Services on health and social care

UNIT 11: SERVICES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

BF034943 – Specification – Edexcel BTEC Level 1/Level 2 First Certificate and Extended Certificate in Health and Social Care – Issue 2 – February 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013

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Unit 11: Services in Health and Social Care

Level: 1 and 2

Unit type: Optional specialist

Guided learning hours: 30

Assessment type: Internal

Unit introduction

Which area of health and social care services interests you in particular? You might enjoy working with older people, children or people with disabilities. Or perhaps you have not yet decided where to begin your health and social care career. In this unit, you will explore the wide range of services offered by the health and social care sector.

Unfortunately, many people do not have easy access to health and social care services, due to their personal situation or geographical location. However, there are many ways in which professionals and service providers can support these service users. You will explore the many existing barriers, as well as the support mechanisms that are used to improve access to essential services.

Partnership working is essential in health and social care so that the service offered can be tailored to an individual’s needs. Professionals from different services might collaborate to give a ‘package’ of health and care to a service user. This is called ‘multi-agency care’. Alternatively, different professionals from the same service (for example, a General Practitioner (GP) and a health visitor) could work together to support individuals who need a particular type of service. This is called ‘multi-disciplinary care’

In this unit, you will also examine these concepts and why some individuals benefit from these similar, but different, approaches to giving care.

Learning aims

In this unit you will:

A understand the provision of health and social care services

B explore factors that affect access to health and social care services

C examine partnership working in health and social care.



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Learning aims and unit content

What needs to be learnt

Learning aim A: Understand the provision of health and social care services

Topic A.1 Provision of Health and Social Care Services.

Structure of Health and Social Care Services:

● Primary care: e.g. GP, optician, dentist, health visitor, midwives.

● Secondary care: e.g. hospital care, therapists, counsellors, social workers.

● Tertiary care: e.g. day care, nursing homes, residential care homes, fostering arrangements, hospices, specialist care units (e.g. renal units, oncology units).

● Informal care: e.g. family, friends, home carers’

Types of Provision:

● Statutory provision: NHS, social services

● Private and independent provision, e.g. dentists, care homes, hospitals, physiotherapists, domiciliary care, cosmetic clinics

● Voluntary services: national and local charities, e.g. Salvation Army, Samaritans

Differences in types of provision: cost, funding sources (public, private, donation), waiting times, availability/accessibility of service.

● National organisations: e.g. Social Services, Care Quality Commission, NHS, Department of Health.

● Local organisations: e.g. children’s trusts, ambulance trusts, mental health trusts

● Impact of different forms of health and social care provision – learners must be able to compare the impact of different forms of provision.

Topic A.2 Current and Relevant Legislation

● Current and relevant legislation and regulations, e.g. Health and Social Care Act 2008,Mental Health Act 1983, Care Quality Commission Regulations 2009

● Impact of legislation on the provision of health and social care services: the availability of services, the resources that must be provided to service users, rights of service users within the services, basic service level agreements.



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What needs to be learnt

Learning aim B: Explore factors that affect access to health and social care services

Topic B.1 Factors that affect access to health and social care services

● Geographical location: proximity to services, transport links, local funding arrangements, varying levels of service demand.

● Socio-economic: education, health awareness and lifestyle choices.

● Equality and diversity: disability (sensory, physical and mental), cultural/religious (e.g. appointments outside of prayer times, same-sex carers), other relevant factors, e.g. sexual orientation, gender, race, age.

● Communication: e.g. English as an additional language, age-appropriate language by professionals, use of jargon and acronyms by professionals, not using preferred titles, alternative methods of communication.

● Financial: cost of transportation, cost of service, funding availability (e.g. local and private funding arrangement), loss of income due to receiving treatments.

● Quality of care provision: respect from professionals, preserving dignity

● How provision can be adapted to improve access to health and social care services: e.g. leaflets in other languages, alternative formats, domiciliary services, support from volunteers.

Learning aim C: Examine partnership working in health and social care

Topic C.1 Partnership working in health and social care

Types of partnership working:

● Multi-agency working e.g. Social Services working with Mental Health Trust, Children’s Services working with the Justice system.

● Multi-disciplinary working e.g. a health visitor working with a GP, psychiatric nurse with an occupational therapist.

