How do people access health and social care services, and what stops them?
Access to health and social care services: the routes of access and methods of referral (self, professional and third-party), assessment of need, and the barriers that prevent people from accessing the services they need.
A CCEA A2 3 answer on access to health and social care services: the routes of access and the methods of referral (self-referral, professional referral and third-party referral), assessment of need, and the physical, financial, psychological, cultural and resource barriers that prevent access.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
CCEA wants you to explain how people access health and social care services: the routes of access and the methods of referral (self, professional and third-party), how need is assessed, and the barriers that prevent people from getting the services they need. A2 3 is examined from pre-release stimulus material, so you apply this to a given scenario.
Methods of referral
Self-referral means the person contacts the service directly, for example booking a GP appointment, attending accident and emergency, or phoning a helpline. Professional referral means a professional passes the person on to another service, for example a GP referring a patient to a hospital consultant or to physiotherapy. Third-party referral means someone else raises a concern, for example a family member, teacher or neighbour contacting social services about a vulnerable person. CCEA expects you to recognise which method fits a given scenario.
Access and assessment of need
The aim is equitable access, meaning services reach those who need them regardless of background. In practice, access is uneven, which is why barriers are such an important part of this unit and connect to the idea of health inequalities studied in A2 4.
Barriers to access
CCEA groups barriers as physical (distance, transport, inaccessible buildings), financial (cost of private care, travel, prescriptions), psychological (fear, embarrassment, stigma, not wanting to be a burden), cultural and language (services not reflecting cultural or religious needs, or language difficulties), and information and resource barriers (not knowing a service exists, or waiting lists and limited capacity). Each is reduced by targeted action: local and accessible provision and transport; free or means-tested services; sensitive, confidential services and awareness campaigns; interpreters and culturally appropriate provision; and clear information and better resourcing. Recognising and reducing barriers is central to fair service provision.
Try this
Q1. Name the three main methods of referral. [3 marks]
- Cue. Self-referral, professional referral, and third-party referral.
Q2. Give one example of a self-referral. [1 mark]
- Cue. Booking a GP appointment, attending accident and emergency, or calling a helpline.
Q3. Explain one psychological barrier to accessing services and how it can be reduced. [3 marks]
- Cue. Stigma or fear (especially around mental health), reduced by sensitive, confidential services and public awareness.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA A2 3 20186 marksDescribe the three main methods of referral to health and social care services, with an example of each.Show worked answer →
A2 3 is examined from pre-release stimulus, so apply the methods to the scenario. A 6-mark answer needs all three methods with examples.
Self-referral: the person contacts the service directly themselves, for example booking a GP appointment, going to an accident and emergency department, or calling a helpline.
Professional referral: a professional refers the person on to another service, for example a GP referring a patient to a hospital consultant or to physiotherapy.
Third-party referral: someone else, such as a family member, friend, teacher or neighbour, raises a concern and refers the person, for example a relative contacting social services about a vulnerable adult.
Markers reward all three methods correctly described with an appropriate example of each.
CCEA A2 3 20228 marksExplain the barriers that may prevent an individual from accessing the services they need, and how these can be reduced.Show worked answer →
An 8-mark answer needs a range of barrier types, each with a way to reduce it.
Physical barriers: distance, lack of transport or buildings that are not accessible; reduced by local provision, accessible buildings and transport schemes.
Financial barriers: the cost of private care, travel or prescriptions; reduced by free or means-tested services and help with costs.
Psychological barriers: fear, embarrassment, stigma (especially around mental health) or not wanting to be a burden; reduced by sensitive, confidential services and public awareness.
Cultural and language barriers: services that do not reflect cultural or religious needs, or language difficulties; reduced by interpreters, translated information and culturally appropriate provision.
Information and resource barriers: not knowing a service exists, or long waiting lists and limited capacity; reduced by clear information and better resourcing.
Markers reward a range of barrier types and a realistic way to reduce each.
Related dot points
- The structure and provision of health and social care services: the statutory, voluntary, private and informal sectors, the types of service they provide, and how services are organised and funded in Northern Ireland.
A CCEA A2 3 answer on the structure and provision of health and social care services: the statutory, voluntary, private and informal sectors, the services each provides, and how care is organised and funded, with reference to the integrated health and social care system in Northern Ireland.
- Partnership working and integration in health and social care: multidisciplinary teams, integrated care, the benefits and challenges of partnership working, and how coordinated services meet a range of service users' needs.
A CCEA A2 3 answer on partnership working and integration in health and social care: multidisciplinary teams, integrated care across sectors, the benefits and challenges of working in partnership, and how coordinated services meet the range of needs a service user may have.
- Safeguarding and quality assurance in service provision: the types and signs of abuse, safeguarding procedures for adults and children, and the policies, standards, regulation and inspection that assure the quality of care.
A CCEA A2 3 answer on safeguarding and quality assurance in health and social care: the types and signs of abuse, the safeguarding procedures used to protect vulnerable adults and children, and the policies, standards, regulation and inspection (including the RQIA) that assure the quality of services.
- Overview of AS 2 Communication in Health, Social Care and Early Years Settings: the types and contexts of communication, the factors that aid effective communication, the barriers that obstruct it, and the strategies and supports used to overcome those barriers.
An overview of the internally assessed CCEA AS 2 Communication unit: the types and contexts of communication in care, the factors and skills that support effective communication, the barriers (physical, language, sensory, emotional and environmental) that obstruct it, and the strategies and aids used to overcome them.
- Public health and health inequalities: the definition and key functions of public health, health surveillance and the measurement of population health, the patterns of health and the social determinants that produce health inequalities.
A CCEA A2 4 answer on public health and health inequalities: the definition and key functions of public health, health surveillance and how population health is measured, and the patterns and social determinants that produce inequalities in health between groups.
Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCE Health and Social Care specification — CCEA (2016)