Case Study: Health Care Management
Question: CASE STUDY SCENARIO
SAFEGUARDING IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE:-
Mrs.Mohima Begum is an 87-year- old woman who is diagnosed with dementia. She got married in her early 20s. She was living with her family in her own flat 10 years ago. She has three boys and one daughter. She was a happy person before she was diagnosed with dementia. Mrs.B’s behavior changed drastically after her husband passed away. She started forgetting recent events and persons. Because of dementia, she could not manage her daily livings. The family started to look for a carer for Mrs. B. Her social worker Mrs. Helen Humphreys identified that Mrs. B’s needs has increased and she has to be cared for in a care home that specialises in dementia care.
At first Mrs B was settling in well but soon after, the carer noticed Mrs.B’s strange behaviour as she put herself in a dark room, signs of aggressiveness & stop eating. This behavior was getting worse after she is visited by her son, Jafar. The carer started notifying her behavior changes to the care manager and team leaders. Mrs. B was referred to the mental health team and social services due to her aggressive behavior and self-neglect. They confirmed that she also has mental health issues along with dementia. They were also able to establish there are some signs of abuse.
Now the Manager and social worker need to find out where and by whom she is being abused. The manager also notified Mrs. B of issues to the safeguarding team who will be able to investigate Mrs. B’s property is still awaiting to be sold, as she does not have the mental capacity. The Power of attorney for Mrs. B is her daughter who can take a decision on behalf of her.
TASK: 1
1.1 Explain why Mrs. B may be vulnerable to abuse and /or harm to self and others.(P1.1)
1.2 Review risk factors, which may lead to incidence of abuse and/or harm to Mrs. B’s life and others. (P1.2)
1.3 Analyse the impact of social and cultural factors on different types of abuse and/or harm to Mrs. B and others. (P1.3)
TASK: 2
2.1. Analyze the strength and weaknesses in current legislation and policy relating to those vulnerable to abuse. (P2.1)
2.2. Explain how the key professionals involved in the protection of individuals and groups vulnerable to abuse with the given scenario. (P2.2)
TASK: 3
3.1 Explain existing working practices and strategies designed to minimise the abuse in Mrs. B’s scenario.(P3.1)
3.2 Evaluate the effectiveness of working practices and strategies used to minimise abuse in the given health and social care scenario.(P3.2)
3.3 Discuss possible improvements to working practices and strategies to minimise abuse in health and social care context.(P3.3)
Solution
Health Care Management Task 1
In context to the case study, there are many changes that highlight that Mrs. Mohima Begum may be vulnerable to abuse or harm to self and others. The mental condition of Mrs. B is very critical and she does not even have good thinking and remembering power. Because of dementia she has started causing harm to self and others. She has become aggressive, do not eat food and put her in dark room (Buchbinder and Shanks, 2011). In these ways she is harming herself and others also who are associated with her life like her family and friends. In context to the abuse, there are chances that people coming to her home may tried to abuse her. In addition to this, the people working in the mental hospital may also think about abusing her. The person who has gone through any kind of abuse may become depressed, loss self confidence, become emotionally and mentally weak and others.
The risk factors which may lead to the incidence of abuse and/or harm to Mrs. B’s life and others include the mental and emotional health of Mrs B. People visiting house of Mrs. B. may try to abuse her (Buchbinder and Shanks, 2011). The abuse may occur in the house, community, residential care, institutional care, relationships involving power, domestic violence and caring relationships within the family. Because of the low mental health of Mrs B any person can try to abuse her. There might be many people who would have been familiar with the mental condition of Mrs. B and there are chances that any such person might have tried to abuse There is a huge impact of social and cultural factors on different types of abuse and/or harm to Mrs B and others (Buchbinder and Shanks, 2011). The social and cultural factors play an important role in influencing the different types of abuse and harm that can occur in society. The different social factors are health, housing, education, poverty, social exclusion and disadvantage and networks of support.
On the other hand, the various cultural factors are ethnicity, discriminations and religion. There are different types of abuse which are physical, emotional, sexual, neglect, financial, drugs, alcohol and self inflicted wounds. The social factors play an important role in determining the nature of abuse den to any person. Lack of education, poverty and job may make a person frustrated and weak. Such people start losing their understanding power and may indulge in nay bad activities such as abuse. On the other hand, cultural factors help to identify the family background, religion and upbringing of a person (Kieran and Judith, 2011). It helps to know that a person who has cultural values and norms or is bought up in such a family will not indulge in any such bad activities. In addition to this, the person who has friends or family members who have indulged in these activities may get prone to such bad habits.
