Are Guidelines and Protocols an effective way to ensure that we "get
care right?"
"Guidelines and Protocols tell you what to do in a particular set of circumstances. They are
designed to standardise some aspects of care in order to improve care outcomes and
make care safer." (NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, 2008.)
This essay will answer the question 'Are Guidelines and Protocols an effective way to
ensure that we "get care right?"' by outlining the strengths and weaknesses in using
Guidelines and Protocols when ensuring that we "get care right." Getting care right is
ensuring that when people need care, they recieve the safest and the best care possible.
There are many strengths when it comes to using Guidelines and Protocols in care.
Guidelines and Protocols are just guides; they are recommendations for best practice, but
they are not set in stone. They give you the opportunity to diversify within reason and be
creative in the care that you provide.
However, if you follow them to the best of your ability then nobody can accuse you of not
doing your job properly. If you stick to the guidelines then you are seen as keeping your
clients as safe as possible. If you deviate from the Guidelines and something goes wrong,
then you are accountable and responsible for explaining why you did not follow them.
"I think Protocol (sic) and Guidelines have made me feel that I can work in a safer way.
They actually create a structure for us to work within. And this has a feeling of safety about
it." (Marilyn Francis, 2014.) Working within a structure that guides you on how to ensure your
clients are receiving the best care possible helps you to feel safe and the safer that you
feel whilst you provide care, the more confident you will be in delivering that care.
In accordance with Guidelines and Protocols, you may be required to complete paperwork
as proof of what you have done to support your clients. Having the records written down
carefully protects you, should anyone make a complaint against you or the organisation
you work for.
Guidelines and Protocols are ideal for helping younger and newer care workers familiarise
themselves with their work before their training is complete, They can find their strengths
in using them. Strength is not something that can be found and realised overnight, and so,
if they follow the Guidelines for best practice, they will become increasingly more confident
in the job that they are doing. This leads onto another strength of using guidelines and
protocols. If you work in coherance with the Guidelines and Protocols, you can be
confident that you are being professional in the way that you are practising. It is easy to
find confidence in something that has been researched and proved to work; they are
based on evidence-based practice.
"Evidence from research can influence decisions on issues as different as the
effectiveness of medication, the effect of lifestyle and the usefulness of advice" (The Open
University, 2014.) There are a number of benefits to evidence-based care. For example, it
means that care is based on research, which has been proven to work and care workers
are able to read guides written by experts in that field and have confidence in what they
are reading. Evidence based reasearch can also provide answers to questions that service
users have regarding the care and support that they are recieving.
However, there are also limitations to evidence-based care. Guidelines written on
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