Quality patient states that she had a
Qualityhealth care is a key factor of the right to health and is the route to equalityand improvement to health outcomes (WHO, 2018). Theprovision of quality health care is hugely reliant on how different healthprofessionals work together as a team. This is because the work they dotogether could potentially provide a good quality service affecting thetreatment and outcome of the patient (Zwarenstein et al, 2009). This assignmentdemonstrates the impact of how different health professionals working togetherhas an effect on quality health care. Appendix 1 demonstrates feedback from apatient who was satisfied with the care she received at Aintree UniversityHospital. This satisfaction was primarily due to the effective team worknoticed.
Thepatient states that she had a pleasurable visit and is grateful to all thestaff working on the ward she was placed. The fact that she noticed that therewas a team of people working together shows how well it was done and hasdescribed their work to being ‘exceptional’. She claims that a very difficulttime of hers was made pleasurable due to the expertise and dedication providedby the staff. The patient comments on the attributes of the staff concludingthey are a credit to the NHS. The most important attribute seen was their teamwork as well as their individual professionalism. The responses to this storywere very appreciative (Opinion, 2018).
Theimportance of communication between team members:Itis said according to Barrett et al, 2005, that thequality of health service received is dependant on how different healthprofessionals work together effectively. As shown in the above feedback,patients receive more thorough care and are more satisfied when they noticehealth professionals collaboratively working. Duringthe outstay of a patient in the hospital environment, the patient is faced withseveral different health professionals each an expert in different fields. Inorder to provide a professional and satisfied approach, it is vital that allprofessionals work together as a team to achieve their goal in providingquality care for the patient. The Canadian health services research foundationfound that it is easy to function as a team when a common purpose and goal isfound (McGuire, Perrier and Soklaridis, 2006).
The feedback states that thestaff all had one motive which was recognising that the patients are firstpriority. This shows that all the staff worked together to achieve a similargoal which was providing good quality healthcare service and thereforesatisfied the patients needs. Thus, the contribution from differentspecialists, sharing resources and findings contributes to providing qualityhealth care to the patient (Librarian, 2018). However, this is solely reliant on how well the team members communicatewith each other. Thereare numerous benefits of working as a team such as the ability to workcollaboratively.
As clinical care is becoming more complex, this means certainmedical professionals have to learn to adapt to new methods (Librarian, 2018).This adaption can be done through the aid of different health professionalseach having specific specialities. Collaborative working allows diverse skillsto be put together and therefore improves the quality of service. This isenabled through effective communication with confidentiality limitations(Arnold & Boggs, 2016). Through effective communication, a range of ideason decision making can be discussed to improve the health of the patient. Goodcommunication between different health professionals would also comfort thepatient making them feel confident in the health professionals as they all worktowards the same goal. Many different professionals working together enables afaster approach, improving the quality of service minimising the length incare.
(Ovretviet et al, 1997). This proves that effective collaborative workingbecause of communication improves quality health care provision benefiting thepatient. This is because if one professional was unable to meet the needs of apatient, their case with patient consent can be discussed with otherprofessionals in order to meet patient needs. Failurein collaboration and communication are amongst the most common factors for lossof productivity (Arnold & Boggs, 2016). According to the HCPC (Standards ofconduct, performance and ethics, 2012) health professionals “must work inpartnership with colleagues, sharing skills, knowledge and experience.” Thisimplies the importance of communication between teams as on the contrary,failure in conveying information can cause misconceptions and affect qualitycare.
Also, the restriction of information held from other professionals canaffect the flow of work (Freeman, 2000). This shows the significance ofcommunication within teams as otherwise, this could hinder performances. Acase study showing a prime example of poor quality health service is theconditions found in mid-Staffordshire. This hospital lost sight to provide qualitycare to its patients where they were left starved, thirsty and living in poorconditions. ‘Some patients received wrong medication’ (Calkin et al, 2018)implying that there was no communication transferred between different healthprofessionals and therefore patient treatment was unknown. The Francis report is a prime example of howteamwork could bring good quality health care service.
This is because the poorconditions which were examined were not noticed by any health professional. Ifthis was found at an earlier point, through communication of staff members,action could have been taken at an earlier stage. The fact that wrongmedication was given to patients shows the lack of communication between teammembers which impacted on the patients. This highlights the importance ofcommunication between different health professionals contributing to thetreatment of the patient (Calkin et al,2018). Thepatient within Appendix 1 comments on the attributes of the staff concludingthey are a credit to the NHS, ‘particularly their communication skills.’ Thiscomment suggests that communication between teams can provide an increasedpatient satisfaction and improve the quality of service provided.
Thesignificance of involving patients in their treatment plan:Whena patient is involved in their own treatment plan, this gives some sort ofempowerment and psychologically speeds up their treatment time. This is becausethey feel as though they have some control over themselves and therefore tendto ‘choose care, support or treatment packages’ which coincide with theirpersonal preferences (NHS England, 2018). Thus, decisions are made by them tooptimise their health and wellbeing. ‘New approaches to value in health andcare’ provides evidence that people who are involved in their own health caredecisions tend to have a greater satisfaction with the service (Redding, 2016).Also, they are more appreciative and approve the decisions which have been maderegarding their treatment.
Thus, a better health service is maintained (Babikeret al, 2014). Manygovernment policies such as the National Health Service Act 2006, now advocateand state that patients should be included and involved in decisions related tothe ‘prevention or diagnosis of illness, or their care or treatment’ (NHSEngland, 2018). However, there are certain views which oppose to this idea assometimes patients are unaware of what is best for them. This is becausehealthcare professionals often provide ‘too much information without checkingthe level of understanding’ (Gary, Nielsen and shepherd, 2015). This lack ofunderstanding could be due to several reasons such as the failure to understandmedical terms and therefore some argue that patients shouldn’t be involved inconcluding what is best for them.
This is also because if a patient made adecision for themselves and this was a wrong decision, they may blamethemselves as they would feel they made a wrong choice. Despitethis, involving patients in their care plan is part of the NHS act in shared decisionmaking. This also coincides with the NHS values which emphasises on goodquality healthcare provision as the principle of patient involvement ensuresthat each person feels involved and is responsible. Thus, despite contrastingopinions regarding this topic it is becoming part of legislation and thereforeit is expected to be followed (NHS England, 2018). As seen in appendix 1, thepatient was very satisfied for many reasons as well as being ‘involved in allmedical decisions.’ This relates to good quality health care provision as thepatient is left satisfied and is content with the service provided.Inconclusion providing good quality healthcare service is vital and is providedthrough several factors such as the team work from different health professionals.
The effectiveness of their work is what affects patient care and therefore isvital. This effective teamwork is enabled through good communication betweenHCP’s allowing them to work together. As well as the team of different healthprofessionals, involving the patients in this team is extremely beneficial. Asshown from patients feedback, teamwork plays a huge role in patientsatisfaction in regards to good quality healthcare service.
