Welfare service Health Dictionary

Welfare Service: From 1 Different Sources


A type of social care service supported through public funding. Eligibility criteria vary from universal coverage to specialized requirements. See “social care service”.
Health Source: Community Health
Author: Health Dictionary

General Dental Services

See DENTAL SURGEON.... general dental services

Social Services

Services provided by government to improve the social welfare of those who need them.... social services

Ancillary Service

Support service provided in conjunction with medical or hospital care. Such services include laboratory, radiology, physical therapy and inhalation therapy, among others.... ancillary service

Basic Health Service

A network of health units providing essential health care to a population. Basic health services include communicable disease control, environmental sanitation, maintenance of records for statistical purposes, health education of the public, public health nursing and medical care.... basic health service

Chore Service

Help with chores, such as home repairs, gardening and heavy house cleaning.... chore service

Community Health Services

Usually managed by NHS trusts, these are a complex variety of services provided to people outside hospital settings. The key parts are the services delivered by district nurses, health visitors and therapists – for example, physiotherapists and speech therapists.... community health services

Community-based Care / Community-based Services / Programmes

The blend of health and social services provided to an individual or family in his/her place of residence for the purpose of promoting, maintaining or restoring health or minimizing the effects of illness and disability. These services are usually designed to help older people remain independent and in their own homes. They can include senior centres, transportation, delivered meals or congregate meals sites, visiting nurses or home health aides, adult day care and homemaker services.... community-based care / community-based services / programmes

Demand (for Health Services)

Willingness and/or ability to seek, use and, in some settings, pay for services. Sometimes further subdivided into expressed demand (equated with use) and potential demand or need.... demand (for health services)

Emergency Service

Service provided in response to the perceived individual need for immediate treatment or care.... emergency service

Escort Services

Transportation for older adults to services and appointments. May use buses, taxis, volunteer drivers, or van services that can accommodate wheelchairs and persons with other special needs.... escort services

Fee For Service (ffs)

Method of billing for health services under which a medical practitioner or other practitioner charges separately for each patient encounter or service rendered. Under a fee-for-service payment system, expenditures increase if the fees themselves increase, if more units of service are provided, or if more expensive services are substituted for less expensive ones. This system contrasts with salary, per capita, or other prepayment systems, where the payment to the medical practitioner is not changed according to the number of services actually used.... fee for service (ffs)

Health Service

Service performed by health care professionals, or by others under their direction, for the purpose of promoting, maintaining or restoring health.... health service

Health Service Area

A geographic area designated on the basis of such factors as geography, political boundaries, population and health resources, for the effective planning and development of health services.... health service area

Health Service Commissioner

An o?cial, responsible to the United Kingdom’s parliament, appointed to protect the interests of National Health Service patients in matters concerning the administration of the health service and the delivery of health care (excluding clinical judgements). Known colloquially as the health ombudsman, the Commissioner presents regular reports on the complaints dealt with.... health service commissioner

Health Services Research

The multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviours affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately health and well-being. Its research domains are individuals, families, organizations, institutions, communities and populations.... health services research

Home And Community-based Services; Home And Community Care Programme

See “community-based care”.... home and community-based services; home and community care programme

Homemaker Service

A home help service for meal preparation, shopping, light housekeeping, money management, personal hygiene and grooming, and laundry.... homemaker service

In Home Health Service

A service provided in the home by a home health agency or a residential services agency. It may be provided by personal care attendants or home health aides hired privately and informally, or through staff agencies or registries.... in home health service

Information And Referral Service

A designated site or contact for locating needed services or care for older adults.... information and referral service

Institutional (care) Health Services

Health services delivered on an inpatient basis in hospitals, nursing homes or other inpatient institutions. The term may also refer to services delivered on an outpatient basis by departments or other organizational units of such institutions, or sponsored by them.... institutional (care) health services

Integrated Delivery System / Integrated Services Network (isn)

A network of organizations, usually including hospitals and medical practitioner groups, that provides or arranges to provide a coordinated continuum of services to a defined population and is held both clinically and financially accountable for the outcomes in the populations served.... integrated delivery system / integrated services network (isn)

Health-service Management

The administrative machinery for planning, delivering and monitoring health care provided by health professionals and their supporting sta?. This may range from running a small primary-care centre to organising a large hospital or being responsible for meeting the health needs of a region or a nation. Whether the overall structure for proving care is state-funded, insurance-based, private-practice or a mixture of these, health-service management is essential in an era of rapidly evolving and expensive scienti?c medicine. Health-service managers are administrators with special training and skills in managing health care; sometimes they are doctors, nurses or other health professionals, but many have been trained in management in commercial, civil service or industrial environments.... health-service management

