Health and social care Unit 2

Roles and responsibilities in health and social care  

Doctors 

 A doctor is a person who has received the necessary training and qualifications to use medical approaches to diagnose and treat people who are ill or injured  

Their responsibilities include; 

• assessment, diagnosis and monitoring of health problems  

• discussing treatment and care options with patience  

• prescribe a medication  

Types of doctors: 

General practitioner (GP)-have a wide range knowledge of general medicine and common medical issues they see patients of all ages and often deliver preventative care and health education they refer patients on to a specialist  

Consultant -senior doctors usually based in a hospital with specialism or expertise in a particular field  

Consultants often go by a specific title, such as: 

• psychiatrist –mental health  

• dermatologist -skin conditions  

• endocrinologist -hormones and metabolism  

• gynaecologist -women's house  

Nurses  

Nurses provide care and medical support people that are unwell or injured  

Some nurses also conduct medical assessments and carry medical procedures they may also run health awareness or prevention programmes such as weight loss clinics   

Adult 

work with people in a range of settings E.g. The community in hospital wards 

Paediatric 

sick children and their families 

Neonatal 

Work with new born and premature babies  

Health visitor 

provide family support during a child's early years in review Childs development 

Mental health 

-people with mental health needs in hospital, clinic or community setting 

Learning disability 

work with people with learning disabilities supporting them to maintain their physical and emotional health 

District nurse 

-based in the community and often work with the elderly or people recently discharged from hospital 

Advanced nurse practitioner 

have a higher level of qualification and accordingly more responsibility e.g. Can prescribe medication 

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Midwives  

Support women throughout pregnancy. They give both Antenatal and postnatal care and help them with safe delivery of their babies. 

Antenatal -care given during pregnancy 

 Postnatal -care provided after the birth  

They provide emotional and phycological support to a woman during her pregnancy. 

Healthcare assistance (HCA)/Nursing assistance  

Healthcare assistant work with qualified professionals (such as nurses) to carry out tasks lies essential to health, Wellbeing a comfort of patience. An example of this would be assisting with personal care, making beds, or toiletry assists with feeding they also take graph fields of some health indicators such as weight or pulse. 

Support workers  

• Support workers have a similar role to care in healthcare assistance but they are less likely to provide personal care ,and often work with a wider range of groups .For example…