Content area
Full Text
Jonathan Webster explores definitions and descriptions of team-working in the care of older people and says education, clear leadership, and local and national support are vital in order to develop truly multiprofessional approaches
key words
interprofessional care
multidisciplinary teams
elderly health
Older people are not a uniform group and older age does not necessarily mean ill health or increased need. But, as part of the ageing process, some older people can have a multiplicity of age-related needs - physical, psychological and social. When this is the case, a key element in helping empower and enable individuals to either regain or maintain a level of independence and a meaningful quality of life to the indiviudal, is co-ordinated, effective, person-centred teamwork one of the hallmarks of health care for older people. Being a member of and working as a team member implies that a common focus is agreed upon and that roles, responsibilities, accountability and communication are clear (Bennett and Ebrahim 1992).
How health care is delivered can be seen as changing rapidly to meet the diverse needs of service users, 'based on making radical changes for the benefit of patients, the focus being on promoting a culture of innovation, support and best practice by:
generating and sharing ideas
information and research support
taking action at national, regional and local level to overcome any barriers
disseminating pilot outcomes
supporting staff fully embed new ways of working
supporting individual staff to take their ideas forward' (DoH 2001 a).
Documents such as the NHS Plan (DoH 2000), The Way to Go Home (Audit Commission 2000) and the National Service Framework for Older People (DoH 2001 b) focus on the potential of therapeutic working that enables and empowers individuals. This potential is widely recognised and emphasises the need to put older people, their needs and those of their families at the centre of policy and practice. For this reason, great importance is placed on the benefits of multi-professional working. To achieve this, it is important for practitioners to have a clear understanding of the different methods of multi-professional teamworking, the implications for person-centred practice, the potential barriers to multi-professional working, and a recognition of the important part they play within the multi-professional team.
teamwork
According to Madge...