Ian Peate OBE is Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Nursing, and Head of the School of Health Studies, Gibraltar.

"This book is easy to read and navigate. The structure of the book leads the reader to be challenged into finding out more information and thinking about how this information can be used in practice. The chapters are presented in a clear way with a similar layout throughout all sections that enables the readers to find areas of interest quickly. While most of the subject matter is not new, this book pulls it together into a handy textbook that is very informative and will benefit those undertaking their Care Certificate and any health and social care assistant to really explore the fundamentals of their role and constantly improve their practice to ensure high-quality care is given." (BJHCA March 2017)

• Preface xiAcknowledgements xivHow to use your textbook xviChapter 1 Health and social care provision in the UK 1Introduction 2An historical view 3The NHS in the four countries 3Provision of services 7Regulation and monitoring of services 7Professional regulation 8Primary care services 9Secondary care services 10Tertiary care services 10Ambulance trusts 10Mental health trusts 11Community health services 11Social care and support 11Assessment of care needs 12Assessment of health needs 13Chapter summary 14Chapter 2 Working with others, teamwork 16Introduction 17Teamworking 18Teams and teamworking 20Team dynamics 22Barriers to effective teamworking 22Conflict 23Chapter summary 25Chapter 3 Understanding your role 27Introduction 28Who are you? 29Job description 29Agreed ways of working 32Policies and procedures 32Codes of conduct 33Responsibility 35Accountability 36Delegation 37Relationships 38Chapter summary 40Chapter 4 Your personal development 42Introduction 43Lifelong learning 44How learning takes place, learning styles 44Strategies to help with learning 45Personal development plans 46Appraisal 46Your personal development plan 47The personal development portfolio 48Supervision 49Training and development 50Core learning 50Giving and receiving feedback 52Chapter summary 53Chapter 5 Duty of care 55Introduction 56Duty of care 57Your duty of care 57Concerns 58Promoting independence 59Providing information 60The constitution, complaints, comments and compliments 61Raising concerns 61Untoward incidents 62Negligence 63Conflict 63Responding to conflict 63Chapter summary 64Chapter 6 Equality and diversity 66Introduction 67Legislation 68Equality duty 68Human Rights Act 69Defining terms 70Labelling, stereotyping and prejudice 71Inequality 72People with learning disabilities and those with mental health problems 74Cultural sensitivity 74Chapter summary 76Chapter 7 Working in a person‐centred way 78Introduction 79Working in a person‐centred way 80Person‐centred values 82Enabling 84Coordinated care 84Personalised care 85Person‐centred planning 85Supporting people 86Advanced care planning 86The environment of care 87Minimising discomfort, distress or pain 88Responding to a person’s discomfort 89Self‐esteem 90Personal identity 91Promoting wellbeing, identity and self‐esteem 91Chapter summary 91Chapter 8 Communication 93 Introduction 94Care, compassion and communication 95Communication 95Types of communication 96Verbal communication 97Non‐verbal communication 97Working in teams 99Communication and language needs 100Communication aids 100Barriers to effective communication 101Strategies to reduce barriers to communication 102Preserving confidentiality 103Chapter summary 104Chapter 9 Privacy and dignity 106Introduction 107Protecting information 108Disclosure 109Implementing respect, privacy and dignity 110Informed choice and choosing options 114Assessing risk 115Equality and diversity 116Promoting independence 118Chapter summary 118Chapter 10 Fluids and nutrition 120Introduction 121Food and drink safety 122Protecting people 124Personal protective equipment in food hygiene 125Nutrition and hydration 127The Eatwell plate 128Hydration 130Poor hydration and nutrition 131Helping people with their nutrition and hydration 133Chapter summary 136Chapter 11 Awareness of mental health, dementia and learning disability 139Introduction 141Mental health conditions 141Service provision 143Depression 144Anxiety 146Bipolar disorder 147Psychosis 147Dementia 147Learning disabilities 150The social model of disability 152Assessing and making a diagnosis 155Mental capacity 155Assessing capacity 157Chapter summary 158Chapter 12 Safeguarding adults 160Introduction 161Safeguarding 162Types of harm and abuse 163Safeguarding vulnerable adults: the principles 165A person‐centred approach 166Safeguarding Adults Boards 167Identifying and managing risk 167Suspected or disclosed abuse 168Reporting concerns 169Chapter summary 170Chapter 13 Safeguarding children 172Introduction 173Safeguarding and welfare 174Child abuse and maltreatment 175Impact of parents or carers on a child’s health and wellbeing 176Types of abuse 176Physical abuse 177Emotional abuse 177Sexual abuse 177Neglect 177Radicalisation 178Trafficking 178Female genital mutilation (FGM) 178Gang abuse 179Children and social media 179The rights of the child 181What to do if you have concerns of suspected or alleged abuse 181Escalating concerns 183Chapter summary 183Chapter 14 Basic life support 185 Introduction 186The heart 187The lungs 187Basic life support 187The AVPU scale for checking a response 191Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) 191Airway obstruction 194Documentation 196Automatic external defibrillators 196Chapter summary 197Chapter 15 Health and safety 199 Introduction 201The law 201Health and safety policies 201Hazards in the workplace 202Workplace hazards 203Working with hazardous substances 206Reporting health and safety hazards 206Risk assessment 207Accidents and incidents 207Medicines 208Moving, handling and assisting 209Fire safety awareness 209Working safely 212Managing stress 212Chapter summary 215Chapter 16 Handling information 217 Introduction 218Key legislation 219The electronic patient record 221Making concerns known 223The use of social media 224Chapter summary 224Chapter 17 Infection prevention and control 226 Introduction 227Roles and responsibilities 228Transmission of infection 229The chain of infection 231Breaking the chain 234Safe disposal of waste 235Sharps disposal 236Safe management of laundry 237Personal protective equipment (PPE) 238Chapter summary 238Chapter 18 Questions you always wanted to ask 241Introduction 242Chapter summary 249Annotated bibliography 251Index 257