Btec Level 3 Health & Social Care Unit 1 - P3, P4
P3-Effective communication in Health and Social Care
P4-Identify and explain strategies to overcome the barriers.
Environmental factors
There are a number of barriers to effective communication in health and social care. One of these is the environment. If the environment gets in the way of effective communication, then the receiver may not understand the message that is being given to them.
• Seating positions
Rooms with awkward seating positions might mean that two people cannot see each other properly. For example if a nurse is talking to a patient and the patient is leaning back at about 135 degrees, this would mean that the patient is not paying attention to what the nurse is communicating. So the patient (receiver) may not understand the message that is being given to him. To overcome this barrier, people communicating in a health and social care setting would sit in a room around a desk like this. This is so that both of them are comfortable and can see each other properly.
• Background noise
It is very hard to hear what someone is saying if there is a lot of background noise. A noisy environment is especially difficult and unpleasant for someone who is using hearing aid. Hearing aids will amplify background noise as well as the voice of the speaker. In a health and social care setting, if there would be a busy hospital being too busy or loud. If a patient is in a busy ward and the nurse is talking to him he may not receive her message due to excessive noise, phones ringing and people rushing in and out. This would make the conversation unsuccessful as it distracts their concentration. To overcome this barrier they will have to restrict people from rushing in and out to avoid noise. Also they would have to communicate in a room where it is quiet and so that the message can be understood by the receiver. This is not always possible as there are patient’s relatives that really want to meet the patient. Therefore you cannot stop them.
P4-Identify and explain strategies to overcome the barriers.
Environmental factors
There are a number of barriers to effective communication in health and social care. One of these is the environment. If the environment gets in the way of effective communication, then the receiver may not understand the message that is being given to them.
• Seating positions
Rooms with awkward seating positions might mean that two people cannot see each other properly. For example if a nurse is talking to a patient and the patient is leaning back at about 135 degrees, this would mean that the patient is not paying attention to what the nurse is communicating. So the patient (receiver) may not understand the message that is being given to him. To overcome this barrier, people communicating in a health and social care setting would sit in a room around a desk like this. This is so that both of them are comfortable and can see each other properly.
• Background noise
It is very hard to hear what someone is saying if there is a lot of background noise. A noisy environment is especially difficult and unpleasant for someone who is using hearing aid. Hearing aids will amplify background noise as well as the voice of the speaker. In a health and social care setting, if there would be a busy hospital being too busy or loud. If a patient is in a busy ward and the nurse is talking to him he may not receive her message due to excessive noise, phones ringing and people rushing in and out. This would make the conversation unsuccessful as it distracts their concentration. To overcome this barrier they will have to restrict people from rushing in and out to avoid noise. Also they would have to communicate in a room where it is quiet and so that the message can be understood by the receiver. This is not always possible as there are patient’s relatives that really want to meet the patient. Therefore you cannot stop them.