Unit 5: LAA
This piece of written work will be discussing the different policies, practices and procedures which
are apparent in both of the individuals and their needs I will be exploring. Valerie B., a 24-year-old
woman has been admitted to the community hospital due to needing surgery on her burst appendix.
On top of this, Valerie has experienced mental health problems since a child after her parents
passing. Valerie is obese and has low self-esteem, making it hard for her to lose weight and was the
reason her surgery was complex. Because of her obesity, Valerie is bullied by teenagers who live
near her flat, provided by housing association. Although she is healing, she doesn’t want to go home
as she is afraid of being bullied again. She is vegetarian and has a hearing impairment in which she
isn’t receiving any help for. Finally, Valerie is unemployed and receiving universal benefit. My other
patient, Aisha.H (aged 82), is currently recovering from pneumonia at a community hospital, she has
severe vascular dementia. Aisha lives alone, single, with no family and she is a Buddhist. Her
neighbour regularly visits Aisha and comments that she frequently wanders around at night,
speaking to herself. Although Aisha has no one to look after her, her neighbour feels that it is unsafe
or her to live on her own. On top of that, a health visitor visiting Aisha’s flat discovered it to be dirty
and chaotic, with no food in the house. Her dementia has caused Aisha to have incontinence and
delusions.
Diversity is the act of which we esteem people’s different cultures, beliefs and views. Its beneficial
that we respect one another and try to learn and educate ourselves on various cultures in the
community we live in. Enlightening yourself and understanding these values will help you to
understand the persons needs better. As a legal requirement for health and social institutions to
respect everyone’s diversity: including age, gender and diversity as well. Britain being a multicultural
society, many people who work in the health services and service users come from different places
which is beneficial to learn new skills to better our services.
Discrimination is when a prejudgement is made against someone or a group. There are many
reasons someone can be discriminated against, for example: race, sexuality, disability, class, gender,
religion etc. The four types of discrimination include: Unfair discrimination, direct discrimination,
indirect discrimination and positive discrimination. Unfair discrimination is when an individual is
discriminated against when compared to another person e.g. a company gives the job to another
candidate due to their religion. Direct discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly and
offended by another person due to them being fairly different, this discrimination is easy to prove as
it is usually witnessed by other people. Indirect discrimination is where although it may seem that an
individual Is being respectful and inclusive to someone (such as peers at school), they may be
indirectly offensive by joking around. Positive discrimination, however, can benefit some people as
they may be preferred due to specific characteristics.
Promoting equality in health and social organisations means that we must treat everyone on equal
terms, making sure they’re able to access the services they require and that they we can ensure to
meet their personal needs no matter who they are. According to the Equality Act, service users and
healthcare workers are both protected and treated fairly and receive the respect they deserve.
Although it is important to treat everybody as if they were the same, it is still crucial to give each
patient the specific care they need in order to make sure they’re getting the correct treatment.
While treating these patients, it’s not only respectful but critical that you take their beliefs into
,account. A patient may feel unwanted if the hospital doesn’t meet their needs, such as diet
requirements or prayer rooms. The effects of discrimination on patients may put individuals at
harm, which can lead them to experience: mental health problems, decrease in confidence and self-
esteem, issues at work or home and feeling marginalised. Regarding the case studies I am
presenting, due to them both being extremely vulnerable, discrimination faced in a healthcare
setting may seriously affect them. For example:
Due to Valerie’s background with her mental health, facing discrimination may lead her mental
health to worsen and could possibly cause suicide. She also may face more problems with her self-
esteem if being discriminated about her weight, causing her to find it harder to lose weight and
maintain a healthy lifestyle). Her confidence will also be affected negatively, leading her to not be
motivated to go out and apply for a job.
According to Aisha H., comments made about her loneliness may cause her to develop depression or
anxiety and due to the lack of family she has around her. She may isolate herself more and
marginalise from society, which could also decrease the condition of her already poor housing. Over
more, isolation from discrimination may cause a decrease in her mental health (from already dealing
with Vascular Dementia). Her delusions and confusion could become a lot more severe from stress.
However, although there are a few people who have experienced discrimination within care
services, there are a plethora of helpful initiatives in place to tackle and prevent prejudice. For
example:
Access – access to certain health services can be adapted to fit the needs of service users.
Adaptions such as: disabled toilets, lifts and wheelchair ramps.
Diet – Patients have full control over their diet, whether it’s due to their religion or a medical
condition.
Support – A variety of resources can be provided to those who need supporting in a range of
ways: different languages, different formats and carers. An advocate can be given to speak
on behalf of someone else who may not be able to speak for themselves.
Personal qualities are the attributes, characteristics and personality traits (patience, leadership and
flexibility) that an individual may possess to define who we are.
6c’s
The 6Cs are a set of values for all health and social staff to follow. It is called the Compassion in
Practice Supporting Policy which was founded 2012 after a national concern was raised about the
declining standard of care being provided following incidents raised at Mid Staffordshire Hospital
and Winterbourne View (a learning disability hospital).
Care - helping others in need and providing them with the correct equipment.
Compassion – Empathising with those who need help, and wanting to deliver that care.
Competence – Understanding someone’s needs and knowing the skills to aid them.
Communication – Liaising with others to enhance the care and support that your patients
are receiving.
