Learners will develop an understanding of what it is like to work in health and social care, including the responsibilities relating to maintaining the health and safety of and safeguarding the rights of individuals in their care. They will understand the need to always be aware of issues around data protection, confidentiality and possibilities for discriminatory practice.

Being able to communicate effectively is a prerequisite for any positive interaction within the health and social care sector, be this with a service user, carer, colleague or external agency. Within the health and social care sector there are methods of communication that learners need to be able to use correctly and effectively.

Promoting health is a responsibility of everyone who works in health and social care. It is also an important government agenda. So, how do we as individuals promote the health of our service users and the government promote health within the wider population? In this unit learners will look at how the government, through organisations such as Public Health England, tries to improve the health of the population, including the policies and activities the government undertakes to improve the health of the nation.

Within this unit learners will look at the role of person-centred care in interactions with service users. They will also consider other models of care delivery and their strengths and weaknesses in delivering care to meet the needs of different populations of service users. Delivering high quality care is not always easy and learners will examine the potential ethical issues that could arise and how these could be dealt with.

Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, is a growing healthcare issue in the UK. Many service users will have diabetes and the associated complications associated with it. This can seriously affect quality of life and, in some cases, can lead to the need for limb amputation causing enormous physical and psychological challenges for the service user.

Many service users that health and social care workers care for may have had a stroke – or more correctly a cerebrovascular accident. It is important to know the causes and effects of the condition to provide quality care.

Dementia is a growing healthcare issue in the UK. Many service users will have dementia and the associated complications associated with it. This can seriously affect quality of life not only for the service user but for their family and friends. The psychological and physical burden of caring for someone with dementia is huge.