Unit 4: Principles for Implementing Duty of Care in Health, Social Care or Children's and Young People's Settings
1.1 Explain what is meant to have a duty of care in own work role
Duty of care means that practitioners take on legal responsibilities to safeguard the wellbeing and welfare of the service users who are in our care. To do so it is our responsibility to watch out for potential hazards which may cause harm to our service users, making wise choices about steps undertaken in a role, and preventing any accidents or mistakes from happening. All service users have the right to live freely in their home which is free from abuse. In my own setting to ensure my service users are free from harm I clean on a regular basis to stop the spread of infection and to ensure the home is clean for my service users. I complete accident forms when necessary and do daily checks inside and outside the home to ensure it is safe before I start my work.
1.2 Explain how duty of care contributes to the safeguarding or protection of individuals
Having a duty of care should guarantee the safeguarding of service users within my care. To guarantee this, risk assessments are carried out and reviewed when necessary or on a monthly basis for all activities the service users wish to participate in, this ensures risks are minimized which reduces the risk of harm or injury to a service user and other individuals involved. Our policies and procedures have boundaries and clear rules which ensure all involved within the setting will not behave in ways that may cause friction or stress and harm to others. I have a duty of care to understand signs of abuse or neglect and if abuse or neglect of a service user is suspected it is my duty of care to ensure I report it immediately to the appropriate persons to protect my service users. Having regular and up to date training for example ensuring all my qualifications or training such as first aid, safeguarding procedures, nvq's and ensuring all my mandatory training is refreshed annually.
2.1 Describe potential conflicts or dilemmas that may arise between the duty of care and an individuals rights
Conflicts and dilemmas that may arise between the duty of care and an individuals rights could be for example, one member of staff strongly believes that a service user is suffering abuse and another member of staff may strongly disagree, this could lead to conflict between the service users family, staff, social services or any other parties involved. An example of a dilemma could be knowing when to get further help regarding protection or safeguarding of a service user, having the dilemma of if you didn't report it to safeguarding the service user could possibly be suffering abuse. Another dilemma would be knowing when to break confidentiality and sharing information, however any concerns over a service users safety needs to be reported to keep them safe from harm.
2.2 Describe how to manage risks associated with conflicts or dilemmas between an individual's rights and the duty of care
There are several ways to manage risks associated with conflicts or