This essay will aim to critically analyse the team worked with through the last placement rotation to determine the effectiveness of how they collaborated and functioned together. It will be structured around the ‘7S framework’ (Peters et al, 1982) which looks at strategy, structure, systems, skills, staff, style and shared values. These are all the aspects which have an affect on the capability of the team to work collaboratively together to meet the service user’s needs. Although many parts of the ‘7S framework’ interlink, they will be assessed one by one to see how each section of the framework affects the functioning of the team. The environment being analysed was based on an ophthalmic ward which was made up of a range of professional and non-professional group members such as the doctors, nurses, anaesthetists, healthcare assistants, house keepers, administration staff, and of course, the service users. For confidential reasons no staff, clients or hospital names will be used from where the placement took place at. (NMC, 2004)
The first section from the ‘7S framework’ this essay will address is strategy. The need for both public involvement and partnerships between service providers is reflected in recent policies, such as The New NHS: Modern Dependable. (DOH, 1997) The strategy of this is aimed to make teams work more co-operatively providing a better service for the client. The government also initiated Health Action Zones which set out partnership arrangements between the NHS, local authorities, community groups, and the voluntary and business sectors to develop and implement a health strategy to deliver within certain areas. (DOH, 1998) In the NHS, due to the new higher levels of resources and technology, ophthalmic service users can be treated as day