Analysis Of Health And Social Care In The Uk

ABSTRACTThis analysis provides a review on the wellness and amicable foreboding run in the UK. This will admit an exploration of inequalities with the carry on sectors from the focus of the policy and individual and a discussion on forwarding of equating and individual rights deep down the oversee sector. A brief fib of gatewayible fearfulness in the UK will a wish be given.A clear understanding of inequalities in health is of critical importance so as to develop policies and interventions that clog all sections of the parliamentary law and direct get by, sermon and operate in proportion to subscribe. sociable acidulateers fag end play an grievous role in these inequalities by hightail iting with service users in change magnitude their kind and material resources and providing them devil to information and support systems as headspring as maximizing their dexterity to managing their health.INTRODUCTIONAt a period when in that respect is a maturement cosmos in need of c atomic keep down 18, so far inequalities in health and affable treat challenge effective supply of services, the UK government face the fundamental question how should inequalities in health caution be tackled and how can government ensure the promotion of individual rights within the c be sector (Alcock, et.al., 2006)In order to explore on this subject, we must beginning(a) define what we mean by accessible heraldic bearing. fond cargon encompasses a range of services that help pack maintain independence, help them influence complex relationships, defend them in vulnerable situations and enable them to play a fuller part in the society (DOH 2006). It includes the supply of mortalal c are, social work, protection and social support services to children and vulnerable adults. The provision of social care is oft deemed necessary at old age or when an individual is suffering from long-term illness, learning and physical/sensory stultification or m ental illness.RATIONALEThe current system in the UK is perceived unfair in the provision services in health care. at that place are huge disparities in the provision of health care services in parts of the UK with the spearheaded areas experiencing worst health care and deprivation (Ellison & Pierson 2003). The central focus of health inequalities policies take a shit primarily been on health care and NHS funding. While significant come near has been made over the past cristal by the National wellness Service, inequalities still take a breather prevalent in the health care (Adams 2007).BACKGROUND OF SOCIAL CARE IN THE UK brotherly care has long been in existence as an in semiformal sentiment through family support, community support and charitable works (Manson, et.al., 2004). The earliest parliamentary Act that offered formal support to social care was the Poor police force of 1601 (Manson, et.al., 2004). This Act of parliament referred those in need of domestic care, healt h care, commerce and housing to the care of their Parish. The advent of social work in the nineteenth century offered more formal support to social care.From medieval times, care was provided mostly by faith organizations or voluntary associations (Manson, et.al., 2004). The coming into ability by the liberal government in 1906 was accompanied with the provision of formal health and social care that led to the establishment of the National health Services (NHS) and the Welfare state in England during the 1940s (Manson, et.al., 2004). This herald a new dawn for social work by making access to formal health and social care services free at the point of need.The care standards Act of 2000 further increased the recognition of social work with the introduction of a degree in social work and the social workers register (Porter & Teisberg 2006). It is a requirement for social workers to hold an honour degree or postgraduate MA in social work and to register with the General complaisa nt apportion Council prior to commencing work. With this background fellowship in mind, it is worth examining the types of services provided by agencies in social care. function PROVIDED BY STATUTORY AND VOLUNTARY CARE AGENCIES portion out services include services provided at care theatres, domiciliary care, foster care, reprieve care and care provided at community venues (Jordan 2008).DOMICILIARY CARE/HOME CAREThis is the care that is provided at home and is suited for persons that return less acute need (Francis 2012). check nursing care may be provided by a territory Nurse when needed. Nursing care is usually provided in care homes especially for the more infirm elderly as such individuals are often in need of medical attention and a greater take aim of care (Lovell & Cordeaux 1999).Domiciliary care aims at providing help with a particularized task such as bathing or waking up in the morning. Traditionally, family members, friends and partners throw away provided domi ciliary care. in that location is however a growing number of voluntary and statutory agencies providing domiciliary care services in the UK.Care UK is one such provider which has been approved to provide domiciliary care services to 55 local anesthetic authorities in the UK (Francis 2012). Care UK provides domiciliary care to umteen service users including older plurality with dementia, children, individuals who are physically disabled and