Courage – Having the strength and braveness to do the right thing for the people we care
for.
Commitment – Being dedicated to the care you provide for you patient.
The health professionals for my case studies would need to use these 6 skills to ensure they’re giving
their patients the best care tailored for their needs. For Valerie, her care would entail things such as
,dressing her surgical wound or giving her the medication for her mental health conditions, her carers
would need compassions and competence to make her feel better about herself and improve her
low self-esteem. Communication would be useful when liaising between professionals to provide her
the best care plan e.g. her doctor would let her occupational therapist know what medication she’s
on and when she’s due to return home. Courage and commitment will help support Valerie b. to get
her through this tough time and provide adequate care that meets her needs. For Aisha, her care
need could include changing Aisha to deal with her incontinence or provide her with a therapist to
make sure she’s recovering, safe and happy. Carers need compassion and competence with Aisha as
it is common with patients who have dementia to panic and get overwhelmed and this patience and
reassurance will comfort her. Communication would be seen with Aisha’s advocate and herself as
they work together to produce a care plan specifically catered to Aisha. Moreover, courage and
commitment will need to be a huge priority in Aisha’s case as it can be very physically and mentally
tough when caring for a patient who has communication and behavioural difficulties, however it Is
important to keep positive and do the right thing for her health.
People Skills
Creating a relationship with a patient is favourably just as important as providing accurate health
care for them. People skills help to create this bond between patients and carers to aid the care
given. Being empathetic, patient, trustworthy, flexible, humorous, honest, having the ability to
negotiate and problem solve.
Empathy- Being able to sympathise with someone and understand their emotions. For example,
Valerie’s carers would be empathetic towards her struggles with being bullied.
Patience- Staying calm and tolerating any problems you may experience with confidence. People
looking after Aisha would need to be patient as her vascular dementia will negatively affect her
behaviour and coping strategies would be needed to remain composed.
Endangering trust- being open enough for someone to feel like they can trust you. As every patient
is safeguarded when in a health care setting, their vulnerability means that health care professionals
need to make them feel comfortable and safe in their surroundings.
Flexibility- Adapting to any problems swiftly and dealing with you schedule well. For both case
studies, flexibility is key for learning to change and fit with each patient’s schedule and when they
need you the most. For example, doing night shifts in order to make sure Aisha is staying in her room
and not wandering around.
A sense of humour- having a positive outlook and making a laugh out of any situation. Although
Aisha may be deteriorating mentally from dementia, she is still a human and has emotions. Which is
why carers should always be bright and cheerful around her.
Negotiating- having a discussion in order to come to a shared agreement. Employees should liaise
with each other and discuss the best care plan for the patient.
Honesty- telling the truth. As Valerie B. finds it difficult to accept the need for her to lose weight
amid her obesity, doctors must be honest and tell her what she needs to do and the consequences if
she doesn’t change.
Problem solving- being resilient through tough tasks and finding solutions to overcome them.
Communications Skills
, - Developing quality relationships with patients and their families to strengthen your
understanding of them as a person and the needs they need filled. E.g., empathising with
them, having good eye contact and being non-judgmental.
- Sharing the same connection, you have with service users as you have with you colleagues
and other professionals in your health setting. p
- Relaying relevant information to the patients and their loved ones through what you have
given and received from your work peers. E.g., verbal communication, using short and
concrete works to make information simple, clarifying messages.
- Share and report the work and care you provided the patients. E.g., sharing news in a
secluded setting, being an active listener.
Active listening and responding
Active listening and responding is shown in many ways. By taking in what another individual says,
paying attention to them, engaging in the conversation by responding appropriately and
understanding mutually. This process of active listening and responding involves a few steps:
Giving time for the other individual in the conversation to explain their thoughts.
Letting the person finish before expressing your thoughts.
Encourage the person speaking.
Asking questions to solidate your knowledge.
Being empathetic and making the person feel heard.
Keeping strong eye contact and giving them your full attention.
Tone of voice
Apart from making the service user feel respected when speaking and listening to them, having the
appropriate tone of voice when communicating is also key. Raising you voice or speaking in a
patronising manner may make the person feel as if you are being rude or disrespectful towards
them. Moreover, it might sound like you are belittling them and treating them like a burden. Being
mindful in the way you speak can ease the patient and help them feel empowered if doing it
correctly. For example, speaking calmly and gently, being careful which words to use in certain
situations and being kind and understanding will help relaying valuable information.
Use of appropriate language
Adjusting your language depending on the context and setting of the conversation. People change
their language without realising e.g., using slang when talking to a friend and formally when
speaking to a doctor.
Valerie B.
As an adult, Valerie B. has full rights to choose the treatments she receives. However, due to her
hearing impairment, understanding what is best for her and her suggested treatments may be a
struggle. Therefore, by providing support through an advocate will ensure she is fully aware of
what’s going on and can voice her queries and ultimately feel valued and listened to. However, while
an advocate can help her in certain ways, it is as equally important that Valerie feels as if she’s in
control and respected as her own individual. To help this, service providers can use skills such as:
positive body language, listening, showing they care and respecting their privacy and dignity them
make them feel more involved and independent with their own care plan. Valerie needs to feel in
complete control with her care plan in which her carers can aid her with help and support to feel this
dependence. Due to her having a long history of mental health problems, her struggle with obesity
