Free Essay on the Concept of Stakeholders in Healthcare Industry

A care home provides customized services to particular groups of people like the old or the sick, who cannot live at their respective homes any longer. There are a set of minimum standards required for all care homes before they can be licensed to operate. They define the procedures, facilities and procedures that every home must have to make quality service delivery possible. The standards are of great help to health care managers as they help them to monitor keenly the services delivered under their supervision to ensure that they meet the levels and requirements expected. Effectiveness and efficient service delivery of care demand that the health care manager be well conversant with all the standards that govern the operations of healthcare homes, (Corney, 1983, p140). Delivery of quality services is only possible with the staff who have the right qualifications and competencies. It is, therefore, the role of the managers to ensure that the home has recruited competent, skilled and qualified staff with the relevant training in all the departments.

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The hiring of untrained staff translates to guaranteed poor delivery of services. Managers ought to have a comprehensive process of recruitment to be able to hire the very most qualified. Further, in job training and capacity building programs are good for the staff to be able to meet the rapidly changing needs of all the residents. A six weeks induction training for all the staff after appointment to their various positions is necessary. During the training, the managers should ensure that emphasis is put on caring principles, the employees role, and specific needs of the elderly, safe working principles and detailed requirements of service delivery.

Moreover, the managers should see to it that the persons in daily operations of the home consult the elders about their personal and health care, their preferences, and interests, (Genet, 2012, p 174). The elders should always be given an opportunity to air their opinions which should be taken into consideration. Health care mangers play a role in ensuring that the daily running of the home is a responsible person, of integrity and good character and one who can fully discharge his responsibilities. It is in the power of the manager to have all senior staff competent in related health sciences as well as being familiar with the diseases associated with the elderly people. Further, managers should ensure that the leadership and management approach of the healthcare home provides a friendly, positive, open and inclusive environment. The rooms and a compound of the home should be kept clean and hygienic with a proper control of all infections which takes place under the supervision of the managers, (Hudson et al, 2009, p203). In summary, the complexity and the dynamic nature of healthcare homes require that managers offer supervision, leadership and coordination of all employees. Important decisions that affect the achievement of the organization goals are taken by the managers.

The concept of stakeholders has become very popular among corporates, academic institutions, government agencies and non-governmental institutions. Many theories and definitions have been formulated over time. A few of the definitions will be addressed in this paper. Further, the perspectives that different stakeholders in health and social care have regarding quality will be discussed. A stakeholder can be defined as anyone or any group with the ability to affect or that can be affected by the realization of an organizational goals and objectives. People with the potential to influence major decisions or impart the organization in some way are also regarded as stakeholders. Another definition is the individuals or groups that are very significant in the thriving and success of the organization, without whose support the organization would collapse, (Jones et al, 2007, p324). This includes those with notable relationships with the organization and who can be within or outside the organization. In this regard, residents, community, staff, family, government, administrators, and media are all stakeholders of a healthcare home since without the involvement of each of them; quality service cannot be attained.

Quality in health and social care is defined by six elements or dimensions. These elements are effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, equitability, safety and patient centeredness. Effectiveness means care that adheres to touchable evidence, and that results in improvement in social and health outcomes for the residents. Efficient care is one that is administered in a way that maximizes use of resources while avoiding misuse or wastage. Accessibility involves delivery of health and social care that is within the vicinity, in time and provided in an environment with the resources and expertise relevant to medical needs. Patient-centered care is one that considers the preferences and choices of the user and the cultural diversity of their communities, (Kazer et al, 2015, p286). On the other hand, equitable care is the one that does not change in quality because of personalities like sex, race, economic status or ethnicity. Lastly, safety as a dimension of quality means administering health and social care that greatly reduces risks and harm to the users.

The perspectives of different stakeholders regarding quality in health and social care are as well different. Residents as stakeholders have their own perspective which may differ with from that of staff, family, community, and other stakeholders. For instance, residents in care homes regard the presence of activities as very significant in the delivery of quality care. Many of them want more of activities than the ones already existing to be able to meet their diverse range of needs and interests. Social activities, games, and outside-home activities are highly regarded by residents and considered to contribute to quality care. According to many residents, having a good and active activities director in care homes is very necessary to having excellent activities.

