Working in Partnership in Health
and Social Care
Module - 01
S. P. D. Senarathna (BSc. N - UOC) 1
Understand how to
evaluate
partnership
working
ILO - 03
S. P. D. Senarathna (BSc. N - UOC) 2
Explain the contribution learners can make to ILO – 3.1
enhance partnership working.
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What can we do to enhance
partnership working?
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Learn to - Keep an open mind
• Strong identification is correlated with increased
conflict and less willingness to engage in ‘open-
minded and elaborative behaviour’
• encourage more open communication in primary
and community care settings
• form a more open culture
• open communication, regular team meetings
and open discussion rounds
• to be open with one another about their
weaknesses and mistakes
• All members must be open to learning from
each other and growing in their respective
roles
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Learn to - Respect other roles
• With effective teamwork there is a
mutual respect for others’ contributions
• need to listen to one another, mutual
respect
• fosters respect for disciplinary
contributions of all professionals.
• respect the skills, expertise and
contributions of your colleagues.
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Learn -
Collaboration
• Collaboration is an active and ongoing partnership, often between people from diverse
backgrounds, who work together to solve problems or provide services.
• Interprofessional collaboration is a type of interprofessional work which involves different
health and social care professions who regularly come together to solve problems or provide
services.
• collaboration not just between services, but also between professionals and people who use services
• Collaboration: works with other individuals or groups to achieve their goals and yours.
• Collaboration is a ‘looser’ form of interprofessional work. It differs from teamwork in that shared
identity and integration of individuals are less important. However, it is similar to teamwork in
requiring shared accountability between individuals, some interdependence between
individuals, clarity of roles/goals and team tasks which are generally a little more unpredictable,
less urgent and complex. Examples of this type of interprofessional work can be found in
primary care and general medical settings
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Open communication
channels
• Encourage feedback
• Encourage active listening
• Diversify communication styles
• Ask employees for feedback
• Create opportunities for open
communication
• Digital communication channels
• Provide communication training
S. P. D. Senarathna (BSc. N - UOC) 8
Learn - Liaison
with partnerships
• coordinate patient care by
liaison and collaboration with
other health and social care
professionals
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Learn -
Accountability
• Individuals are accountable not just for
their own contribution, but for the
quality of the service the whole team
delivers
• organisations are to hold teams
accountable
• a team needs to be mutually and
collectively accountable for
meeting goals and producing
outputs
S. P. D. Senarathna (BSc. N - UOC) 10
Learn - Setting objectives for staff
Clear objectives are essential to provide a vision
of what success will look like, and for team
members to understand their individual
contribution.
• the group must possess shared objectives or goals
• Clear goals and objectives also enable individual
team members to be clear about their contribution
• Does the team have achievable and agreed
objectives?
• Do you take part in reviewing how the team is
working to achieve its objectives?
• Do you work to deliver the team objectives?
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We all form snap judgements about people as they do
about us, and we need to reflect on how this can have
Non-judgmental an impact on our communication with others.
It’s about respecting people’s professional identity and
professional judgement
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Assertiveness
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Learn - Negotiating
Zwarenstein & Reeves (2002) have outlined four key tasks to help ensure smooth and well-
coordinated teamwork between members:
• 1. Agree on a shared definition of patient well-being which incorporates ideas the different perspectives of team
members.
• 2. Identify the information to be shared in order to allow other professionals to work, and agree how this is to be
shared. Define the work each profession does alone and does together.
• 3. Understand the differing demands and pressures each profession faces in delivering care. This can help lead to
mutual support between team members.
• 4. Acknowledge that delivering care is difficult, not always successful and can cause anxiety.
As outlined above, this approach offers a set of practice guidelines, in the form of four simple
team tasks, to encourage an interprofessional team to work in a more effective manner.
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Confidence
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ILO – 3.2
Evaluate own strengths and weaknesses in relation to partnership
working
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Self assessment tools
• various individual and organisational self-assessment tools and techniques available from
the business, marketing and health and social care organisations to aid individuals, teams
and organisations with prioritising and developing a strategy for:
• getting started in a new role or service
• changing existing practice through review or redesign
• evaluating care.
• Self-assessment tools within the context of practice development are about adopting
and applying a suitable approach to enable individuals, teams and the organisation to
explore the systems that are in place in order to identify strengths and areas for further
development
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Self assessment tools
The utilisation of these self-assessment frameworks/tools within the context of practice development has the
potential to promote effective collaboration by identifying and resolving:
1. Organisational issues: implementing a new service or reviewing and redesigning existing services
2. Conflicting expectations: reviewing conflicts of interest between professional groups, teams and individuals
3. Communication issues: between and within individuals teams and organisations
4. Cultural differences: between services and departments
5. Resource availability: for existing or planned service developments.
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Self assessment tools
The benefits of such approaches by extension
could be:
1. Improved quality
2. Enhanced communication
3. Shared working
4. Complementary standpoints
5. Enhanced productivity/outcomes.
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Assessment tools
• SWOT analysis
• PEST analysis
• Reflective Practice (self)
• ‘SWAINE’ analysis (self)
• Force Field Analysis (group)
• Leadership qualities framework (self&group)
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Reflective Practice
• What is Reflective practice?
• Gibb’s Reflective cycle
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‘SWAINE’ analysis
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Questions?
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Thank you!
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