There are many steps involved in care planning. Some include:
- An accurate and comprehensive assessment of the patient
- Problem list generated
- Decide whether the problems can be solved
- Set goals to resolve or show signs of improvement within the review period
- They should be measurable and realistic
- If cant improve or resolve then ask how it can be kept from getting any worse or developing complications
- Set measurable and realistic goals
- If deterioration is inevitable then the care plan will focus on what can be done to provide optimal quality of life, comfort and dignity for the person
Under the FACS which is the Fair Access to Care Services, eligibility criteria for service are graded into four bands, which describe the seriousness of the risk if needs are not addressed. These are critical, substantial, moderate and low. The aim of FACS is to have greater consistency across the country on how decisions are made about whether people have services or not.
Sure Start
SureStart is the government programme to deliver the best start in life for every child. They bring together early education, childcare, health and family support. It helps to develop services in disadvantaged areas alongside financial help for parents to afford childcare. In SureStart there is a central office where all the team work together to support children and families in the area.
Some of the members include:
- Employability worker for parents returning to work
- Activities co-coordinator
- Child psychologists
- Nursery nurse
- Health visitor
- Play worker
- Speech and language therapist
- Child care trainer
- Sure start midwife and maternity assistant
- Visiting community pediatrician
- Family support workers (social services)
By working together they provide a more efficient and professional service. Each different member has a different job and focuses on different PIES of the service user.
The midwife provides advice, care and support for women, their partners and families during the pre-conceptual, antenatal, intranatal and postnatal periods. They provide a “women centred” approach allowing choice and continuity of care. The work involves caring for newborns, providing health education and parenting support.
Family support workers assist families who are experiencing problems and visit them regularly. They offer practical help and emotional support. The aim of their work in relation to SureStart is to allow children to remain with their families rather than being taken into care. The other members of the SureStart organisation all interact together in order to provide the best care available for the service user. They refer the service user to different services in order to meet their PIES.
Multi-disciplinary teams make a great difference to the lives of families and children in deprived areas and team working ensures quicker access to a wider range of services. Working in a team also allows care workers to communicate and to discuss any problems they have with a service user in order to give them the proper background information required.
To evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of SureStart Plus in reaching its gaols, a national evaluation was undertaken by a team of researchers from the Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London.
The national evaluation investigated the various approaches to service delivery; how Sure Start Plus relates to other initiatives to provide joined-up policy and practice; the impact of Sure Start Plus on pregnant teenagers, teenage parents and their children; and the costs of Sure Start Plus. These issues were explored with the help of teenagers and programme staff who assisted with both the planning of the evaluation and the interpretation of its findings. Sure Start Plus programmes also conducted their own local level evaluations in order to evaluate their services on a local basis as each community has a different set of needs.
Within this evaluation, strengths and weaknesses were acknowledged. They identified that the key success of the programme was the role of the Personal Adviser who provides a holistic package of support to young parents. Personal Advisers worked within multi-disciplinary teams, referring on to specialist workers where appropriate. The programme has been particularly successful at providing emotional ‘crisis support’ for pregnant teenagers and young mothers, helping mediate family relationships, addressing domestic violence, and giving advice on housing, benefits, and healthcare, often acting as advocate for the young woman.
I personally think the SureStart is a very well-organised organisation. They obviously take great take in their care plans and acknowledge the overall needs of the service user. SureStart use a holistic approach to care. This means they consider the overall physical, intellectual, social and emotional needs of the service user and try to integrate different services into one, whole service that benefits the individual as a whole.