Moreover, residents in care homes view a variety of food that is tasty and prepared well as a key element in quality care. Having menus that give them a provision of choice helps a lot. It is important that foods from different ethnic backgrounds and that provide for individual needs be provided in every care home. High value is placed in hygiene, cleanliness, professionalism and the use of modern-day equipment in the food service. Freedom of choice is yet another perspective of many residents in care homes regarding quality, (Mulley et al, 2014, p413). Choices relating to food, when to sleep and when to wake up, schedules of bathing and medications are a priority to the residents. A detailed study of homes where these residents views were considered shows that quality in the homes was too high compared to the ones where the perspectives were not taken into account.

Staff plays a significant role in the daily running of health and social care homes and just like the residents; they too have their perspectives as stakeholders. The main view of staff as pertains quality delivery in homes is related to comprehensive, intensive training of the staff. Many of the staff in different care centers appreciate that the level of quality is only proportional to the degree of competence of the staff. Analytically, this perspective is absolutely valid since quality staff translates to quality service. Staff argues that establishment of training centers fully equipped with relevant facilities is crucial in producing qualified, skilled and trained staff. Further, more staff are needed in each home to see to it that there is no shortage at all, (Jones et al, 2007, 354). Development of positive attitudes and a willingness to help the residents by the staff is vital in the realization of quality in health and social care homes. Many staff agrees that a negative attitude is a big hindrance in the effective delivery of services and that everyone working in care homes should develop a positive attitude towards the elderly in the homes.

Communities too are stakeholders in health and social care and have their perspectives as well. First, it is the perspective of many communities that active participation in activities within the care homes and frequent regular visits to the homes can build a positive effect on the lives of the residents. This builds up a good relationship between the communities and the homes in addition to cherishing the residents which result in improved quality. Further, the long-term historically built negative stereotype held by communities against homes is broken by the active involvement of the community.

Several factors can influence the achievement of quality in seven kings residential care home for the elderly. One of the notable factors is effective regulation, which is essential in achieving quality. The requirements stipulated by external agencies like care quality commission (CQC) who do monitorization and regulation of care home must be adhered to. Effective regulation is a necessity in the realization of quality in any care place, and is made to see to it that the home complies with all the requirements of various external agencies and the national minimum standards for care homes. This regulation is mainly to the healthcare manager, working hand in hand with the other stakeholders, (Kazer et al, 2015, p253). Achievement of quality by seven kings residential home dictates that all the national minimum standards be adhered to by the home.

Standards such as the choice of a home before the residents move in, personal and health care after they set in, social activities and daily lives of the residents while in, protection and complaints in their day to day life must be regulated to the latter. Standards that govern the environment of the people while in the home must be regulated. This has to do with the premises, facilities that are shared and those that are not, accommodations, hygiene, lighting and heating among others. Other issues to regulate include staffing in terms of staff complement, qualifications for hiring, recruitments and staff trainings. There are set requirements for each of these elements and must be adhered to if the quality is to be achieved. The administration and management of the homes must be as well regulated, (Corney, 1983, p49).This involves regulations in specific areas like staff supervision, quality assurance, record keeping, financial procedures and service users money.

Vigorous consumer involvement and advocacy is another factor that can influence the achievement of quality in sevens king care home. Advocacy by the consumer helps to influence the output and attitudes of government legislators as well as the behavior of the management and the staff. Concerning consumer involvement, the staff, and the management should prioritize the preferences of the consumer. The administration should not be authoritative in decision-making, imposing decisions on the residents without prior engagement in the making of the decision. It is important for the administration to recognize the psychological needs of all the residents to be able to make some personal choices on issues to do with food and clothing. Residents should, therefore, be allowed to speak out their minds, share their ideas and express their expectations. The administration then works towards the issues raised by the consumer and gets feedback again from the consumer, (Hudson et al, 2009, p37). This is extremely key in achieving quality and is only possible if the friendly management-consumer relationship is created. There...