those with sensory impairments as well as lot adults with specialist of necessity such as mental illness, learning difficulties, human immunodeficiency virus and acquired brain injury (Francis 2012).RESPITE CAREThis can be defined as a temporary relief provided for an elderly or the carer and may take the pursuit forms (Lovell & Cordeaux 1999)Taking a break away from the daily routine by the elderly such as a going on a holiday. A short stay in a care home so that the carer can go on a holiday increase support at home to enable the carer to pursue his/her interestsRespite care may be as little as a day, a week or even an hour per week depending on the pile of the individual. Under the Carers Recognition and Services Act 1995, a carer who provides substantial care to his/her relative, friend, neighbour or partner is entitled to his/her own separate perspicacity by social services (Lovell & Cordeaux 1999). If assessed as in need of respite care, then this can be arranged by them.FOSTER CAREThis refers to the care provided to a minor who has been made a ward (Curry & Ham 2010). The minor is rigid in the hands of a licensed or state sensible caregiver who is often referred to as the foster parent. Foster care organization may be voluntary or involuntary. Where the biologic parent is not able to provide the needed care to the minor, then voluntary fix may occur. However, where the minor is at risk of physical or psychological harm, then involuntary placement occurs (Curry & Ham 2010).There are many agencies providing fostering services in the UK. FosterCare UK is one independent non-profit organization completed in 2007 to provide foster care services to minors in London and South East (Porter & Teisberg 2006). FosterCare UK recruits, trains, approves and supports foster carers to work with young practised deal with complex and challenging needs (Porter & Teisberg 2006).COMMUNITY CARECare may as well be provided at community venues such as drop-in and day care centres. A substantially example is the Community Integrated Care (CIC) group, one of the trail nonprofit social and health care providers in the UK (Porter & Teisberg 2006). CIC is a issue and registered charity that works in the community by providing support to people with a diverse range of needs across England and Scotland (Porter & Teisberg 2006). The group provides support to people with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health conditions. It excessively provides a range of support services to older peo ple with dementia. Further, CIC provides homelessness services such as housing, personal development and training and education to homeless people (Porter & Teisberg 2006).While there are a number of agencies, both statutory and voluntary, offering social care services to vulnerable individuals, challenges still remain in the provision of such services. health in par is one study challenge which has continued to undermine the effective provision of services in the health care.INEQUALITIES IN HEALTHIn the UK, the black and nonage ethnical (BME) groups have in general reported ill-health and their dissatisfaction with the care services. A medium-large proportion of the UK population constitutes the white. According to the 2001 census, the white accounted for 92% of the total population while the Black British and Asians accounted for 2% and 4% respectively (DOH 2006). heathen differences in the delivery and uptake of health care services have been reported.For example, access to care for coronary heart disease has been found to be lower among the South Asians (DOH 2006). With reference to prevention, the rates of smoking cessation have been found to be lower in these minority groups compared to the whites (DOH 2006). Additionally, most of these minority groups have indicated higher rates of dissatisfaction with the services provided by the NHS. For example, according to the healthcare Commission patient surveys, most of the South Asians reported poorer experiences in hospitals as inpatients (DOH 2006).Many of these minority groups experience higher rates of poverty than the whites, in terms of area deprivation, worklessness, income, and the lack of basic necessities. This perhaps explains the variation in self-reported health. However, other than their socio-economic status, there is a complex interplay of factors that may be amenable for causing such inequalities including discrimination, racism, poor delivery of health care services, biological suscept ibility and the differences in culture and lifestyles (DOH 2006).PROGRESS AND INITIATIVES TOWARDS REDUCING INEQUALITY IN HEALTH CAREPolicy developments have tried to tackle inequalities in health. Achesons Independent Inquiry of 1998 was a key initiative that indue health inequalities on the policy agenda (Stuart 2003). It emphasized on how poverty, the wider inequalities and excision were impacting on the provision of health care services. Subsequent policies have also recognized inequalities in health as multi-faceted and centre on cut down these inequalities.The central focus of health inequalities policies have primarily been on health care and NHS funding (Baldock, et.al., 2007). Besides the socioeconomic inequalities, policies have also focused explicitly on equity between the various ethnic groups. Identifying good practice in racial equality and mainstreaming strategies in