Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care with Advanced Certificate in Healthcare Communication

Learners will come to understand what it is like to work in health and social care, the responsibilities in line with maintaining the health and safety and safeguarding rights of individuals in their care. Always being aware of issues around data protection, confidentiality and possibilities for discriminatory practice. Learners will come to understand the role of regulatory bodies and their impact upon their working lives as well as the monitoring processes in place to ensure the delivery of high quality care. Learners will begin to examine the many different professionals who may be involved in the delivery of care to an individual, what their roles are and how and where these services are delivered. Potential barriers to inter-professional working and the sharing of information will be covered and the effect this can have on the individual receiving care. The assessment will be by a written assignment using case studies to give real life scenarios that you may come across in health and social care. Each learning outcome will have a separate case study to allow you to display an in-depth knowledge of each outcome.

Being able to communicate effectively is a prerequisite in any positive interaction, be this with a service user, carer, colleague or external agency. We take communication for granted but in health and social care there are many methods of communication which we need to be proficient in. During this unit learners will look at the variety of methods of communication used within health and social care practice. Be able to outline principles of effective communication and how to identify and overcome common barriers to high quality communication. Learners will also become familiar with the different methods of oral and written communication used, be that in handing over information to colleagues face-to-face, or by telephone and the benefits and potential weaknesses of each. They will also learn how to produce and present orally via a presentation, this skill is very useful within the health and social care arena. How to present written information in a formal way via care plans, reports etc. will also be covered. Finally, learners will look at the range of IT innovations within the health and social care sector by which service user information can be communicated within the team and to external partners in care. Issues around data protection and confidentiality will be discussed.

Promoting health is the responsibility of everyone who works in health and social care. It is also an important government agenda. So how do we as individuals promote the health of our service users and the government promote health within the wider population? Within this unit we will look at how the government through organisations such as Public Health England try to improve the health of the population, we will look at policies and activities they undertake to improve the health of the nation. We will also look at their role in monitoring the populations health. What factors can affect health and the government’s role in trying to reduce these will be discussed. From an individual’s view, we will look at the role of health promotion and some common approaches and models used by practitioners to promote and protect the health of the communities they serve. We will look at how to run a small health campaign and how to overcome barriers to participation. It may seem strange to look at this area if you currently care for service users with long-term conditions but we must as professional always be looking at ways to support our service users to maintain as healthy a lifestyle as possible to minimise development of future health conditions.

Within this unit learners will look at the role of person-centred care in their interactions with service users. They also consider other models of care delivery and discuss their strengths and weaknesses in delivering care needs to different populations of service users. Delivering high quality care is not always easy and we will look at potential ethical issues that could arise and how these could be dealt with. Learners will develop an understanding of the difficulties of balancing individual autonomy and minimising potential risk to vulnerable service users. Learners will look at relevant health and social care legislation that impacts on both those delivering care and individuals receiving care. The role of government departments and other agencies in producing legislation and guidance and how this affects local policies, procedures and care delivery will be discussed.

Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, is a growing healthcare issue in the UK. Many service users will have diabetes and the associated complications associated with it. This can seriously affect quality of life and, in some cases, can lead to the need for limb amputation causing enormous physical and psychological challenges for the service user. An understanding of the physiology behind the condition, associated complications and associated treatment and care needs will enhance your understanding and care of these service users.

Many of the service users you care for may have had a stroke – or more correctly a cerebrovascular accident. It is important to know the causes and effects of the condition if you are to provide quality care. During this unit, the learners will study the types of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and the symptoms displayed including mobility and speech and swallowing problems. Diagnostic tools utilised in identifying the cause of the CVA will be covered. Learners will look at the role of acute care in maximising a positive outcome and the longer-term treatment supplied by the rehabilitation team. Measures that could reduce the incidence of CVA will be examined as well as looking at support available for both those following a CVA and their family. Aids to communication will be covered. The benefit of specialised stroke units in positive outcomes will be discussed. Assessment will be via workbook with questions/tasks covering all assessment criteria.

Dementia is a growing healthcare issue in the UK. Many service users will have dementia and the associated complications associated with it. This can seriously affect quality of life not only for the service user but for their family and friends. The psychological and physical burden of caring for someone with dementia is huge. An understanding of the physiology behind the condition, associated complications and associated treatment and care needs will enhance your understanding and care of these service users.