Quality standards in the health sector

Section 1: Know how legislation, policies and procedures determine quality standards of work

1. Using the table below, identify how quality standards link to legislation, policy and procedures in your current health sector organisation (or one that you know well). Legislation
Key point
Which policy is affected by the legislation?
Which quality standard does it affect in your organisation, and how? Equality and Diversity Act
All patients are seen on the basis of need and not on characteristics based on race, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. Interpreting policy
Patient experience – Some languages are rare, and the interpreting company contracted with the company may not have any one who can speak the language on the books. Or there may not be any interpreters specific to that language available. Some procedures and face-to-face, rather telephone interpreters. That could mean that the patient cannot be seen on that day, and other factors such as A/L professionals, may leave patients waiting weeks for much needed medical treatment.

2. Describe how personal attitudes and behaviours in your current health sector role (or one that you know well) impact on the quality of service in your organisation. Attitude/behaviour
How does it impact on your role?
Having a negative attitude

Having a positive attitude
I feel lazy, less inclined to want to carry out my duties. More prone to make mistakes. It may create a bad atmosphere and I come across as unapproachable.

Work more efficiently, less prone to make mistakes. Appear more approachable, thus no one will feel that they cannot ask me for advice on a problem.

Section 2: Know the limits of your own expertise and knowledge and when to refer to others

1a.Use the space below to describe what is meant by being competent.

A competent person is someone who has sufficient training, experience/knowledge and other qualities that allow them to conduct their given role. The level of competence required will depend on the complexity of the role.

1b.In the table below, describe the competencies needed for your job role (or one that you know well). If you’re currently seeking employment, you could base your answer on a role that you would like to apply for. Give examples of the competencies you are expected to have and how you meet these competencies. Job role: Receptionist

Competency
How do you meet this competency?
I.T.
I have good knowledge of Microsoft office; I can troubleshoot issues with software and hardware; I can navigate the internet well and use email and its features. Telephone Manner

I am always polite and helpful, prefacing each call with the standard greeting. I keep relevant contact lists and information updated and readily available. Dealing with distressed patients/people

It is a skill I do possess, and is a skill I have had to use in my personal life as well as my professional life. I have also partaken in internal training which focused on how to effectively communicate with distressed and upset patients. Working with others

I am able to provide support to others by lending my skills where needed; for instance, a colleague may be in a situation where they are struggling in a particular task because of lack of skills in that area, if I am knowledgeable, I’d share that knowledge. I’m not afraid to ask for help if I am stuck when working on task/don’t understand something/or workload too heavy. I learn from my colleagues and they learn from me

2. Using your job role (or one that you are familiar with) can you identify at least 2 examples of when to seek help from others? One example should refer specifically to dealing with poor standards. Example

When to seek help from others
A phone call from medical fellow calling the reception desk and then proceeding to discuss the patient’s medical problem, for advice, because the patient needs to be seen ASAP.

Straight away. I am not medically trained so I will need to find someone who will be able to help. A change in company policy and/or procedure

As soon as possible.

3. In your job role (or one that you know well), why is it important that you seek help and report issues to others? State your answer below. There are tasks that require actions I am not skilled, possess limited knowledge and/or have little or no authority to undertake. Reporting the issues and asking for help, keeps everybody up-to-date about the problems, so that any issues can be resolved quickly. Also, it may slow up the process of the business, making it difficult to provide an efficient service for the users, if issues are not reported. By asking for help I am showing my competence, in that I am showing that I am aware of my limitations.

4. In your job role (or one that you know well), who do you learn from? Can you describe the benefits of learning from them? Everyone is kept up-to-date – If all members of staff are up-to-date the service the organisation is able to much more provide efficient service because everyone will know what is expected of them if they need to step in if there is lack of staff. Also it helps morale because everyone will feel that their role is valued. Building Rapport – It provides an opportunity for individuals to develop and build on rapport with colleagues. The employee gets to know their colleagues intimately, at least in context of the business environment, whereby strengths and weaknesses are identified and worked on. Learning from each other – Everyone has their own individual approach to changes and by working together and learning from each other, they are able to view the situation from a fresh perspective and it gives them the chance to be flexible and innovative with their approach.

Section 3: Know how to use resources efficiently to support quality standards 1. Why is it important to use and maintain resources properly when working in the health sector? Choose one scenario from this list below and write a short report on the consequences of not using and maintaining the resources which apply to this situation efficiently. You and your friend both work as care assistants. However, you have received complaints from his patients that he is not focusing on his job. You know of someone who routinely fails to follow lock-up procedures correctly and this has resulted in break-ins to medicines cupboards. A colleague has gone home at the end of their shift but has forgotten to report a major fault on a piece of equipment that you need to use. How might this situation affect the quality of service?

What might the effects on patients or users be?
Who should you have told about the incident and how?
The aim of the service is to focus on ensuring that the patients and user experience is the best it can be. The patients may feel frustrated because they don’t feel they are being listened to. My friend and the Lead Nurse

2. Why is it necessary to report issues related to resources? Reporting issues to others ensures that the department is more likely to experience a smoother transaction. Reporting issues is also necessary because work staff are able to gain an insight on how they are perceived by members of the public. It also enables evaluation of customer service/situation, which helps the company to identify what systems are working and what systems aren’t and in turn what improvements need to be made.

3. Identify how the efficient use of resources contributes to the quality of service. Use examples from your place of work (or one that you know well) to help answer this question.

Cost effective and time effective; for instance, a company sending out grouped emails. Sending information to several people via email will save more time and money than if an individual would sit and print of letters, fold them and send them out, as the email is designed to send mail to an unlimited number of recipients at a time; a letter could take up to a week to be received but most times an email would be received immediately.

Once you have completed all 3 sections of this Assessment, go to www.vision2learn.com. Log in to the platform and send your Assessment to your tutor via your My Study page for marking.