Social_Sciences

Firstly I will define what a long term health condition is, a long term health condition is a condition or illness that cannot be cured but can be managed through medication and/or therapy. There are different services available and provided for people with long term health conditions, there are different services provided by the government in hospitals, GP surgeries, community settings and people’s homes. There are different types of long term illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Long term illnesses are more prevalent in older people, treatment and care for people with long term condition is estimated to take around £7 in every £10 of total health and social care expenditure. About 15million people in England have a long term illness. There are different services available for people with long term illnesses there is the primary health care services these are directly accessible to people and people have to make their own decision whether to use them or not, then there is the secondary services which are only available by referral from a primary service as we saw in Anwar Malik’s casein (block1 page 75)the primary healthcare service was his first point of contact where he saw the GP and when his illness worsened he was referred to the hospital which falls under the secondary healthcare service. We have the GP which are the general practitioners they provide a complete spectrum of care within the local community dealing with problems that often combines physical and social component, they know how and when to intervene through treatment, prevention and education to promote the health of their patients and families (unit 2 illness health and social care block 1 page 75)(source medical schools and nursing colleges worldwide 2007) We also have the patient support groups they provide information and local meetings to people with long term illnesses. People with long term illnesses can also get help from social services, governmental services and support agencies, local social service department are able to help guiding you to claim benefits or by appointing you a case worker. Some charities also offer help to people with chronic condition such as hiring out wheelchair and other equipment and helping to find a carer or a care home. The NHS also runs a self-management programme, they help people reduce the severity of their symptom in chronic illness, they work more with NHS professionals to help people ,they also help ill people improve their confidence and resourcefulness, they help them manage their emotions and teach them how to pace their daily activities, communicating with health care professionals, helping them understand the importance of exercise, keeping active and healthy eating and also on how to manage fatigue, sleep pain, anger and depression. (Internet site BBC and health published February 2011) Secondly it is important that these services take into account individuals sensitivities and circumstances because everyone is different and also have their own culture and language. And for some people whose first language is not English they may find it difficult to understand their medications or tablet diet and exercise routine, what their illness really is and how important it is to stick to routines that the doctors advised.as we saw in Anwar Malik’s case(block 1 unit 2 being aware of the service user)Anwar Malik was suffering from type 2 diabetes in the first instance he wasn’t quite happy about a lot of things and why he had to be in such environment to get help, then on diet, his wife was always responsible for cooking the food, and the family always eat together or it must have been due to resistance of western food that is why his health deteriorated and it could have been because of culturally inappropriate diets, but if this services take the individuals into considerations they should be able to explain more on how the diet works ,discuss cooking methods and also discuss the diet with the whole family. Finally in anwar maliks case he had poor knowledge on diabetes and language difficulty made asking questions awkward,if the services took this into consideration they should explain anwars medication and tablet to him,what each pack of tablets are meant for,how they should be taken,when they should be taken and how important it is that he uses his medicines,they should also allow extra time for language difficulties especially when interpreters are involved.also in anwar maliks case exercising wasn’t part of his culture he had limited cultural sporting activities and he also worked long anti social hours,in this case the service should be realistic and give culturally appropriate advice and targets should be negotiated with the service user.