What are the 4 main working relationships in health and social care?

Working relationships are the most important key features in health and social care, and they help us build flawless and efficient service delivery. We bring you the most important aspects that every professional who are working in the health and social care can take help from these aspects. Here are the four 4 main working relationships in health and social care: Peers & colleagues, service Users, supervisors and Managers, and the last one is External Agencies and Professionals. 

Below we briefly explain all four main aspects of working relationships in health and social care you also get reasons why they are so important. 

Peers & colleagues 

Peers & colleagues stand for those who are working in a place where you encounter someone daily, such as administrative staff, care assistants, social workers, and nurses. 

Why It Is So Important:

When it comes to teamwork then you have to build relations with your peers and colleagues, which causes a positive impact on the environment that helps to promote teamwork. When you build good relations with your co-workers, it'll definitely help you to grow yourself in the health and social care industry, and this is the first and most important essential in high-stress settings. 

How can you build relations with your peers & colleagues?

There are several things you can consider to build a good relationship with your colleagues, and here are we divided in three categories which help you. 

• Communication: The first one is good communication, where you can communicate with your co-workers regarding the issues you are facing while working and share information constantly. 
• Support: The second one is always supportive towards your collogues when they need any assistance from you and always has their back when they get stuck in something.
• Respect: The third and last one is to always show respect towards your colleagues, no matter which situation you are going through and also appreciate their work and effort.

Service Users

These are the ones who are the main pillars of your industry who take your support and care, such as clients in community settings, patients in hospitals, and residents in care homes. 

Key features of the relationship

When a client, patient or any other person is going through a difficult time in their life and all they want from you is help or service that will help them feel included in their care, respected and valued. All of these things are the basic foundations of a good relationship.

Ways to Foster a Good Relationship

• Empathy: The first thing you have to do to build trust is to show compassion and understanding, so you should listen to your service user.
• Communication: Communication is the key to every problem, which also helps you to gain trust. So, speak very clearly and explain all the care plans which you are going to provide to your service users.
• Involvement: If you are working in health and social care, then "involvement" means being involved in the problems your clients and patients are facing. 

Supervisors and Managers

These are the support staff who observe your work very closely, no matter what you do on campus, and they know where you lack and where you need guidance, support, and feedback. They are highly responsible for the good and bad things happening in the campus so they always maintain the standards and protocols.

Why This Relationship Matters

This question is most important if you are pursuing a career in the health and social care sector, as a good relationship with your manager or supervisor can help you enhance your professional development in the industry. Below, we are providing tips which can help you build a positive relationship:

• Transparency: The first tip is that transparency is very important with your manager and supervisor and keep transparency about your work and problem so always be direct and honest.
• Feedback: Always stay in touch with your supervisor, so that whenever you get stuck on any problem, you always get feedback, and next time, whenever you get stuck in the same problem, you can use the feedback as a tool for your improvement.
• Professionalism: When working on any premises, you must maintain a professional attitude that shows respect for the position and duties. 

External Agencies and Professionals

Understanding External Agencies

External agencies, as the name suggests are located outside your workplace. It usually includes organisations such as social services, nonprofit organisations, healthcare services and many more. This category includes professionals like doctors, therapists, counsellors, social workers etc. from different institutions and organisations.

The Value Of These Relationships 

External agencies, associated with our professions, give rise to various resources and expertise, which act as an enrichment to the care provided to the service users. The value of these relationships with working professionals is worth effective and operative. 

How To Develop Effective Relationships?

• Networking: Networking is the most connecting source which actively engages and supports collaborative efforts through attending meetings and conferences online to build strong professional connections.
• Communication: Communication gives you a regular connection with the platforms you want to collaborate with. With effective communication, information sharing becomes clear and consistent.
• Cooperation: Cooperation takes place with coordinated actions of joint planning under external professionals, giving rise to considering the expertise and importance of each external profession. 

Practical Examples

Let’s discuss some realistic scenarios to understand the work of these relationships in regular practice. 

• Colleagues and Peers: In a hospital ward, patient care has been done by a group of nurses, as we can see one nurse has expertise in a particular field, like dressing, another nurse could be good at handling medication, and another in the administrative field. This collaboration of colleagues and peers makes the care easy and efficient.
• Service Users: The daily routine has been followed by the residents in the care home. Following and adapting these care tips enhances their quality of life.
• Supervisors and Managers: Every social worker might discuss case plans with their managers; these discussions and guidance give rise to legal compliance and effective practices. 
• External Agencies and Professionals: A patient health clinic supports both mental and physical fitness of the patients, ensuring their complete healthcare and well-being. 

 Issues And Potential Solutions

Sometimes it becomes challenging to build and maintain these relationships smoothly. Here are some common issues and their solutions to overcome them:

Miscommunication

Miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings in situations of high-pressure environments. Clear documentation and communication, as well as regular meetings, can solve this issue to a very great extent.

Conflict

Conflicts take place where disagreements arise. Disagreeing is a natural phenomenon, tackling it professionally is all needed. By using conflict resolution techniques, you can get rid of these differences of opinion.

Workload

High workload can ruin the relationship by straining the energy. Effective time management is the key to resolve the issue of heavy work load that will take away your work pressure and reduce your workload.

Conclusion

These relationships in healthcare and social care are the major backbone of effective service. Understanding its working and challenges gives us the complete outline of its dynamics and role through which it effectively functions and benefits the environment. Collaboration and relationships between colleagues, supervisors, service users or external professionals are what make the organisation successful, building trust, reliance, respect and strong communication, all of which lead to better outcomes under organisations such as external agencies and professionals.