Health Care Management Task 2
There are various policies which have been framed for the support of the victims of abuse. It is also important for government and regulatory parties to frame various policies which help to stop any such crime in the society (Riegelman and Kirkwood, 2014). There are many strengths and weaknesses in current legislation and policy relating to those vulnerable to abuse. There are many acts such as mental capacity act which helps people in making decisions who are not capable of making their independent decisions. The main strength is that the laws framed by the government of different countries on abuse help the people of safeguard their interest and protect them from any bad actors in the society. It also protects the well-being and health of a person. Every person is independent and these laws help people to exercise their independence (Riegelman and Kirkwood, 2014). There are many strong laws in many countries which ensure that every person of the society is protected from any such activity.
If nay person experience any such activity is free to complain against the person involved in the abuse. There are many NGOs and charitable organisations which are working to help the people who have through any abuse and are neglected by the family (Riegelman and Kirkwood, 2014). These institutes provide a proper place for such people to spend their lives and live peacefully. The weaknesses that may be associated are that there are no strong acts and laws for adult abuse. In many countries, the rate of such crime and abuse is increasing day by day because of lack of strong laws and acts on abuse in the society (Riegelman and Kirkwood, 2014). The fear within the people responsible for such abuse is also decreasing and such people are becoming more violent and independent. There are chances that key professionals involved in the protection of Mrs. B. may be vulnerable to the abuse. The main key professionals are authoritative people of the mental health care institute, friends and family members of Mrs. B, strangers, workers working in the house of Mrs. B. and neighbours.
It is necessary for the government of every country to bring strong laws and acts which can protect the interest of people and make the society clean from such people (Kieran and Judith, 2011). Decrease in such crimes will help the people of the society to live peacefully and freely. These laws would help the world to become a better place to live and even people will also fully trust others in the society. These people were familiar with the psychological condition of Mrs. B. and may try to abuse her. Even Mrs. B. may not be familiar with the abuse done to her so she might have not spoken to any other person about the abuse (Kieran and Judith, 2011). Even any family member of Mrs. B. may have tried to abuse her because of her property or any revenge. Thus, it has become necessary to identify the person involved in such act with Mrs. B. so that the person can get the required punishment.
Health Care Management Task 3
Many strategies and practices have been designed by the government and regulatory authorities to control the increase cases of abuse all over the world. In context to the case study of Mrs. B. the strategies and practices include the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is UK which helps the people of the country to control the communicable diseases (Kieran and Judith, 2011). There are many strategies and practices which are designed mainly for the protection and safety of adults who are mentally ill and weak. People who are not mature or do not have thinking ability need more care and support from the people of the society. Thus, many laws and acts have been framed for such people who are not emotionally and mentally stable. The practices and strategies designed to control the health and social care system are not appropriate and effective in many countries (Kieran and Judith, 2011). Many people in many societies deal with many problems in their health and social care system.
On the other hand, there are many other countries which have good and appropriate health and social care system. The effectiveness of health and social care system depends upon the cultural, health and social factors of the societies. To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of health and social care system, it is necessary for government to increase awareness about the different types of abuse that can occur in the societies. The possible improvements that can be adopted in the health and social care system include the various efforts taken by the government of various countries to enhance the health and social care system (Kieran and Judith, 2011). Campaigns can also be initiated to make people aware about the different types of abuse and different methods in which these abuse can be decreased. In addition to this, education is the most necessary part of the health and social care system. If people will be educated then they will be familiar with the crimes in the society. Education will also help the people to analyse the effects of these crimes in the society.
The next possible step that can be adopted for the betterment of the health and social care system include the decrease in the poverty in the society (Kieran and Judith, 2011). It is necessary to increase the standard of living of the people all over the world. People who have good standard of living generally do not like to indulge in any kind of crimes or bad activities such as abuse. In addition to this, there should be strict laws and rules which should be framed and adopted all over the globe. This would help to decrease the crime rate all over the world. Decrease in crime rate would help the people of the society to live a healthy and peaceful life. Various strategies and practices help the people to feel safe and protected (Kieran and Judith, 2011). Enhancement in health and social care system is required to help the people all over the world to get familiar to the different acts and laws framed to stop abuse.
References
Buchbinder, S.B. and Shanks, N.H. 2011. Introduction to Health Care Management. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
Kieran, W. and Judith, S. 2011. Healthcare Management. McGraw-Hill International.
Riegelman, R. and Kirkwood, B. 2014. Public Health 101. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.