Report on Public Health Facilities in Patna Community

Community Description

Patna is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is located 600 kilometers away from London. The village was established in 1802 by William Fullarton with the main purpose of providing accommodation for employees on the coal-fields of his state. The population of the village was 2320 in 2001, 2206 in 2011, and 2110 in 2016. With regard to population distribution by gender, there were 1068 males and 1138 females in 2011. In the same year, the number of people between 0 and 17 years was 478, 18 and 64 were 1308, and those with 64 years and above were 420 (City Population, 2016). This village is considered to be peaceful and has a small number of primary and secondary schools, a football pitch, a doctor's surgery, and a small library. This village has been selected for the community investigation because it presents a good example of villages that still require a lot to be done to improve the health of the residents.

Objectives of the Investigation

The objectives of this investigation are:

To determine the health status of the residents in Patna.

To determine the community assets to find out the facilities available for public health.

Community Investigation Plan

In order to carry out the investigation effectively and efficiently, the following plan will be followed. The plan encompasses the critical resource types, sources of information, acceptable behavioral traits, methodology, timeline, and the budget.

Resource Types

A wide range of resource types will be required to facilitate the collection and analysis of the data to accomplish the objectives of the investigation. These resource types include human resources, financial resources, communication resources, and physical resources. Human resources will include community leaders, representatives, and members. Financial resources will include staff overtime, travel, rewards, expenditure on authorization, and finances needed to meet other financial needs during the investigation. Communication resources will include internet access, telephone, email, and media. Physical resources will include offices, office material, and technology.

Information Sources

Various information sources include primary sources and secondary sources, such as human sources, paper sources, and digital sources. Primary sources are those that provide direct and specific information or those that relate to direct experience. Secondary sources include published materials and second-hand accounts by other people. Human sources will include community members who can provide valuable information about the health status of the residents and the facilities available for public health. Paper sources will include books, newspapers, magazines, and official records. Digital sources will include information on the web and digitally stored records.

Methodology

The investigation will adopt a case study design of one village, Patna in Ayrshire, Scotland to determine the health status of the residents and the facilities available for public health. Both the primary and secondary sources of information provided above will be used to carry out a comprehensive investigation. Health statistics, which contain tabulated, but non-interpreted information, will help to assess the health status of the community. Reports, which include publications by an individual in a given field and other secondary sources, which contain information that has been analyzed, evaluated, interpreted, re-packaged, summarized, and recognized by researchers in the primary literature will also be used.

Timeline

A total of three weeks will be used to carry out the community investigation. The first two weeks will be used to seek authorization and collect and record data from both primary and secondary sources. The last one week will be used to organize the data into a meaningful form, and to analyze the presented findings.

Budget

The budget will include activities that will require money to be effectively carried out. These will consist of photocopying, accommodation and meals, communication costs, travel costs, and fees for conducting record searches and access copies of documents that contain information about the community that is vital to the investigation.

Outcomes of the Investigation

Community Assets

Patna Resource Centre. This health facility was established in 2012 to replace the old Doctor's Surgery in Patna. Within this facility, there are various health services and staffs that are meant to address the health needs of the residents. These services and staff include community staff/ auxiliary staff, Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPN), Dietician, Addictions Team, Podiatrist, GP's/ District Nurses/ Practice Nurses, and Health Visitors (Patna Community Action Plan Steering Group, 2015). Also within the Patna Resource Centre is a Boots Pharmacy. It is at this health facility that the residents in the village of Patna can visit when in need of health services, including medical checkups, treatment, and consultation with the medical practitioners and experts.

Patna Day Care. The East Ayrshire Council operates this health facility. It provides local services to seniors in the community, including those with dementia type illness, mental health problems, and physical disability (Kennedy, 2013). As a facility registered under the Care Commission in 2002, it operates every day between 9 am and 9 pm. The mission of the centre is to provide quality day care services for seniors in the community, which is not only accessible but also meets the needs of the people. Each of the users of the services provided in the facility has a comprehensive support plan that helps to identify their specific needs and other issues that should be made known to the staff who provide the services. Such issues include charts to ensure correct fluid intake, mobility needs, medication, and ensuring that they take the right diet.

Riverside Medical Practice. This health operates in both Ayrshire and Arran but also has a branch in Patna. In Patna, the facility is opened every day from Monday to Friday between 8:30 am and 5:30 am, but it is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. The facility offers a wide range of services, including maternity services, basic travel immunizations, prescriptions for some minor ailments, and contraception (Riverside Medical Practice, n.d). Service users are provided with appointments when they want to consult their doctor if there are emergencies and in the form of Advanced Nurse Practitioner, which are available most of the day for common illness.

Doombank Care Home. This facility only provides care home (residential care) services. Registered care categories include dementia, learning disability, mental health problems, sensory impairments, physical disability, and caring for the aged (Care Home, n.d). There are also specialist care categories, which include bipolar depression, care for cancer, hearing impairment, epilepsy, and stroke.

Facilities for Mental Health Problems. There are also several health facilities that address mental health problems. These include Queens Nursing Home, Newhouse Kilmarnock, Kirklea Care Home, Dundonald House Nursing Home, Temple House Care Home, Airlie House, and Belhaven House. Some of these facilities are not found within Patna but are located close to Patna, implying that residents may have to travel a distance before accessing the services.

Analysis and Evaluation of the Findings

The findings indicate that there are some public health facilities in Patna, but they may not be adequate to meet the needs of the residents at the times when they need the health services most. There are very few public facilities, and the rest of the facilities are privately owned, which implies that accessibility of the health services is dependent on the financial strength of the residents. The Patna Resource Center is the main health facility in the village, and it can provide a wide range of health services because there are various experts available to help the community on health issues. An area that is well addressed is that of mental health problems and mental illness. There several facilities that attend to the needs of people with mental problems. The needs of seniors are also well served by the Patna Daycare, which specializes in providing a wide range of services for the aged and some several care homes.

However, it is important to note that the health needs of the residents may not be adequately met because of the inadequacy of public health facilities. There are some facilities that cannot be found within Patna, implying that residents may be required to travel some distance to the neighboring villages to access the services. From the investigation, it can be concluded that there is still more that ought to be done regarding improving the health status of the residents through adequate public health facilities.

References

Care Home. (n.d). Doonbank Care Home. Retrieved December 11, 2017, from https://www.carehome.co.uk/carehome.cfm/searchazref/20006047DOOA

City Population. (2016). Patna in East Ayrshire ( Scotland). Retrieved December 11, 2017, from https://citypopulation.de/php/uk-scotland.php?cityid=S19001119

Kennedy, S. (2013). Patna Day Care: Support Service Without Care at Home. Ayr: Care Inspectorate.

Patna Community Action Plan Steering Group. (2015). Patna Community Action Plan 2015-2020. Patna: Patna Community Action Plan Steering Group.

Riverside Medical Practice. (n.d). Our Clinics and Services. Retrieved December 11, 2017, from http://www.riversidemedicalpractice.scot.nhs.uk/our-clinics-and-services,55259.htm