● Benefits of partnership working in health and social care – effective mix of skills, best use of expertise, continuity of care, seamless service, cost reduction.

● Potential difficulties of partnership working, e.g. professional animosity between agencies and professionals, poor communication between professionals from different organisations, manipulation by service users, logistics, financial constraints, breakdown in services.



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Assessment criteria

Level 1 Level 2 Pass Level 2 Merit Level 2 Distinction

Learning aim A: Understand the provision of health and social care services

1A.1 Outline the provision of health and social care services.

2A.P1 Describe the provision of health and social care services.

2A.M1 Discuss the differences in the different types of health and social care provision, with reference to examples.

2A.D1 Compare national provision of health and social care services to local provision.

1A.2 Outline one effect of current and relevant legislation on the provision on health and social care services. #

2A.P2 Outline how current and relevant legislation affects the provision of health and social care services. #

Learning aim B: Explore factors that affect access to health and social care services

1B.3 Identify factors that positively affect access to health and social care services.

2B.P3 Describe factors which positively affect access to health and social care services.

2B.M2 Assess how factors affect access to health and social care services.

2B.D2 Make recommendations on how to improve access to health and social care services for a selected individual.

1B.4 Identify factors that negatively affect access to health and social care services.

2B.P4 Describe factors which negatively affect access to health and social care services.



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Level 1 Level 2 Pass Level 2 Merit Level 2 Distinction

Learning aim C: Examine partnership working in health and social care

1C.5 Identify professionals who might work in partnership in health and social care.

2C.P5 Describe how professionals could work together in partnership in health and social care, using selected examples.

2C.M3 Explain the potential benefits of partnership working in health and social care to service users.

2C.D3 Assess potential difficulties of partnership working in health and social care.

*Opportunity to assess mathematical skills

#Opportunity to assess English skills



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Teacher guidance

Resources

There are no special resources needed for this unit.

Assessment guidance

This unit is internally assessed by the centre, and externally verified by Edexcel. Please read this guidance in conjunction with Section 8 Internal assessment.

When learners undertake assessments, they need to be aware that assessment criteria are hierarchical. For example, within a learning aim, the Level 2 Merit and Distinction criteria directly build on and encompass the expected learning of the Level 2 Pass criteria. Where there are examples of comparison, review, analysis, discussion or in-depth evaluation of selected examples, these must build on the breadth of understanding required through the definition of topics in the content section.

The evidence for this unit may be gathered in a variety of ways. It is essential to incorporate the command/indicative verbs included in the assessment criteria into the task set for learners. It is also essential to verify internally any assignment suggestions taken from the list of assignments.

This unit can be achieved either through one holistic assignment designed to assess all assessment criteria within a level, or by several, smaller assignments. For example, learners could put together a report that explores health and social services in the local area, considering the provision, factors that affect access and partnership working. By focusing on the local area, assignments will be relevant to learners who can observe firsthand the provision of services and it will help ensure that the unit is current.

Assignments do not have to be presented in a written format. Learners could undertake a role play or a presentation. Evidence presented verbally should be recorded. Detailed observation records/witness statements should be completed and retained for internal and external verification.

Learning aim A

This learning aim is designed to assess learners’ understanding of which health and social care services are available and how this is affected by legislation. Prior to assessment, learners will benefit from visits to different local health or social care settings, use of case studies and the opportunities for discussion in order to clarify their understanding.

Evidence for this learning aim could be presented as an information pack that details the provision of health and social care services in the learner’s local area.

The first section could cover the different forms of health and social care provision. To achieve 2A.P1, the learner will need to give a description of the services in their local area, covering the range that is included in the unit content – i.e. primary, secondary, tertiary and informal care. For 2A.M1, learners must discuss the differences between the types of health and social care provision (i.e. statutory, private and independent, voluntary), making reference to specific examples such as within the local area. For 2A.D1, learners must give a comparison of two different forms of provision that support individuals with the same needs, in different ways. For all criteria, learners must consider both formal and informal provision (i.e. given by family, friends or home carers).



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For 2A.P2, learners need to outline how current and relevant legislation affects health and social care provision, including how these services are funded at various levels and from various sources.

