Unison Duty Of Care Handbook Analysis

14443 Words58 Pages
UNISON duty of care handbook For members working in health and social care ‘‘ At a time of change, patients and service users depend more than ever on the integrity of care professionals. This handbook is a valuable guide to health and care professionals’ responsibilities and rights, and to sources of help when it may be hard to know the right thing to do and even harder to do it. Harry Cayton, chief executive, Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes, chief executive and registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council ‘‘ Marc Seale, chief executive and registrar, Health Professions Council ‘‘ The Health Professions Council (HPC) is committed to protecting the public and ensuring that professionals…show more content…
In the UK, this regulation is undertaken by independent regulators who monitor and assess services and take action if there are concerns about the safety or quality of care. These regulators carry out inspections and spot checks and also seek feedback from staff and the public to help them improve care services. They also publish useful guidance on how to manage risks as well as detailed inspection reports, assessments and surveys which may provide useful information on the performance of your organisation. The UK regulators of health and social care services are: Cymru/Wales: Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) England: Care Quality Commission (CQC) Northern Ireland: The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) Scotland: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) hosted by health boards or local authorities. An important part of their role is to promote the inclusion of patients, communities and other stakeholders in the planning and delivery of health and social care services, including scrutinising any proposals to change services. There are also local patient/service user involvement networks which provide a mechanism for patients and clients to be involved in the scrutiny and…show more content…
These guidelines should enable staff to work safely and effectively. If staff are forced to breach these guidelines because of workload problems or pressures then this is a threat to the duty of care. Likewise, if sufficient guidance is not in place, this also puts the duty of care in danger. Trade union members and stewards can work together with management to develop, monitor and review these guidelines. Often staff have good ideas about how guidelines can be improved. Also, talk to your local learning rep about promoting training or learning opportunities which may help staff develop their skills or improve their
Open Document