GEN110 Support individuals in relation to personal and social interactions and environmental factors

Overview

This standard covers establishing supportive relationships and offering support to people when needed by relating to each person as someone with their own particular needs and concerns and developing relationships with them which take that into account. The term ‘individuals' in this standard is taken to mean anyone with whom you come into contact whether they are service users, carers or family members. Confidentiality is an important value underpinning this standard, since a trusting relationship is at its heart. The kind of support offered will be dependent on the needs of the individual but is likely to include emotional support within social and personal interactions and practical support in dealing with environmental factors with which the individual might have difficulty coping on their own. This standard applies to anyone who works in the health sector in a role which requires them to provide individual support to service users in relation to their personal and social interactions with others. 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 current legislation which relates to the work being undertaken, the context in which it takes place and the individuals who you support; codes of good practice which support the implementation of legislation; how to interpret and apply relevant legislation to the work being undertaken
2. why the ability to empathise is important
3. the importance of befriending services for people with specific health needs and what sort of befriending services your job role enables you to provide
4. the different forms of support that can be provided in the context of befriending
5. the range and roles of local agencies and services that can offer support to people with specific health needs and how to access these
6. how interactions have beginnings, middles and ends, the need for each of these stages and how they may vary between different cultures
7. the different sorts of situations in which people may require support and how your behaviour may need to be adjusted to deal with that
8. how culture, gender and beliefs can affect the requirements that a person has for support
9. how the health and wellbeing needs of an individual can affect the requirements that an individual has for support
10. the ways in which individuals may communicate their requirements for support
11. the role of communication in establishing and maintaining relationships
12. when physical contact is appropriate in the context of offering support, and when it is not
13. how your own culture, gender and beliefs affect the way that you view the behaviour of others and why it is important to recognise and challenge this
14. behaviours which demonstrate value for others and those which do not
15. the effect that behaviour which does not value others has on them and others in the vicinity
16. the impact of the physical environment, and the actions and behaviour of workers and others within it
17. the effect of culture and individual differences on communication
18. methods of communicating clearly and effectively
19. the effect of life experiences on how individuals think about and perceive the world and the effect of this on their needs for support in different sorts of situation
20. how to recognise what people are trying to convey by their behavior
21. how to make an interaction supportive of the individual concerned

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. identify the kind of situations in which individuals require support and agree this with them
2. clearly explain the nature of support which you are able to provide and agree this with the individuals concerned
3. ensure your interactions with people demonstrate respect for them as individuals and acknowledge their rights to make their own decisions in the context of their lives
4. clearly explain why you are not able to provide any aspects of support required and suggest alternative sources of support if possible
5. seek appropriate advice and guidance where there are differences between the sort of support required and the support that you are able to provide within your job role
6. encourage individuals to decide for themselves the type of support they wish to be given and respect their right to change their mind
7. maintain the confidentiality of any information shared with you
8. work with individuals to reflect on the support you are providing to them and use the outcomes to improve your practice and ensure that the support given is relevant
9. ensure the support you provide is consistent with the agreements reached with the individuals concerned over their requirements
10. ensure your communication with the individual concerned is effective and demonstrates your respect and support for them
11. respond to individuals' requests for support in a manner which recognises the right to such support
12. take into account individuals' reactions to the support you provide and use this to develop an understanding of their requirements and any changes needed to the support provided
13. take appropriate action to resolve any tensions between the support that you are able to provide and the support that individuals believe you should provide
Vhelp individuals to review and evaluate the support they receive and agree changes to be made to the support provided
14. take opportunities to reflect on your behaviour with, and reactions to, different individuals and issues, and use this to evaluate your own practice

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard replaced MH46. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: HWB4 Enablement to address health and wellbeing needs