Laundry Services

The provision of assistance with laundry tasks for someone in his or her own home, either through a central facility or by a home help in the home.... laundry services

Mental Health Services

Comprehensive mental health services, as generally defined under some national (or state) laws and statutes, include: inpatient care, outpatient care, day care and other partial hospitalization and emergency services; specialized services for the mental health of the elderly; consultation and education services and specialized programmes for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of alcohol and drug abusers. They generally include a variety of services provided to people of all ages, including counselling, psychotherapy, psychiatric services, crisis intervention and support groups. Issues addressed include depression, grief, anxiety and stress, as well as severe mental illnesses.... mental health services

Multipurpose Service

A service delivery model that consists of a comprehensive range of services meeting the aged and health care needs of a community. Multipurpose centres could bring together existing health services and develop additional services from a single base.... multipurpose service

National Health Service (nhs)

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service was created by Act of Parliament and inaugurated on 5 July 1948. Its original aim was to provide a comprehensive system of health care to everyone, free at the point of delivery. Scotland had its own, similar legislation, as did Northern Ireland. The service is funded by National Insurance contributions and from general taxation, with a small amount from patient charges. The structure, functioning and ?nancing of the NHS have been – and still are – undergoing substantial changes.... national health service (nhs)

Night-sitting Service

A service that enables a caregiver night rest (e.g. where night disturbances of the older person receiving care are frequent).... night-sitting service

Occupational Health Services

Health services concerned with the physical, mental and social well-being of an individual in relation to his/her working environment and with the adjustment of individuals to their work. The term applies to more than the safety of the workplace and includes health and job satisfaction.... occupational health services

Outpatient Services

See “ambulatory care”.... outpatient services

Population-based Services

Health services targeted at populations with specific diseases or disorders.... population-based services

Re-orienting Health Services

Health services re-orientation is characterized by a more explicit concern for the achievement of population health outcomes in the ways in which the health system is organized and funded.... re-orienting health services

Rehabilitation Service

A service designed to improve function and/or prevent deterioration of functioning. Such services may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or speech therapy. They may be provided at home, in a hospital or in a long-term care facility.... rehabilitation service

Residential Care Services

Accommodation and support for people who can no longer live at home.... residential care services

Service

A result of a provider’s actions aimed at meeting the needs of a consumer.... service

Service Package

See “care package”.... service package

Service Plan

See “care plan”.... service plan

Shared Services

The coordinated, or otherwise explicitly agreed upon, sharing of responsibility for provision of medical or nonmedical services on the part of two or more otherwise independent hospitals or health programmes.... shared services

Sitting Service

A service which involves a worker or volunteer going into an older person’s home to provide care whilst the carer takes a break for up to six hours.... sitting service

Social Care Service

Assistance with the activities of daily life (personal care, domestic maintenance, self-direction) delivered by a personal care helper, home helper or social worker and aimed at supporting older people who experience disabilities in functioning.... social care service

Supported Residential Service

See “assisted living facility”.... supported residential service

Transplant Support Services Authority

In the UK, this NHS authority (UKTSSA) provides a 24-hour service for matching, allocating and distributing organs. It is also responsible for keeping the records of all patients awaiting transplants. Established in 1991, the authority allocates donor organs without favour, following protocols set by advisory groups. It also administers the Human Organ Transplant Act on behalf of the Department of Health. (See TRANSPLANTATION.)... transplant support services authority

Transportation Service

A system operated to transfer a patient or client to or from a health care facility and place of residence.... transportation service

Visiting Service / Visitor Programme

Through volunteers or community workers, a service providing companionship and support for older people who may be lonely and isolated.... visiting service / visitor programme

Community Services

see domiciliary services.... community services

Department Of Health And Human Services

(HHS) the major US government agency providing health care. The department was created in 1953 and assumed its current name in 1980. HHS administers more than 300 health and health-related programmes and services, including *Medicare and *Medicaid. Other activities include research, immunization services, and providing financial assistance for low-income families. Almost a quarter of federal spending occurs through HHS.... department of health and human services

Domiciliary Services

(in Britain) health and social services that are available in the home and are distinguished from hospital-based services. They include the services of such personnel as community nurses employed by care trusts (see district nurse; community midwife; health visitor) and social workers and care assistants employed by social service departments of local authorities. The term community services is applied to these services.... domiciliary services

Health Service Manager

an administrator with special training and skills in management who is concerned with the planning and provision of health services and with managing performance. Some managers enter the profession via the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme; for others the basic training is in disciplines other than health; however, doctors, nurses, and others may fill such posts, sometimes combining them with professional appointments. See also National Health Service.... health service manager

