Services

Having good written records helps to ensure good person-centred care as the written records ensure everyone knows what the person wants and what care can be given. As a care worker, you need to make sure that what you write is clear and easy to read, dated and the time recorded, has your name and signed by you and finally, recorded in the right place and not just on a scrap of paper.

It is important that care workers have good written and verbal skills to ensure the care given is the best level and for the best wellbeing of the service user. Where the care workers have written or verbal skills cause a concern, extra training needs to be taken to ensure that we can communicate at all levels for the best wellbeing of the service user.

Effective communication is very important in all walks of life; within care it is vital. Teamwork is not possible without good communication nor is person-centred care. Good carers know not only to listen well but also to observe carefully so that they can understand and identify a person’s needs when it is difficult to understand verbally, words are not the only form of communication, actions and facial expressions may also indicate how a person you are caring for is feeling and what they are trying to communicate to you.
To be able to work effectively within a team, good communication skills are vital, to ensure that care provided between co-workers and professionals who work with a person is co-ordinated. It may also be necessary for you as a carer to assist if the person has, for example, an appointment with a medical professional.

Bad communication often results in problems, good communication builds relationships and promotes dignity in care.
Skills that should be developed to aid effective communication include speaking and listening skills, pronunciation, speaking clearly with confidence and understanding the keywords that relate directly to their job role.

You will need to find out the best way of communicating with each individual. You will also need to know what to do with any information you receive and who you are able to share it with.

Always consider the most effective way to communicate with the individual, they may have needs that should be taken into consideration, someone who has difficulty communicating verbally or has difficulty hearing may want to write things down, always check their care plan and communicate with colleagues so that you have as much information as possible to ensure that you are providing the best possible care.

Conflict is less likely where you are always aware of good communication skills and in many cases conflict can be avoided, however, these skills need to be learnt and practised.

When we talk about communication we are not just talking about spoken language but also written communication. Written documents are very important in care and if is not written down and documented, it is not easy to prove what happened or what was done.

Good clear written communication is vital between workers so that mistakes in care do not happen and we must make sure there is a paper chain on what has happened and what care was given.