Health_and_Social_Care_-_Duty_of_Care

TC205- TC 205.1 - Understand the implications of duty of care. Assessment Criteria 1.1 - define the term ‘duty of care’ A duty of care means that all health and social care professionals and organisations providing health and care services, must act in the best interests of the people they support. They also have to do everything in their power to keep people safe from harm and exploitation. As a care professional you must ensure that you do not do something, or fail to do something, that causes harm to someone. You have a professional duty of care to act only within you own competence and not to take on something you are not confident about. Your duty of care underpins everything that you do, it is what underlies the Codes of Practise and it should be built into your practise on a day to day level. Exercising your duty of care is also a legal requirement, and is tested in court in the event of a case of negligence or malpractise. 1.2 - describe how the duty of care affects own work role. People have a right to expect that when a professional is providing support, they will be kept safe and not be neglected or exposed to any unnecessary risks. Having duty of care towards the people you work with is not unique to social care, this includes anyone from teacher to doctor. Thinking about the duty of care that you owe to people is helpful when you are planning your work. It makes you consider whether what you were planning to do is in the best interests of the person you are working with. This is not only about physical risks; you can also have duty of care to treat people with dignity and respect. TC 205.2 - Understand support available for addressing dilemmas that may arise about duty of care. Assessment Criteria 2.1 - describe dilemmas that may arise between the duty of care and an individual’s rights Exercising duty of care is not about wrapping people in cotton wool or preventing them from taking any risks. Just participating in everyday life involves risks- fro example, crossing the road is risky as it is. There has to be a balance and you have to consider risks. although you have a duty of care for the people you support they still have the right to make their own choices and to reach decisions about actions they want to take. Sometimes there can be a conflict between a persons rights and your duty of care. Having duty to act in someones interests and also needing to ensure that they are not placed in harms way can be very hard to balance with encouraging people to take control of their own lives and to make choices and decisions about their lives. 2.2 - explain where to get additional support and advice about how to resolve such dilemmas. Your first port of call if you are unsure about how to respond to a dilemma between your duty of care and a persons rights is your manager. They should be able to advise you about the best approaches to take and give you the opportunity to discuss both sides of the dilemma. If you are a member of the professional association or a trade union, they will also be able to offer adise about the uncertainties you may have about whether you are effectively exercising a duty of care towards the people you support. TC 205.3 - Know how to respond to complaints. Assessment Criteria 3.1 - describe how to respond to complaints Your organisation should have a complaints policy and it should be a publicised and information on it readilt available in the form of leaflets, posters, compaints form, web based, and printed. How complaints are approached can make all the difference between people being satisfied and feeling that they have been listened to, and people still feeling that their issues have not been recognised and that nothing will change. Local authorities and NHS organisations need to; * Make sure that the complaints procedure is publicised * Offer to discuss the complaint as soon as it is received * Investigate complaints thoroughly and efficiently * Write to the person who made the complaint, explaining how it has been investigated and the outcome * Remind people of their rights to refer complaints to the relevant Ombudsman if they are not satisfied * Make sure that a senior manager is designated as being responsible for dealing with complaints and for sharing information about lessons that can be learned * Make sure that the person complaining has all the support they need in order to understand the procedure * Produce an annual report with information about the numbers and type of complaints received and how things have improved as a result. 3.2 - identify the main points of agreed procedures for handling complaints. You may be asked by a senior manager to provide information for the investigation of a complaint. You must do so promptly because there will be a time limit for responding to the complaint. You must give clear and honest information. It is unlikelt that you will be asked for an opinion as it is usually just factual information that is needed, do not give your opinion unless you are specifically asked for it; just stick to the facts. If you can not remember some aspect, then say so – do not make up or guess what you cannot recall. You will find out the result of the investigation means that lesion have been learned and practise has been changed. If a complaint is made to you; * Make sure the person understands how to use the complaints procedure * Explain to them how it works and when they can expect to receive a response * Offer support in following the procedure if necessary * Advice you manager that the complaint is being made Do not; * Attempt to resolve complaints your self * Discuss the complaint with the person it is about * Discourage people from making complaints * Promise that you will ‘sort it out’ * Discuss the complaint with colleagues or anyone other than your manager