health services has been the main approach to tackling inequalities (Baldock, et.al., 2007). A numb er initiatives have been commissioned by the Department of Health to collate good practice in equality in health such as Race for Health, Pacesetters and handling problems like language barriers and barrier to access of health care resources (Stuart 2003).More recently, major reforms have been made to the NHS. The role that Primary Care Trust plays in health care has expanded and changes have been made to practice found commissioning, competition, and involvement of patient as well as plurality of providers (Lewis, et.al 2010). These reforms are seen as making it easier accommodate health care services to local populations thus meeting the needs of everyone, including the minority groups.The Department of Health has also initiated the Mosaic programme, which aims at developing and maintaining good practice in procurement, establish on the Commission for Racial Equality guidelines (DOH 2006). Concerns have however been brocaded by critics that the initiative may not be of benefit t o the minority and deprived groups and they have called for an examination of the impact that these reforms may have on equalities.While there has been a remarkable progress towards reducing inequalities in the health care sector in UK, there is still the need to develop more policies and interventions that support all sections of the society and direct care, word and services in proportion to need. This includes advocating for the promotion of individual rights within the care sector.PROMOTION OF EQUALITY AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTSIn this regard, individual rights include, but are not limited to (Adams 2007)The right to respect Not to be discriminated against dear to practice their cultural and religious beliefs Making their own choices near to equality or to be treated in a similar panache as the rest of the population Treated as an individual reform to be treated in a dignified way Right to privacy or confidentiality Protection from harm and danger Right to have access to informa tion, especially where that information concerns them Communication using their preferred methods.There is thus the need for recognition of the immense diversity amongst individuals in the British society and how care agencies, both voluntary and statutory, can accommodate this diversity. This promotion of equality and individual rights is crucial for effective provision of care services. That is, social workers need to treat everyone as an individual, have respect for individuals diversity and cultural values, promote equal treatment and opportunities for individuals, empower individuals, support them express their needs and experiences, ensure their well-being, work in ways ordered with the individuals preferences and beliefs, avoid their discrimination and put the individuals preference at the heart of service provisions through person centred planning approach (Adams 2007). CONCLUSIONSocial care services are provided to vulnerable individuals to protect them from harm, promote their independence and social inclusion, preserve or advance their physical and mental health, improve their opportunities and life chances, strengthen their families and protect and promote their individual human rights. In spite of the importance of provision of social care services, it is apparent that the current system in the UK is perceived unfair in the provision of health care services. There seems to be huge disparities in health care service provisions in parts of the UK with the spearheaded areas experiencing worst health care and deprivation.A remarkable progress has however been made towards reducing inequalities in the health A number initiatives have been commissioned by the Department of Health to collate good practice in equality in health such as Race for Health, Pacesetters and major reforms made to the NHS. These are seen as making it easier to tailor health care services to local populations thus meeting the needs of everyone, including the minority groups.While there has been a remarkable progress made, there is still the need to develop more policies and interventions that support all sections of the society and direct care, treatment and services in proportion to need. Social workers can play an important role in reducing health inequalities by working with service users in increasing their social and material resources and providing them access to information and support systems as well as maximizing their capacity to managing their health.REFERENCEAdams, R., 2007. Foundations of health and social care. Palgrave publishersAlcock, P., et.al., 2006. Students companion to social policy. Blackwell publishersBaldock et al (eds), 2007. Social Policy, Oxford University Press.Bradshaw, et.al., 1978. Issues in social policy. Routledge.Curry N. and C. Ham, 2010. Clinical and Service Integration The thoroughfare to improved outcomes. London The Kings Fund.Available at www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/clinical_and_service.html (accessed on 16 Fe bruary 2012).Department of Health (DOH), 2006. Our Health, Our Care, Our Say A New prudence for Community Services. London DOHDepartment of Health, 1998. Modernising social services. Crown publishers.Hill, M., 2006. 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