Learning outcomes There are three learning outcomes to this unit. The learner will: 1. Understand how duty of care contributes to safe practice 2. Know how to address conflicts or dilemmas that may arise between an individual’s rights and the duty of care 3. Know how to respond to complaints Duty of care is the obligation to exercise a level of care towards an individual, as is reasonable in all the circumstances, to avoid injury to that individual or his property. The duty of care is therefore based on: ?the relationship of the different parties ?the negligent act or omission?
And to be able to reasonably foresee loss to that individual. A negligent act is an unintentional but careless act which results in loss. Only a negligent act will be regarded as having breached a duty of care. Whether an act is negligent can only be considered in context. In a social care context a duty of care will usually exist where the social care worker has some professional or work responsibility for delivering a service to an individual. A breach would arise where a negligent act, or omission to act, resulted in harm to that individual and the harm was foreseeable. Where does a duty of care exist?
1. Where there is a relationship between two parties, especially when there is a relationship of trust e. g between carer and the individual cared for. 2. Where the consequences of the actions could have been reasonably foreseen. Breach of the duty of care is concerned with the standard of care that should have been applied in the situation. If the standards were not reached then there has been negligence in the duty of care. To avoid breaching the duty of care: ?be aware of where the duty of care exists ?be aware of where there is a risk that damage or loss may be caused to individuals.
Vicarious liability: links to duty of care. Vicarious liability means that the employer is accountable for the standard of care delivered and responsible for employees working within areas of competence appropriate to their abilities. To remain covered by an employer’s vicarious liability clause, an employee must only work within their abilities and sphere of assessed competence. This will be initially highlighted in the job description and then developed as the learner takes part in assessed education and training. The learner must be aware of his/her roles and responsibilities and must not exceed them.
A full awareness of roles and responsibilities provides clear guidance on the job the learner is expected to do. Any doubts or queries can be addressed by questioning e senior staff member either informally or in professional supervision. An employer is vicariously liable for negligent acts or omissions by his employee in the course of employment whether or not such act or omission was specifically authorised by the employer. To avoid vicarious liability, an employer must demonstrate that the employee was not negligent, in that the employee was reasonably careful, or that the employee was acting in his own right rather than on the employer’s business.
The Care Standards Act 2000 Disability Discrimination, Data Protection 1998, The Freedom of Information Act 2000 Health and Safety at Work, No Secrets POVA Human Rights Act 2000 When working with individuals there are always going to be areas of conflict and dilemmas. These usually occur when an individuals requirements conflict with those of the setting or worker. It is important that individuals are given the opportunity to make their own decisions however as care workers we have a duty to ensure that their choices do not put themselves or others at risk.
It is important when dealing with conflicts and dilemmas that you remain professional and calm. As care workers we are not permitted to impose our own views on individuals or say they cannot undertake an activity. If an individual wishes to undertake an activity that as a care worker you believe is a risk it is your duty to bring it to the attention of your supervisor, your supervisor should then support you and the individual to undertake a risk assessment of the activity to determine how the conflict or dilemma can be dealt with appropriately. You will deal with risk assessment in more detail in unit 307 Health and safety.
Complaints should be seen in a positive light. They give an organisation/service an opportunity to improve. Remember the adage: ‘If you don’t tell me it is broken, I can’t fix it’. An organisation which receives no complaints is not necessarily perfect. It may be that people are discouraged from complaining by the staff or by procedures which are too hard to understand. Perhaps the complaints procedures are too complex and take too long to be initiated. An effective complaints procedure enables the service to: ?address the needs of the user more effectively – a satisfied customer causes less stress?
Use time more efficiently – satisfied customers take up less time ?prevent distortion of the initial complaint – if the complaint is not dealt with quickly the grievance can become distorted ?enhance its reputation – satisfied customers tell other people and ‘business’ is increased ?motivate workers – a job well done leads to job satisfaction and increases staff morale and motivation ?grow and improve.
Remember – without your ‘customers’ there will be no service. Further reading and research www. gscc. org. uk general social care council – codes of practice www. smartscreen. co. uk city and guilds site for diploma.