The Stafford Hospital enquiry was triggered off by Julie Bailey, through her Cure the NHS’ campaign. Bailey demanded for changes’ in the NHS after the death of her mother in the Safford Hospital in 2007. The Healthcare Commission carried out an investigation into the Hospital which brought the National attention to the scandal. The commission was first alerted by the apparently high mortality rates in patients admitted as emergencies. When the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust which is responsible for running the hospital, failed to provide what the commission considered an adequate explanation, a full-scale investigation was carried out between March and October 2008. The revelations of the abuse at Stafford hospital were widely considered to be deeply shocking for example, patients were left in their own urine by nurses, and forced to resort to drinking from flower vases. Further enquiry was carried out in July 2009 and the report was released on 24th February 2010. This lead to the Trust apologising for its fallings and payouts of up to £11.000 were received by some of the affected families. In June 2010 a new public inquiry was set up by the new government chaired by Robert Francis QC which began on 8th November 2010. A million pages of previous evidence and hearings from witnesses were considered. The final report was published on 6th February 2013 and made 290 local and national recommendations which includes that the regulators should monitor and de- authorize the Foundation Trust.
The care sector was not left out of this as there have been Serious Case Reviews both in the Children and Adult Services such as Adult A, Victoria Climbee, Baby P and Daniel Pelka among others. These reviews investigated cases of abuse, neglect and subsequent death of these vulnerable adults and children and triggered changes in the law and working practices. As a result, new policies, frameworks and strategies have been developed and implemented to drive the prevention of such cases, for example the Children Act 2004 and The Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty to Safeguards 2007. The Mental Capacity Act stipulates that those with dementia, mental illness or physical disability cannot be labeled as lacking mental capacity or as being unable to contribute to their own decisions without a prior assessment. Information and guidance on use of the Equality Act 2010 with particular emphasis on protection from harassment related to disability was put in place. The Mental Capacity Act works in conjunction with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards to ensure that vulnerable adults are not a danger to themselves or others.

Different policies and government white papers had highlighted the need for collaborative working among Health and Social care providers. Such policies like SOVA (Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults), No Secrets Guidance, Every Child Matters, Laming reports and Putting People First and so on, mandates Healthcare Providers to safeguard vulnerable individuals in their care from harm and abuse. In the Government Response to the Stafford Hospital Scandal Patients First and Foremost’, the NHS affirmed their commitment to a better care: Whether in a care home, at the family doctor, in a community pharmacy, in mental health services, or with personal care in vulnerable people’s homes, we will ensure that the fundamental standards of care, that people have a right to expect are met consistently, whatever the settings.

Assignment:

In view of the above issues in the Health and Social Care Sector, you are required to write a REPORT based on the instructions below to convey your knowledge, understanding of collaborative working and good practice as well as make relevant recommendations for improvement. Your report should be in three sections meeting all the assessment requirements. You are required to relate your answers to any or both of these case studies: THE MID STAFFORDSHIRE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST AND ADULT A SERIOUS CASE REVIEW.  You should ensure you have studied the case reviews and use them both in and out of classroom. You must relate them to the section/assessment criteria and analyse them using different sources of information. The report must be submitted as one document.

Please note: The ADULT A SERIOUS CASE REVIEW and the Francis Inquiry report on THE MID STAFFORDSHIRE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST are uploaded in the assignment pack folder’ on stponline. You must research news reports and other websites including the ones further below to familiarize yourself with the given case studies before starting your report.

Section A (Indicative word count: 1000)
In relation to any or both given case studies explain the philosophy of working in partnership (covering LO1.1, M1, M2 M3).
In relation to any or both given case studies, evaluate the effectiveness of partnership relationships within Health and Social care (covering LO1.2, M2, M3, D3).

Section B (Indicative word count: 1000)
In relation to any or both given case studies carry out the following:
Analyse models of partnership working across the health and social care sector (D1). Then review current legislation and organisational practices and policies for partnership working in health and social care (D2). Finally, explain how differences in working practices and policies affect collaborative working (covering LO 2.1, 2.2,2.3, M2, M3,D1,D2

Section C (Indicative word count: 1000)
In relation to the any or both given case studies carry out the following:
Evaluate possible outcomes of partnership working for users of services, professionals and organisations and then analyse the potential barriers to partnership working in health and social care services. Finally, devise strategies to improve outcomes for partnership working in health and social care services (covering LO3.1, 3.2 3.3, M1, M2, D1, D2, D3)