How can care workers be supported to provide better care
How can care workers be supported to provide better care? Choose two example of unacceptable care from Unit 17 and discuss what changes could be made in each settings to enable care workers to work more sensitively and safely with care users.
Providing a better care should be a mutual goal between carers and organisations or employers they work for. To reach this goal, adequate support is necessary right from the start. Thorough interviews can help select an individual most suitable for the position. Induction prepares carers for the tasks involved with the care service and helps carers to take on the job with confidence. Protocols and guidelines give care workers detailed description on how to act in certain situations and they build a set of rules and policies that carers need to follow. Additional training can help carers gain the right skills and ensure their knowledge of good care practice is up to date. Making care workers accountable for their actions, for example by keeping records, can help improve the level of service they provide. Giving the evidence of their work is encouraging carers to perform their tasks as they are expected, as the evidence of bad practice can result in punishment. However, too much paperwork can lead cares away from service users, who can end up missing out on the support they need. Lack of resources decreases quality of services, as it can lead to work overload which puts a lot of strain on carers, makes the work and the environment they work in less enjoyable, and it can be a cause of bad practice. As a first example I would like to draw on situation of Marie and Richard (K 101, Unit 17, p. 151). Though Marie was informed that Richard would need ‘total care’, she wasn’t sure what it meant and what her duties were and also how to cope with difficult situations. As a result, some of Richard’s needs might have not been taken care of, and the way the care was delivered could have left him feeling uneasy. To provide a better
Providing a better care should be a mutual goal between carers and organisations or employers they work for. To reach this goal, adequate support is necessary right from the start. Thorough interviews can help select an individual most suitable for the position. Induction prepares carers for the tasks involved with the care service and helps carers to take on the job with confidence. Protocols and guidelines give care workers detailed description on how to act in certain situations and they build a set of rules and policies that carers need to follow. Additional training can help carers gain the right skills and ensure their knowledge of good care practice is up to date. Making care workers accountable for their actions, for example by keeping records, can help improve the level of service they provide. Giving the evidence of their work is encouraging carers to perform their tasks as they are expected, as the evidence of bad practice can result in punishment. However, too much paperwork can lead cares away from service users, who can end up missing out on the support they need. Lack of resources decreases quality of services, as it can lead to work overload which puts a lot of strain on carers, makes the work and the environment they work in less enjoyable, and it can be a cause of bad practice. As a first example I would like to draw on situation of Marie and Richard (K 101, Unit 17, p. 151). Though Marie was informed that Richard would need ‘total care’, she wasn’t sure what it meant and what her duties were and also how to cope with difficult situations. As a result, some of Richard’s needs might have not been taken care of, and the way the care was delivered could have left him feeling uneasy. To provide a better