Home >> Genetics in Practice >> Developing Services and New Roles >> A Toolkit for developing new services >> 5. Working Across Specialities

A Toolkit for Developing Services Involving Genetics

This information is for those who are developing services for patients with or at risk of genetic conditions. 

Please note that this Toolkit is based on the collected experiences of service development initiatives in genetics and is not intended to be a complete guide to service development; you may also want to consult generic service development resources and expertise within your own organisation.

 

Working Across Specialties

Different specialties have different cultures and working practices. However, patients benefit from co-ordinated care and the experiences of the pilot projects showed the importance of considering the implications of working across specialties when developing new roles and services.

  1. Cross-specialty working can provide a more streamlined service for patients
  2. The relationships between people in different specialties and between departments
  3. Focus specialist input where it will have most impact
  4. Ensure new services do not clash with pre-existing services
  5. Support health professionals taking on new roles
  6. Consider differences in professional cultures across specialties and services

 

1. Cross-specialty working can provide a more streamlined service for patients, but consider workload implications

Involvement of health professionals from the relevant specialty can result in a more holistic service for patients, but increased awareness can increase demand on a service which must be planned for. Administration across specialties may be a challenge. A new service may not be a priority for staff predominantly working in another role allocate sufficient staff time for training and development as well as for service provision.

 

2. The relationships between people in different specialties and between departments is important for successful service development

Build on pre-existing clinical and research links (for example, between regional genetics centres and other services) where possible. Develop links with interested clinicians in other specialties.

 

3. Focus specialist input where it will have most impact

In multi-disciplinary clinics, examine the case load and consider which specialists need to be available regularly and which can be available on an ad hoc basis.

 

4. Ensure new services do not clash with pre-existing services

Consider the availability of staff across different services before planning clinics.

 

5. Support health professionals taking on new roles

Demonstrate the relevance and benefits of the service clearly - education and training may be required. Face-to-face explanation of new service or role can promote understanding and uptake. Provide sufficient staff time for the new service development - lack of time can reduce engagement with a new initiative, reduce uptake of training and be a barrier to taking on additional roles.

 

6. Consider differences in professional cultures across specialties and services

Differences between professional cultures may be a barrier to multi-disciplinary working which need to be understood and overcome. Genetics services involve working with families and the familial implications of disorders, which may not be the usual practice of other specialties. The role of non-medical professionals may differ between specialties, for example, genetic counsellors may have clinical and leadership roles that are not mirrored in other specialties.

 

Examples of resources

  • The resources page provides examples of resources from previous service development initiatives.

 

 

Last updated: 13 October 2011

Genetics in Practice