For 1A.1, learners are asked to outline different types of health and social care provision in their local area, including the different types of service organisations indicated in the unit content. For 1A.2, learners are asked to outline one effect of current and relevant legislation on the provision on health and social care services. Learners could produce the evidence for these assessment criteria by means of a poster or an illustrative diagram. Tutors should ensure that the information is clear and not obscured by unnecessary artwork.

Learning aim B

This learning aim is designed to assess learners’ understanding of those factors that contribute to or prevent access to health and social care services. Prior to assessment, learners would benefit from access to case studies in professional magazines such as Community Care or The Nursing Times, which describe some of the pertinent issues.

Learners can give evidence for this learning aim by producing a newspaper article that explores the factors that affect access of health and social care services. To achieve 2B.P3 and 2B.P4, they must give a description of factors that positively and negatively affect access. Learners must cover at least one factor from each category that is included in the unit content, i.e. geographical location, socio-economic situation, equality and diversity, communication and financial situation. For 2B.M3, learners must include an assessment of how these factors affect access. To achieve 2B.D2, learners must be able to give recommendations on how to improve access to health and social care services for a selected individual. This could be an anonymous case study based on a service user in the local area. This will require learners to conduct a certain amount of research into local services that may be experiencing access issues. In addition, learners will find it useful to have an awareness of accessibility of health and social care provisions in other areas in order to find out how they address access concerns.

For 1B.3 and 1B.4, learners must identify the factors that negatively and positively affect access to health and social care services. This could be presented as a simple PowerPoint presentation.

Learning aim C

This learning aim is intended to assess the learner’s understanding of different ways of partnership working in health and social care services. Prior to assessment, learners would benefit from researching local examples of partnerships – for example, the GP, the practice nurse and the health visitor forming a multi-disciplinary partnership. For this learning aim, learners could produce a magazine article, for example.

2C.P5 requires a description of how three professionals might work together in a multi-disciplinary partnership. This needs to be a relevant partnership situation that reflects current practice. An explanation of the potential benefits of such partnerships to individuals who use the services is required for 2C.M4, and an assessment of the potential difficulties that could arise for individuals who are supported by such partnerships will satisfy 2C.D3.

For 1C.5, learners are asked to identify three professionals who might work in a partnership situation. The evidence for this could be presented as an email addressed to the editor of the national care magazine that indicates the professionals whom the learner will use as the basis for the article.



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Suggested assignment outlines

The table below shows a programme of suggested assignment outlines that cover the assessment criteria. This is guidance and it is recommended that centres either write their own assignments or adapt any assignments we provide to meet local needs and resources.

Criteria covered Assignment Scenario Assessment evidence

1A.1, 1A.2, 2A.P1, 2A.P2, 2A.M1, 2A.D1

Who Looks After Us All?

You are a volunteer at the local GP. The manager has heard that you are studying a health and social care qualification, and has asked for your help.

The manager would like you to produce an information pack on the health and social care services available in the local area for the local service users. The pack will be used as part of a local services promotion. In your pack you must:

● describe the provision of health and social services

● outline how current and relevant legislation affects the provision of health and social care services

● discuss the differences between the types of provision

● compare the national provision of health and social care services to local provision.

● Information pack, poster



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Criteria covered Assignment Scenario Assessment evidence

1B.3, 1B.4, 2B.P3, 2B.P4, 2B.M2, 2B.D2

Why Can’t I Get In? Your local newspaper is offering a prize of £50 for the best article on barriers to health and social care services.

The senior editor would like to publish this as part of a campaign to highlight the barriers which local people have experienced when trying to use health and social care services, and ways in which these can be overcome. In your article you must include:

● a description of factors which positively and negatively affect access to health and social care services in the local area

● an assessment of how factors affect access to health and social care services, using examples of service users interviewed

● recommendations on improving access for a selected individual.

● Newspaper article

1C.5, 2C.P5, 2C.M3, 2C.D3

Multi-disciplinary Partnerships

The editor of the national care magazine is happy with your research so far and would like to commission you to write an article looking into how professionals work together to provide care, an explanation of the benefits and an assessment of the difficulties of partnership working in health and social care.

● Magazine article

Services on health and social care

Education

Transcript of Services on health and social care