Persons’ safety in Health and Social Care

The current ongoing research and awareness on person safety has been evolving in the past decade. The drastic development brings also the understanding that person safety in healthcare should expand further into systems. This must be related to health and social care. This concept needs to be included in specific areas of practice that are beyond acute care. Persons safety should also focus on areas that are not medically technical and beyond the medical model. The concept of person safety should not be restricted nor limited in application and scope.

Taking elderly care into consideration

To start off with, even the shift from patients to persons is very relevant in this day and age. It makes a drastic comprehensive difference. This shift is extremely important because if one would solely focus on the patient, which sociologically is made to be positioned strategically within medical frameworks, the evolution of safety, sets to focus on the person not on the patient. This consideration would then lead to ascertain that the concept of safety is linked not only with the physical sense but also with the identity that any person brings into perspective. This situation also relates to the biopsychosocial and spiritual aspect, pertaining to the foundation of holistic care.

All aspects of one’s life must be encapsulated in attributes of safety, as a human need. And as soon as one reflects, it can be very easily understood that all connotations within oneself need safety. As a human need, safety must focus on how to compliment oneself and others. What benefit is there? Is safety limiting others’ safety or vice versa? What should take over, the right and respect to autonomy or elements of dignity that give a sound reason to the existence of life and social consideration?

Safety should not be a boundary, but a framework to improve well-being

Such consideration is also extremely important within social care because with most services focused on shifting away from structures related to institutions, safety as a consideration is extremely important. At times even more. Basic aspects of safety are merged with any provision, and in areas which are deinstitutionalized or in the process of, a balance should be set contrasting with quality-of-life as opposed to safety. Health and social care services must focus on aspects that promote the acquisition of aspects whist mitigating risks. Realistically, it is easier said than done, however, we must ensure that the normative procedures do not take over. We are confounded by an emerging ideology that safety is merely an excuse, or a mitigating aspect of contribution to what a service is to provide.

Safety as a culture

Safety is a complimenting aspect in health and social care. Safety is for the person, professional and organization. Safety cannot be projected in a silos perspective, as only the integration of multifaceted aspects can make such complete. Intrinsically, the safety aspect within care is a virtuous consideration, and research has shown that safety in healthcare is beyond the individual. It is person-centred but applicable to all. The collective enhancement of safety as a culture brings to the centre the scope of care provision. If one questions, what does it mean to care, and how to respond to vulnerability, safety is key to the answer.

Safety should not be a boundary, but a framework to improve well-being. Safety should be a culture that aligns the philosophy of care within a paradigm shift of accounting to one’s greater good, where actions are on the same wavelength as consequences. Such a perspective must also account for the duty of any person or professional within health and social care. The balance to set must fortify the outlook of understanding the duty of care, and within systems that protrude the benevolent act and virtuous character.