The process of multidisciplinary assessments of older people when being discharge from hospital can be seen as an example of health and social care services coming together. it could include a doctor, a social worker, a physiotherapist, and/or staff from local authority, housing and voluntary organisations. This will perhaps bridge the boundaries between different professionals and agencies. Social workers must form multidisciplinary teams with health to shift care out of hospitals United adult social care and community health teams will reduce time in hospital, says King's Fund. In a hospital based team, a main difference tends to be what is perceived to be the dominant medical model and the subordinate social model. We conclude that support and supervision aimed at ensuring a social work contribution to multidisciplinary working should be provided in the course of establishing CMHTs and integrated health and social care services. The benefits of adopting a multidisciplinary care (MDC) team approach include: For patients: increased survival for patients managed by a MDC team shorter timeframes from diagnosis to treatment greater likelihood of receiving care in accord with clinical practice guidelines, including psychosocial support increased access to information improved satisfaction with treatment and care. Frost et al. They may have many interventions in addition to having some great personal strengths. More practice examples from Social Care Online, More measuring success resources from Social Care Online, More tools and resources from Social Care Online, More policy documents from Social Care Online. Despite the many challenges, social work makes many contributions to multidisciplinary teams. The medical model focusses on issues of health and illness, with an emphasis on the individual. Additionally, by health and social services working together upon discharge from hospital adults with complex needs have further means of support which could assist them to live independently in the community. 1092778 This term is also often used interchangeably and randomly with the term interdisciplinary. All rights reserved. (2005) also states that in multi-agency teamwork, professional knowledge boundaries can become blurred and professional identity can be challenged as roles and responsibilities change. Nonetheless, challenges have been identified in literature and research which suggest that multidisciplinary working may blur professionals boundaries and threat professional identity for some social workers (Moran et al., 2007) There is also a concern that multidisciplinary working might be negative and flawed given that the wide range of skills brought in by different professionals may cause conflict. The organisational complexities further create a gap in multidisciplinary working, for instance the multidisciplinary team in a hospital setting might be composed of only one social worker in a multitude of health service professionals. With this in mind, it becomes a conflict for social workers to maintain their unique professional contribution while at the same time working within a multidisciplinary approach (a blur of professional boundaries). The definitions of this term seem to vary from it referring to being a team or a group of people from different disciplines who work together and/or provide coordinated services. Within the field of social work practice it does seem evident that ‘multidisciplinary working is work undertaken jointly by workers and professionals from different disciplines or occupations’ (Pearson & Thomas, 2010:342) and has evolved at varying speeds over the past 30 years, in response to imperatives of central government. Multidisciplinary and partnership working is defined as “appropriately utilising knowledge, skills and best practice from multiple disciplines and across service provider boundaries, e.g., health, social Where social workers ‘feared that their unique professional contribution was in danger of being subsumed by other professionals’ (p.149). As put by Hudson (2002) where professionals have similar perceptions, values and experiences there will be more agreement, than between members of two different professions. The team consists of a consultant psychiatrist, his registrar and housemen, nurses, clinical psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, dietician and hospital chaplain. Furthermore, practitioners from different disciplines are not usually expected to justify the conceptual base of their actions or interactions with clients in single-agency settings (Frost et al., 2005). It was acknowledged that social workers establish a quality of relationship with clients and As put by Lymbery (2006) ‘collaboration is the activity that gives practical expression to partnership’ (p.1121). The issues (s) here seem to be that despite many restructurings within health and social care there remains tensions, such as: financial, power and authority in multidisciplinary teams as well as issues to do with lack of clarity of role. The simple answer is anyone who can benefit from comprehensive, continuous and seamless care. Hence, collaboration between professionals has also been considered essential for the effective practice of service delivery (Bronstein, 2003). MDTs play an important role, bridging professional boundaries and breaking down the barriers of competing cultural and organisational differences. As mentioned, perceived status differentials between different professional groups and lack of shared meaning and values could impede the creation of effective multidisciplinary teams. In the future, primary care services will increasingly be delivered through multidisciplinary teams including General Practitioners (partners and salaried), other health professionals and social care partners working across clusters of practices, integrated into Health and Social Care Partnerships. For example, when it comes to older people, as the biggest service users of health and social care services, health and social care professions come together when planning discharge. A further contribution to hospital-based social work, is the quality of the relationship a social worker is able to establish, which will have a major bearing on the success of the work (Lymbery, 2006). As such there is great scope for further research given the current emphasis on the need for joined-up thinking, perhaps by exploring the effectiveness of multidisciplinary working from a service user perspective and whether it contributes to better service deliver and outcomes. What does the term ‘multidisciplinary team working’ (MDT) mean? The term multidisciplinary or MDT has been described widely across different settings, practices and professionals. This client might need a district nurse to assist with medication and home care to assist with washing and dressing. In terms of social workers role, as pointed out in Lymbery (2006) ‘Social workers have always had to develop the ability to work with organizational systems and networks; if this is combined with the social worker’s commitment to values, this facility can have a major impact on the multidisciplinary environment’ (p.1129). Where there are actual and potential conflicts about models of understanding, about status and power, about information sharing, and around links with other agencies. treatment and to ensure coordinated health and social care for the severely mentally ill established the multidisciplinary team as a central feature of virtually all forms of modern mental health care. involvement of service users or their carers in care planning and decision-making. Registered social workers working in multidisciplinary teams in different settings typically hold a caseload of individuals for whom they are the team’s lead professional in common with other professionals, such as nurses and occupational therapists. Health professionals might consider making a referral to social services for an assessment of needs and care plan. The project will req… Multidisciplinary team working is becoming a model of working among children and adult services. A lack of shared meaning and values may also result in alienation in multidisciplinary working. What research and literature seems to tell us is that such approach requires greater multidisciplinary contact which places practical and knowledge base demands on service providers to co-ordinate their practices. It might be also worth considering redefining the vocabulary associated with multidisciplinary working to promote a more consensual understanding and awareness of its processes and the expectations of each professional. health versus social care professionals). At … A multidisciplinary team is a group of health care workers who are members of different disciplines (professions e.g. In a hospital setting, many of the difficulties between health and social care are set in the experiences of patients being discharge from hospital. Social workers in multidisciplinary teams: issues and dilemmas for professional practice. al, 2007). Such abilities have a major impact on multidisciplinary working. More knowledge and research from Social Care Online. For example, accounts of consultants not being prepared to modify language, not speaking non-technical language, and lacking ‘patience’ to clarify meanings are impediments to collaboration. The team members independently treat various issues a patient may have, focusing on the issues in which they specialise.