Principles for implementing duty of care in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings

1. 1 A duty of care is to make sure that you are paying a certain amount of attention to everyone you are working with including; mangers, children and parents, making sure they are happy and satisfied and you take caution to avoid negligence that will lead to harm others. It also includes keeping up to date on training and making sure you wear the correct equipment supplied to you which you change regularly if needed.

Explain how duty of care contributes to the safeguarding or protection of individuals:

1. 2 Everyone has a duty to care to raise any concerns about a child or even the work place itself. This can include: Poor working conditions, Poor equipment, Poor practice by other staff, Raising concerns about potential abuse cases, Situations of neglect, Health and safety risks, example: exposed wires and plugs out in reach of the children and bad language from employees.

All these potential problems are to be identified in a risk assessment before the children are allowed in the building. Without this you are not safeguarding the children and not following the duty of care you have to your setting. If you have witnessed any of these things or have an issue with anything you are to report it to your supervisor/manager.

Describe potential conflicts or dilemmas that may arise between the duty of care and an individual’s rights:

2. 1 Some people may want to do something that could be a risk to their health and safety. As we all have a duty of care to everyone including that one person, we must do all we can to keep them safe, but we also need to respect their choices. It could be that a child who has muscular dysfunction in their arm has decided that they want to play more sports that include using their hands and arms, however their parents has asked for them not to take part in any games that include this. In this situation you can talk to the parent about letting their child try games like Ping-Pong, does not include much effort and explain the risks involved within this, to ensure the parents agree with this to go ahead for their child. A risk assessment would be carried out daily to see how this child is progressing and making sure that the child is remaining safe.

Describe how to manage risks associated with conflicts or dilemmas between an individual’s rights and the duty of care:

2. 2 If someone wants to do something that is unsafe or risky, that is their choice and we must respect their decisions, but we have a duty of care to do all we can to keep them safe. To help this person we could make a risk assessment for them so we know they would be kept safe and that person would understand the risks that they are about to take. If they still want proceed, we can make this as safe as possible for them which are expected under our duty of care.

Explain where to get additional support and advice about conflicts and dilemmas:

2. 3 First line of support and advice would be sought after from the supervisor and managers, but for more specialist advice for children would be via SENCO (Special Education Needs Coordinator) For special cases you could contact people like: Education physiologist, Speech therapist, School nurse, Specialist, Social services, Health visitor and Language specialist.

Describe how to respond to complaints:

3. 1 Responding to complaints you should be kept professional at all times listening to what a person has to say, keeping cool and by being respectful and apologising when necessary which helps to diffuse potential conflict. Situations need to be resolved as quickly as possible to avoid creating a bad atmosphere for all those in the setting. When responding to a complaint, it is important to listen to the other person’s point of view. You should also try to avoid making personal comments and focus on the facts throughout. Explain the main points of agreed procedures for handling complaints:

3. 2 Procedure Suggestions and Compliments. Informal Procedure (for learners enrolled on a course at the College). Learners enrolled at the College who are dissatisfied about any aspect of their course of study should normally, in the first instance, take up the issue with the responsible Course Leader and/or Head of Department. As part of the induction process students are provided with the names and contact details of the Course Leader for their chosen course of study. If the matter cannot be resolved at this level, the Formal Procedure, as detailed below, will apply. This procedure applies to all who have contact with the College. Formal Procedure (for learners enrolled on a course at the College, and other people). Users of the College’s services may provide feedback in writing, over the phone or via email. Once received by the College all feedback must be directed to the office of the Vice Principal (or another member of the Senior Leadership Team in his/her absence);