Why is duty of care important in community services

The duty to conduct ourselves in our work in line with:. Use to answer question 3. People are moved, positioned and assisted safely e. Equipment is safe for all parties who use and handle it and that it is moved and handled safely e. Joint adult safeguarding and protection procedures and child safeguarding and protection procedures are followed, to protect people at risk from harm and to support others to engage safely and effectively in safeguarding and protection work.

This includes implementing the Mental Capacity Act. As well as following the general safeguarding procedures. You are required to conduct yourself in both your work time and private life in a way that does not put yourself or Active into disrepute, e. You are required to work in accordance with the above standards, so that you can fulfil your duty of care. In law, three criteria must be met for negligence in the Duty of Care to be proved through the Courts.

The Duty of Care must:. It is a support workers responsibility to make their line manager aware that they feel they do not have the skills or knowledge to undertake a task. Likewise, the line manager is responsible for ensuring that tasks are only delegated to, or undertaken by, competent staff and that new members of staff are trained in order to attain the required standard. The work we do in health and social care and support often puts us in difficult situations which can pose ethical dilemmas.

We need to support service users to exercise their legal rights, make independent and informed decisions about the risks and know that they must not put others in significant danger as a consequence of their decision.

Individuals have a right to live as independently as possible and make their own decisions. If they are legally capable i. This is where dilemmas may occur. For example, you may support an individual who has been strongly advised to stop smoking as it is exacerbating their lung disease.

They have gone three months without a cigarette, but now they say they want to have one and go to a shop to buy one. Although you know it is dangerous for the individual to have the cigarette, you cannot stop them from having one as they have the right to make their own decision.

Ensure that the individual is informed about their choices and explain what would happen if they make that choice. Look at ways the risk can be reduced, such as by completing a risk assessment, and support them in making the decision and promoting their independence.

Your duty of care is a legal obligation and something you must abide by. You have a duty to promote individual wellbeing and act in their best interests, protect them from harm, and always act within your competencies. Her favourite article is How to Plan a Bake Sale. Skip to content. As experts in Duty of Care our comprehensive e-learning services contain a complete portfolio of up-to-date courses that will ensure that all staff are fully trained in all essential duty of care topics and a robust reporting suite that evidences all learning.

Download EduCare's newsletter. Toggle navigation. What is Duty of Care? Never miss an update To receive the latest news and offers, click below Download EduCare's newsletter. For example, our responsibility to one party for example, our employer might conflict deeply with our responsibility to our clients. It helps to remember that duty of care is a balancing act. There are several aspects to duty of care: Legal - What does the law suggest we do?

Organisational - What does our organisation, and its funding body, say we should do? Community - What do the parents of our clients and other community members expect us to do? Personal - What do our own beliefs and values suggest we do.

Sula Sula visits your centre on a regular basis for counselling. One day she arrives and is clearly very unwell. You think she needs medical attention but she says that she does not want to see a doctor.

Are you carrying out your duty of care if you call the doctor yourself? Question - What do you think is the right course of action? Additional question - Describe the process by which you would come to a decision. What factors would you need to consider? For example, would the quality of your relationship impact on your decision? Additional question - How do you perceive the rights of young people?