognised within the media where health and social care organisations have lacked effectiveness in collaborative working. When a serious incident occurred due to the lack of effective collaborative working, Community Care (2010) reports how the social workers of Haringey council in 2007 failed to notice Baby Peters serious abuse and neglect inflicted from family members which lead to his death. There were missed opportunities by the social workers to save him from his abuse. The judge’s verdict was also delayed when OFSTED announced thousands of pages of undisclosed evidence which should have been passed on to other members of the team involved in Baby Peters case. The report says how there was poor communication between different NHS departments that lead to the failure of Baby Peters care. And how the Police and social workers involved in reviewing the case and practice in the health and social care organisations was poorly monitored. This clearly shows evidence of poor collaborative working by Haringey Council. The National Council for Volunteers (2012), an organisation that is a giving voice and Support to a Civil Society, Argue that in order for collaborative working to be successful, it is essential to discuss how you will work together, defining roles and responsibilities, contractual or other legal obligations. People working in collaboration also recognise the importance of values, such as trust in their relationships. Also to build on preparation planning and a written agreement can help avoid misunderstanding. Atkinson et al (2009, identified essential factors to successful collaborative working, such as, commitment from those involved at all levels, having common joint aims and objectives, a clear focus for the work and also good leadership. Collaborative working is a topic of interest in health and social care as it is vital that each team member understands and fulfils their role. Rafferty et al (2001) states teamwork is regarded by many stakeholders as key to the delivery of effective care. Leathard (2003) applies, individuals in a team are equally important to address issues and demands together. According to Turner and Palastang(2005) individuals in a team should have a flexible approach to working and clear communication channels as well as the importance of each individual in the team to make sense of themselves and the concepts within their own context. For the purpose of this essay partially being based upon my own reflective experiences, I will now talk in the first person. I showed effective collaborative working on a given task within a group of four people. The task was called â€Å"the egg drop task†. We were given a few pieces of material to create satisfactory protection for the egg, so that when it dropped from a certain height the egg would not crack. Reflecting on the task, According to Gibbs Model of reflection (1988) as part of a team member I performed well although initially I had mixed feelings as I took leadership, I later involved everybody in conducting the task and asked for each person’s overall opinion. We showed effective collaborative working as in the end we had a positive outcome because when the egg was dropped, covered in protection that we created as a team, the egg did not crack. According to Belbin team roles (2012) it is important to build mutual trust and understanding and also members of a team seek out roles that are most effective and natural to them. I believe my team trusted me to take leadership within the group, according to Belbin (2012) I am naturally a person who likes to take control. All of members in my group co-operated with each other and got along well. I felt as though all members of my team effectively contributed towards the task and gave their opinions accordingly. However, I did feel at times as though I took overall control of the group and was giving the instructions. According to Belbin (2012) test for assessing team roles, I have â€Å"Shaper â€Å"characteristics, which means I am highly motivated with a lot of nervous energy and have a great need for achievement. I am a sort of person who likes a challenge and to push others into action. I felt as though I had many weaknesses as a member of the team, as I felt I was too controlling and felt that my ways were correct most of the time and other group members methods were not. At times I became quite irritated when I was not being listened to or ignored; I would then instead talk over others and lose my patience. In conclusion, I learnt the importance of collaborative working within health and social care and from personal experiences. It is important for each member of the team to understand and fulfil their role and responsibility, also communicate effectively for a positive outcome. As poor communication, trust and co operation within the team overall contributes to poor collaborative working. Working within the health and social care sector, it is very important to have effective collaborative working as it has been demonstrated that without good collaborative working between different departments, communication and information can be misplaced and mistakes can be made as mentioned.