Promoting Communication in Health and Social Care Essay Example for Free

Promoting Communication in Health and Social Care Essay Promoting communication in health and social care Outcome 1. 1 People can communicate for many various reasons. This can be to voice their opinions, to get attention, if they are in pain or when they want to get their emotions across. It can also to share ideas and information. Communication can also be done to build relationships, ask questions and share experiences. People communicate so that they can establish and maintain relationships with others and to give and receive information and instructions. 1. 2 communications in the work setting is one of the most important aspects of my role as a support worker and Carer. Communication allows me to build good working relationships with colleague’s service users and services. Correct communication allows me to help and support the service users. Many of the service users I support and non verbal so for effective communication, good technique has to be used in order to get and receive information. In order to support non verbal clients, a good understanding of their reaction, response and attitude is important. Communication between colleagues is also very important in order to support clients. Sharing issues and ideas can allow more people to think together to support an issue or problem. Day staff hand over to night staff any issues and problems to ensure night staff have all the relevant information in order to support clients. If the communication between staff is ineffective then this can create problems in the work place. It can cause a lack of confidence and trust. Outcome 2. 2 There are various factors to consider when promoting effective communications. As with various types of communications, one must consider the environment. We have to make sure the environment and surrounding are appropriate. We must consider if the environment is quiet. If we are discussing private and confidential information then it must be done somewhere private. We must consider if the person has the ability to understand. My role involves supporting clients who are non verbal and some with severe learning difficulties. This means my communication must be effective for that person. An example would be instead of asking a client if they would like a cup of tea, we show them an empty cup, and base our judgment on their response we give or don’t make them a cup of tea. One of the clients I support smiles a lot and becomes vocal when we show an empty of tea which usually result in them having a drink. Other times it’s not so simple. When we are communicating verbally, we should consider the tone and pitch of our voice. When speaking, we should consider if we are using the correct and appropriate language and words so that the client is able to understand. We must also consider the speed of our voice. Going back to non-verbal communication, we must consider using the correct facial and hand gestures as well as trying to understand the client’s reaction. Eye contact can also be important as it make the client aware you are communicating with them. Some clients like to touch or grab when they need something. If you pull your hand away quickly, it shows a lack of trust or reluctant to facilitate that clients need. Responding back with a correct body language can show that you understand and show trust in their communication method. Having a better understanding of the client’s condition would also allow for better communication. Know what your client can and cannot do or understand will ensure you spent more time and effort in trying to find ways of communicating in the way the client can understand. Outcome 3. 1 As people are all different, so is their communication and understanding. People from different backgrounds may use or interpret communication methods differently. Many people come from different cultures and have different understanding to our own. In the UK, we tend to have accents which usually give away where we are from. Different accents can be hard to understand. We also speak many languages which can make communication difficult. We must also understand that something being acceptable for one group of people may not be for another. Some people communicate using certain words and good grammar to get a point across. Other people speak in a high tone to get their voice heard. Some people use hand gestures frequently when communicating, this can be offensive or intimidating to others. AS support workers we must understand the diversity of the people we support. They are all different and communicate differently. For some clients verbal communication is sufficient and speaking normally as you do is sufficient. For other clients 3. 2 unfortunately there are some barriers to communication which can create problems when trying to support clients. One of these barriers includes the understanding of the client. As explained some clients are non verbal and have severe learning difficulties. These clients would find verbal communication very hard to understand. If the client has a hearing or visual impairment, this will also affect their communication as they will find it difficult to hear or see. The level of trust and relationship can also create a problem. One of the clients I support suffers from sociaphobia. This makes it very hard for new staff or people to support this client. It also takes them many years to build a good relationship and when an old staff member leaves, it creates many problems. We again must consider the environment as a barrier to communication. If it is too loud or too many people in the vicinity then it may be hard for a client to pay attention, listen or even understand. If the environment is too cold or too hot can also distract the client. 3. 5 We can try and get extra support from the local authority. Birmingham city council has dedicated adult services which offer advice and information on supporting clients effectively. A visit to the GP has many services that can help. GPs now have extra support from dieticians, speech therapists and psychiatrists who are all available to provide extra support. It can also help to get support from other Care homes in the company. Other support workers in different homes might have more experience in help a client with a certain condition. 4. 1 Confidentiality refers to private and important information that should not be shared with unauthorized persons. This information is usually given with an agreement that it would be kept safe and used for the sole purpose it has be ascertained for. Confidentiality is very important especially in regards to our clients. They rely on us to keep their information confidential and use it to support them. We as support workers have access to the client’s personal information like their address and family, so we have a responsibility to ensure we keep that information safe. Sometimes a client might give some information that they only want you to know and keep confidential. Sharing this information without a good reason can cause that client to stop trusting you. 4. 3 As stated above, sometimes confidential information that has been given to you and expected to keep from telling anyone else. If there is a risk to the client of danger or harm then it must be passed on. This can obviously cause tensions. This can cause the client to stop trusting you. If some information is given which relates to abuse then this information has to be passed on to line manager or social services (whistle-blowing policies). I believe the best way to do this would be to try and explain the reason for giving the information to others to the client and explaining the benefits. It can be hard in this situation but the safety of a client comes first.