Health Service Planning

balancing the health and health-care needs of a community, assessed by such indices as mortality, morbidity, and disability, with the resources available to meet these needs in terms of human resources (including ensuring the numbers in training grades meet future requirements) and technical resources, such as hospitals (capital planning), equipment, and medicines. See also clinical audit.... health service planning

Helicopter-based Emergency Medical Services

see HEMS.... helicopter-based emergency medical services

National Clinical Assessment Service

(NCAS) see Practitioner Performance Advice.... national clinical assessment service

National Health Service

(NHS) (in Britain) a comprehensive service offering therapeutic and preventive medical and surgical care, including the prescription and dispensing of medicines, spectacles, and medical and dental appliances. Exchequer funds pay for the services of doctors, nurses, and other professionals, as well as residential costs in NHS hospitals, and meet a substantial part of the cost of the medicines and appliances. Legislation enacted in 1946 was implemented in 1948 and the services were subjected to substantial reorganization in 1974 and again in 1982, 1991, 1999, and in 2013 as a result of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. In England overall responsibility is vested in the Secretary of State for Health. Responsibility for commissioning most services is held by *clinical commissioning groups, consisting of GPs in a local area, and commissioning for primary care services and some specialized services is undertaken by *NHS England. Public health functions are largely delivered by local authorities, though some specialist functions are provided by *Public Health England. The relationship between the Secretary of State for Health and the NHS also changed in 2013. The Secretary of State for Health, via the *Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), no longer has direct control of the day-to-day operation of the NHS. This has passed to NHS England. However, the DHSC continues to provide strategic leadership for the NHS.

Different arrangements apply in Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.

NHS website: includes much basic medical information together with a guide to local services... national health service

National Service Frameworks

(NSFs) formerly, national standards of care published for a variety of conditions and patient groups (the first were for coronary heart disease and mental health). NSFs were ten-year programmes designed to improve, and reduce variations in, the quality of care by defining long-term strategies for delivery of the standards and by setting specific goals. The NSFs were dropped in the reform of the NHS after 2010 and subsequent establishment of *NHS England.... national service frameworks

Nhs Business Services Authority

(NHSBSA) a *special health authority formed in 2006 to provide a range of back office and financial services to NHS organizations, contractors, and patients. These include administering the NHS pension scheme, issuing European Health Insurance Cards to UK residents, and issuing penalty charge notices to patients who falsely claim to be exempt from paying prescription charges. NHSBSA also hosts NHS Prescription Services, which provides pharmacies with reimbursement for items supplied under NHS prescriptions.

NHS Business Services Authority website... nhs business services authority

Nhs E-referral Service

an electronic referral system administered by *NHS Digital. Since 2015 it has been used by NHS England to support referrals from GPs to secondary care. Replacing the earlier choose and book system, it enables patients to choose which hospital they are referred to and then to book a convenient date and time for the appointment.... nhs e-referral service

Nhs Prescription Services Authority

(NHSPSA) see NHS Business Services Authority.... nhs prescription services authority

Occupational Health Service

(OHS) a scheme by which employers provide a mainly preventive health service for employees. Specially trained doctors and nurses advise management on hazardous situations at work. Advice is also given to management to ensure that people with ill health or disability are not prevented from taking up employment and on the potential for rehabilitating employees with prolonged or repeated sickness absence. Instruction may be given to the workforce on simple first aid procedures, and *health promotion programmes may be offered in relation to nutrition, physical activity, and stress. With the approval of the *Health and Safety Executive, the OHS may conduct routine tests on employees working with potentially hazardous substances, such as lead. See also coshh.... occupational health service

Parliamentary And Health Service Ombudsman

(in England) an official responsible to Parliament and appointed to protect the interests of patients in relation to administration of and provision of health care by the *National Health Service. He or she can investigate complaints about the NHS when they cannot be resolved locally. In Scotland, and in Wales, this role is undertaken by a Public Services Ombudsman.... parliamentary and health service ombudsman

Patient Advice And Liaison Service

(PALS) (in England) a confidential service provided by each NHS trust to support patients, their families, and carers by giving advice and information in response to questions and concerns about local NHS services. See also advocacy.... patient advice and liaison service

Public Health Service

(PHS) the oldest and one of the largest US federal health agencies. Founded in 1798 as a system of hospitals for sailors, the PHS is now the major health service operating division of the *Department of Health and Human Services and administers eleven agencies, including the *Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The agency employs tens of thousands of people with a total annual budget well into the billions.... public health service

Public Services Ombudsman

see Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.... public services ombudsman

School Health Service

(in Britain) a service concerned with promotion of health and wellbeing in schoolchildren, including the early detection of health and social problems and their subsequent treatment and surveillance.... school health service



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