CS23 Work with others to improve healthcare services for children and young people

Overview

This standard is about the practitioner improving the service they and their colleagues provide to promote the health and well-being of children and young people.  The practitioner needs to monitor and review all relevant information relating to the care of children and young people, whether these be national policy documents, recent legislation or organisational procedures.  Direct consultation with children and young people is also a critical aspect of improving services for them. The practitioner will use this information to consider whether any changes are needed to the service they provide.  This information should therefore be used by the practitioner not only to inform their own work, but also to inform the work of their colleagues. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. the legislation which relates to working with children and young people including:
1. confidentiality and information sharing
2. the provision of services
3. children’s rights
4. anti-discriminatory practice
5. child protection
2. the statutory and professional standards and codes of practice for your area of work and how to interpret and apply these
3. how to manage your responsibilities as a professional with organisational and contractual requirements
4. the nature, aims, objectives, values, policies and systems of the organisation in which you work
5. the nature, extent and boundaries of your work role and its relationship to others in your own and other organisations
6. the roles of other practitioners working with children, young people and families and how they relate between and across agencies
7. the importance of working within your own sphere of competence and when you should refer to others
8. how to communicate effectively with children and young people, and those involved in their care
9. the ways in which communication can be modified and altered for different needs, contexts and beliefs, including the age, understanding and communication preferences of the child or young person and those involved in their care
10. the ways in which children and young people communicate by behaviour, as well as through language, and how different forms of behaviour can be interpreted
11. the effects of environments and contexts on communication (particularly institutional settings)
12. the key government policies relating to the health and well-being of children and young people
13. the main issues and debates relating to the health and well-being of children and young people
14. the framework for the assessment of children and young people’s needs
15. the guidance that is available for your own practice, and the sources of the guidance
16. evidence based practice, and its role in improving services
17. the main trends and changes relating to the health and well-being of children and young people
18. child development, including emotional, physical, intellectual, social, moral and character growth, and how they all affect one another
19. the impact of parenting capacity on the health and well-being of children and young people
20. the impact of family and environment on the health and well-being of children and young people
21. how the needs of children and young people may affect others
22. the contributing factors that increase the risk of significant harm to children and young people
23. health and well-being information, advice and support for practitioners, children and young people, and those involved in their care
24. recent and proposed legislation, regulations, policies and codes of practice which relate to working with children and young people
25. the key policy and regulatory bodies for children and young people’s services
26. what consultations are taking place at the current time
27. the type and scope of research being undertaken that is relevant to your own practice and the main centres of research
28. the key statistics that feature in discussions of the health and well-being of children and young people
29. the authoritative sources of information on different issues, and how to assess the validity and relevance of information
30. how to access information on the health and well-being of children and young people, and the arrangements and protocols required to obtain information
31. how often to monitor different information sources, and the frequency of output
32. the principles and values underpinning children and young people’s policies and services
33. the changes that have occurred in services to address issues relating to the health and well-being of children and young people
34. how to evaluate the services provided to children and young people, and what services have proved to be successful
35. how to present and justify recommendations for improving services
36. how to support colleagues to improve the services they provide to children, young people and those involved in their care

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. obtain valid and reliable information on the needs of children and young people from appropriate information resources
2. establish the main factors, trends, and changes that are affecting the needs of children and young people and those involved in their care
3. obtain relevant information from practitioners on the type and range of services being provided for children and young people and those involved in their care and how they might be improved
4. consult with children and young people and those involved in their care to obtain their views on the services being provided to them and how they might be improved
5. evaluate the services being offered to children and young people and those involved in their care to determine their effectiveness
6. identify the data, issues, options, and recommendations, supported by a clear rationale, that will assist practitioners to improve their services
7. produce records and reports that are clear, comprehensive, and accurate, and maintain the security and confidentiality of information
8. consult with children and young people and those involved in their care on how to raise practitioners’ awareness of the needs of children and young people
9. encourage practitioners to obtain feedback from children and young people and those involved in their care on the effectiveness of the services they provide to them
10. assist practitioners to understand the needs and preferences of children and young people, and how these affect the implementation of services for them
11. provide sufficient information and advice to enable practitioners to improve their services for children and young people and those involved in their care
12. identify any implementation issues that might affect practitioners improving their services for children and young people and those involved in their care
13. assist practitioners to identify their options for improving their services for children and young people and those involved in their care
14. monitor the improvements made by practitioners and review their progress with them at appropriate opportunities

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: Core 4 Service improvement