If you work in health and social care, you’ve likely heard the phrase ‘duty of care’ being tossed around a lot. But what does the phrase mean and how do you put it into practice?
In this blog post, we hope to shed some light on what duty of care is and how it works to keep everyone safe and well. It’s a concept that’s not only part of the work you perform but also a part of the organisation you work for.
If you’re interested in care jobs in Chigwell, Buckhurst Hill, Redbridge Havering, and Dagenham, read on to learn how we take every care to make sure our care workers and those we care for are safe.
So, what is duty of care?
Let’s start by defining what duty of care is in the health and social sector. We describe it as our legal and professional responsibility to a person’s safety and wellbeing while they are in our care. In other words, it is our legal duty to do everything we can to prevent them from coming to any harm. This is a legal requirement and is not something a person can opt out of. It’s also important to note that your legal duty of care extends not only to those you support but also to your colleagues and anyone else in your work setting.
Duty of care in action
To put duty of care into action, consider this: when you find yourself in a situation where you’re faced with potential dilemmas, it’s useful to think about duty of care and how you can best demonstrate duty of care. For example, how will you act in the best interest of the person you’re caring for?
We can break duty of care down into 3 points:
- always act in the best interest of individuals and others
- do not act in a way that results in harm
- act within your competence and do not take on anything you do not believe you can safely do.
For example, you might demonstrate duty of care by communicating well and asking for a person’s consent before touching them to assist them with personal care. Helping them maintain their dignity is one way to uphold duty of care.
Our commitment to care
As an organisation committed to delivering the highest standard of care possible, it makes sense that we also extend our duty of care to our care workers. We’re dedicated to treating our staff with honesty and integrity so that they can provide the best care possible to those they look after. Our duty of care is to make sure our carers are trained and confident in their ability to perform the tasks required of them. For example, if a care worker was required to help support a person using a wheelchair, it is our duty of care to ensure they are trained and know how to safely operate the wheelchair. Failing to do so may result in harm to both the care worker and the person receiving care.
Get in touch
Are you interested in joining our team of expert and compassionate carers? We would love to hear from you. Please feel free to get in touch with our team who would be happy to answer any of your questions or provide more information.