People communicate for a wide range of different reasons. People often communicate to express their feelings and emotions. People may also communicate to tell you what they want for example if a client wants a certain food for tea. Communicating can also be a way of socialization for people and may not be for any other reason than to get to know that person.
In a health and social care setting communication is vital amongst staff and clients. Staff need to communicate with each other so that they are all informed about what is going on in the service at that time. Staff may communicate any issues or problems that have happened whilst staff have been on holiday, they may need to communicate about jobs that still need to be done or changes to a client’s care plan. Staff also need to make sure they communicate with clients on all aspects of their care.
Communication can take form in a lot of ways. Some people may choose to mainly communicate via technology, for example emails, text messages, skype calls. Sometimes paper work such as daily notes can be used as a way of communicating what has went on that day. Diaries in a service are a great way of communicating what is happening in the upcoming weeks, so that all staff and clients can see.
Some individuals may not be able to communicate in the conventional ways and may have to find other ways of communicating their needs/wants/feelings. Such as sign language in the deaf community, Makaton is used a lot with children with learning difficulties or speech and language issues. Individuals can also use pictures to show what they are communicating.