Health, Social Care Or Young People's Settings

MALGORZATA KROLIKOWSKA

Unit 1:Introduction to communication in Health, Social Care or Children's and Young People's Settings

Unit code:SHC 21
Unit reference number :F/601/5465
QCF level:2
Credit value:3

1.Understand why communication is important in the work setting 1.1 Identify the different reason people communicate
Good communication skills are so important within a health and social care environment because we communicate with others all the time. Effective communication helps us better understand a person or situation, enables us to resolve differences, build trust and respect, and create environments where creative ideas, problem solving, affection, and caring
can flourish. Different reasons why people communicate• Communication is a tool with which influence can be exercised on others.• Communication can be used to bring out changes in attitudes, motivate people and establish and maintain relationships.• Communication is essential for seeking and providing information.• We communicate to express our emotions like courage or fear, joy or sorrow, satisfaction or disappointment with appropriate gestures and words.• Communication is important for developing positive relationships with children, young people and their families, colleagues and other professionals.• Communication allows ideas to be conveyed clearly and succinctly.• It is a process by which two or more people exchange ideas, facts, feelings or impressions in ways that each gains a common understanding of the message.
The way in which you communicate will be different depending on the person with whom you are communicating and the purpose of the communication. We have formal and informal communication
Formal communication tends to start with a greeting such as ‘Good afternoon. How are you feeling today?’ It can be used to show respect for others. Formal conversation is often used when a professional person, such as a health or social care worker, speaks to someone using a service. It is clear, correct and avoids misunderstanding. Communication with a manager is usually formal. A manager is usually more distant from those they manage so that if they need to, for example, issue a
formal warning to someone, it is less awkward for both parties than if they are friends. Informal communication (often used between people who know each other well, like friends and family) is more likely to start with ‘Hi, how are you?’ and allows for more variety according to the area someone lives in. For example, in some places it is common for people to call other people ‘Love’ even if they have only just met them. People usually communicate more informally with friends, including those they work closely with on a day-to-day basis.

1.2 explain how effective communication affects all aspect of the learner's work Effective communication is more than just talking, and is essential for the well-being of the individuals you care for. It includes body language, gestures, facial expressions, positioning and appearance. It is important to be aware of non-verbal communication when interacting with your individuals at work. When communicating with a deaf person always make sure of eye contact and the client then may be able to lip read raise your voice and speak clearly to the client.
Always be aware of their level of understanding and act accordingly. It is important to give client time to communicate as not everyone communicates in the same way and care assistant must make sure that communicate in a way that is most suitable for them. Some patient may have problem with correct pronunciation and then care assistant should allow appropriate length of time to let them communicate. It also important to use the service user preferred form of communication as is care assistant responsibility to make sure that communication skills and methods should meet the needs of individuals. Beside if the individuals can communicate in their preferred method the person is more likely to express their needs. It is important to adapt how we communicate as sometimes the chosen method of communication may turn out not sufficient enough for example if a person may have difficulties in expressing himself/herself verbally which my cause frustration it may be necessary to use non-verbal communication or pictures to get the meaning across
correctly

Effective communication is a main part of the work that happens in care settings. You will need to develop a range of communication skills and be able to use them effectively to carry out the different aspects of your work role. You will need to be able to communicate effectively with service users, their relatives and your colleagues, as well as colleagues from other outside services . The key to better communication is knowing the communication cycle and being able to send and revive message appropriately.

1.3 explain why it is important to observe an individual's reactions when communicating with them
When you are observing an individuals reactions while communicating it's important to pay attention to their facial and bodily reactions because only about 70-80% of communication is verbal, meaning that you are going to miss out on a large part of communication if you are not paying attention to peoples facial and bodily reactions. When you look at a person’s facial expression, much of what you will see will be in the eyes, but the eyebrows and mouth also contribute. Notice whether someone is looking at you, or at the floor, or at a point over your shoulder. Lack of eye contact should give a first indication that all may not be well. It may be that they are not feeling confident. They may be unhappy, or feel uneasy about talking to you. You will need to follow this up. It is also important how the person is sitting. Are they relaxed and comfortable, sitting well back in the chair, or tense and perched on the edge of the seat? Are they slumped in the chair with their head down? Posture can indicate a great deal about how somebody is feeling. People who are feeling well and cheerful tend to hold their heads up, and sit in a relaxed and comfortable way. Someone who is tense and nervous, who feels unsure and worried, is likely to reflect this in the way they sit or stand. Observe hands and gestures carefully. Someone twisting their hands, or playing with hair or clothes, is displaying tension and worry. Frequent little shrugs of the shoulders or spreading of the hands may indicate a feeling of helplessness or hopelessness.

In communicating with individuals always follow those steps
• Maintain eye contact with the person you are talking to, although you should avoid staring at them. Looking away occasionally is normal, but if you find yourself looking around the room, or watching others, then you are failing to give people the attention they deserve.
• Be aware of what you are doing and try to think why you are losing attention.
•Sit where you can be easily seen.
•Sit a comfortable distance away – not so far that any sense of closeness is lost, but not so close that you occupy their personal space.
•Show by your gestures that you are listening and interested in what they are saying.
•Use touch to communicate your caring and concern if appropriate. Many individuals find it comforting to have their hand held or stroked, or to have an arm around their shoulders.
•Be aware of a person’s body language, which should tell you if they find touch acceptable or not.
•Always consider the situation if you are unsure about what is acceptable in another culture and do not use touch as a method of communication until you are sure that it will be acceptable.
•Think about age and gender in relation to touch. An older woman may be happy to have her hand held by a female carer, but may be uncomfortable with such a response from a man.
•Ensure that you are touching someone because you think it will be a comfort, and not because you feel helpless and cannot think of anything to say.

2.Be able to meet communication and language needs, wishes and preferences of individuals 2.1 show how to find out an individual's communication and language needs, wishes and preferences Health and social care staff need to find ways of encouraging service users to express their feelings and to talk about how they wish to be treated, as well as to say what they like and dislike. We can find out an individual’s preferred communication methods by: asking the services user , reading their care plan, ask relatives, ask colleagues, medical notes etc. People have a wide range of communication needs, which involve the consideration of many different factors such as:
•sensory ability
•cultural background
•language
•self-confidence
•level of learning ability
•physical ability.

Some people may have high support needs, and may not communicate verbally. In these situations it will be necessary to use alternative methods of communication, such as signs and symbols . As a professional care worker , it is our responsibility to make sure that communication skills meet the needs of the people we support. We should not expect people to adjust their communication to fit in with us.
Examples of special communication needs: hearing impaired people make sure that your face can be seen clearly face the light and the person you are speaking to at all times speak clearly and slowly ,repeat and rephrase if necessary minimise background noise use your eyes, facial expressions and gestures to communicate,where appropriate do not be tempted to shout into a person's ear or hearing aid visually-impaired people speak in the same way as you would to a sighted person – not louder or more slowly! Say who you are in your greeting as your voice won't necessarily be recognised even if you have met the person before