Duty of care is a legal obligation that requires a person to maintain a reasonable standard of care that prevents harm to others. This includes: ? doctors ? nurses ? physiotherapists ? social workers ? teachers ? YOU! A duty of care is when the people using a service have their safety, welfare and interests placed at the centre of everything the organisation does. It is not only the care establishment that needs to prioritise the safety, welfare and interests of the people using its services, but also the workers of the care establishment. How this affects you.
Ensure your actions promote the safety, welfare and interest of all people using the service by doing the following: ? Follow the GSCC Codes of Practice. ? Ensure you maintain your knowledge and skills. ? Do not work outside your level of knowledge and skills. ? Do not cause harm, and protect people from harm. ? Adhere to workplace policies and procedures. Care professionals and support staff will use policies produced by the organisation to help them meet the organisation’s requirements relating to the duty of care of people.
However, they also need to abide by their professional codes of conduct and codes of practice, such as those produced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council NMC (www. nmc-uk. org), the Health Professions Council (www. hpc- uk. org), the General Social Care Council (www. gscc. org. uk) and the Institute for Learning (www. ifl. ac. uk). Dilemmas While care professionals and support staff always strive to ensure that people receive the best possible standards of care, there can sometimes be conflicts and dilemmas between the policies of the organisation, the care workers’ codes of conduct/practice and the wishes of the person.
Dilemmas may include: ? refusing medication ? going out for a walk ? eating soft-boiled eggs ? smoking ? refusing treatment. If this occurs, it is important to ensure that the situation reaches a satisfactory outcome as soon as possible. It is important to remember that people have the right to make choices regarding the treatment and care they receive, and have the right to refuse the treatment and care being offered. However, the person will need to be provided with sufficient information so they are aware of the risks involved with their decision.
If they do not have the mental capacity to take reasonable decisions for themselves, then treatments and care can be enforced, but the issue of mental capacity is extremely complex and assessments of mental capacity must be made by a competent person. When dealing with dilemmas, it is important to seek advice from other people or to find additional support. Managers should normally be the first person a care worker seeks advice and guidance from, but other sources of support may include: Complaints Complaints are an expression of dissatisfaction and should be taken seriously, dealt with in a timely manner, reviewed and used to improve services.
Your organisation should have an easily accessible complaints procedure for the people who access their services and it should: ? support the person making a complaint ? identify the person the complaint should be made to ? state the timescales for dealing with complaints ? explain what will happen with the complaint at each stage ? inform the complainant of the outcome. The process should be easily accessible as it is a way of safeguarding the service users from possible abuse.
There will also be a procedure for you to follow you should access your complaints procedure and find out how your organisation wants you to deal with complaints, below is an example of how you should deal with a complaint. Step 1: Take the person to a quieter location to talk about the complaint.
Step 2:Listen to the complaint. Step 3: Take the complaint seriously. Step 4: Be polite, under no circumstances loose your temper Step 5: Try to defuse the situation, If appropriate, apologise, but do not try to resolve. Step 6:Inform the person of the complaints procedure and ask if you can be of any further help. Step 7:Thank the person. Step 8: Inform your manager.