Duty of care is a legal obligation that is usually imposed on an individual person requiring them to adhere to a standard of reasonable care while undertaking or performing any acts of duty that could possibly harm others. Aii How does duty of Care affect the work of a Social Worker As a social care worker, you have a duty of care to the individuals you provide care for or support in your job role. This means you are expected to put the needs and interests of the individual to the centre of your thinking and practice. To also ensure decisions made do not cause any harm to the individual. Aiii As a social care organisation, you are responsible for providing care and support which is safe and promotes the health and wellbeing of the individuals.
Prepare a set of notes to help you in this supervision session. In the notes, you must include an explanation of: Ai: What is meant by the term “duty of care” Duty of care means social care workers must do everything they can to keep the service users in their care safe from harm. Care workers have duty or the responsibility care this could include be assisting after service user’s safety, make choice, prepare meals, transportation, personal hygiene and other medical or physical needs. Employer also has a duty of care for staff members, to ensure that working conditions are safe, and suitable to deliver the service. Duty of care also involves safe guarding, protection of vulnerable adults from abuse and harm, social care workers have duty of care to report allegations and suspicions of abuse and whistle blowing policy.
Describe dilemmas that may arise between the duty of care and an individual’s rights Me as a care assistant I have to do everything to keep my residents safe, I have duty of care to that people. Sometimes my residents they want to do something which can be dangerous for them. On the other hand, I have to respect their choices and rights. I have to explain nicely what the risk is and find the way to compromise. All of my action taken should be documented including any risk assessment carried out.
Unit 304 Principles for implementing duty of care in health, social care or children or young people’s settings 1.1 To have a duty of care means to be accountable for clients in our care by e.g. exercising authority, managing risks, working safely, safeguarding clients and others monitoring own behaviour and conduct, maintaining confidentiality, storing personal information appropriately, reporting concerns and allegations, making professional judgements, maintaining professional boundaries, avoiding favouritism and maintaining high standards of conduct outside the professional role. 1.2 Duty of care contributes to the safeguarding or protection of the individual clients by having a number of policies and procedures to follow ensuring that a clients health and safety is paramount. This is done by daily checks, risk assessments, fire drills so clients are aware of where to go and what do to. Risks assessments are extremely important and must be implemented and met all the time.
1.2: Explain how duty of care contributes to the safeguarding or protection of individuals. We also have a duty to protect the children and young people from sexual, physical and emotional harm, preserving respect and dignity. If we find any unanswered marks on a child or their behaviour changes when certain interactions are made, documenting this on the appropriate documentation and informing the manager is high priority. We also have the duty to protect the children and young people from intimidation or humiliation, engendering trust. Along with protecting the children from any harm we also have to safeguard ourselves avoiding risk of accusations of misconduct in the work place, acting professional throughout the whole working day.
This is done by following policy and procedures, Being able to recognise dangers and risk withing the work setting. Attending training sessions when available. Duty of care affects social care workers by ensuring that every care setting is safe for the individuals using the setting and the staff working there. What having a duty of care means for a caregiving organisation? Having a duty of care in caregiving means the setting is a safe environment for both individuals and staff members.
Unit 1 Principles for implementing duty of care in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings 1 Understand how duty of care contributes to safe practice (a) What it means to have a duty of care in one’s own work role A duty of care is a legal obligation to all Health and Social carers and professionals who have to act in the best interests of individuals and others, also not to act or fail to act in a way that results in harm. This duty of care can be a general implied minimum standard of care or can be outlined in different codes of practice or guidelines in various legislation. This duty of care can also be more specific and defined in specific legislation for example Equality Act 2010 or the COSHH regulations 2002. Carers and employers have to ensure that this duty of care is practiced and achieved. Employers adopt this duty of care into their training and operating procedures so it is central to how they conduct their practice.
Be aware of dilemmas that may arise about Duty of Care and the support available for addressing them 2.1 Describe dilemmas that may arise between the Duty of Care and an individual’s right You may have a case as a care worker where an individual may want to do something which could be a risk to their own health and safety. It’s your duty of care to do all you can to keep them safe but you also have the duty to respect them as an individual. This causes a dilemma. An example of this is a resident no longer wanting to use her Zimmer Frame, but in her care plan it states that she uses it to help her move
Included in the policies and proceedures the organsiation needs to be aware of dangers, carrying out risk assessment, respecting the individuals right to make risky choices ( after you have done all that is possible to dissuade them), take actions to keep individuals safe and log and report any dangers or problems. Aiv HOW THE DUTY OF CARE CONTRIBUTES TO SAFEGAURDING OF INDIVIDUALS By understanding the duty of care reporting any suspicions you may have about abuse or neglect of any person you are providing care for. By understanding that your responsibilities contribute to the protection of people, by acting responsibly and in a timely manner to ensure people are safeguarded. If you have
Consider the consequences and imagine the worst possible scenarios. Reflect and see if you need seeking advice from your other colleagues. Their counseling might be helpful, before you eventually choose to go higher up and talk to your boss, but remember, it is your complaint and you need to choose the right person in order to be able to complain effectively. Second, select the appropriate time to complain. See whether your boss, or the supervisor, or the person of your choice is available.