Duty of Care | mysite

DUTY OF CARE POLICY

Policy aimed at; Employers and Employees

Issued Feb 2006

Updated August 2018

As an Organisation that has contact with disabled / vulnerable people Bath Junior Gateway Club has a Duty of Care to them. As a minimum, this duty of care includes:

Safeguarding and promoting the interests and well being of the members with whom it works.
Reducing the vulnerability of a member by upholding the law, professional attitudes and practices.
Making sound decisions by assessing the individual's emotional, physical, intellectual and mental capacity in relation to self-determination and consent, in order to take all the reasonable steps to protect the person from harm, abuse and exploitation.

Assessment for intervention

In order to fulfill these duties, we will ensure that for vulnerable individuals, assessments of the risks and of their needs are carried out in order to ascertain if any steps should be taken to protect them from harm, abuse and exploitation.

In determining the appropriate intervention, consideration should be given to the following:

risk - does the vulnerable person appreciate and understand the nature and consequences of any risk they may be subject to and do they willingly accept such risk?

The vulnerable person's wishes are critical in determining what action to take. All people have a right to make choices, insofar as they are able, and maintain their independence even when this involves a degree of risk. This degree of risk should only be that which is considered generally acceptable according to professional practice. Risk may require intervention, but this must be allowed by law.

All identified hazards/risks and the corresponding risk reduction actions must be recorded using the Individual member Risk Assessment.

Self determination - is the vulnerable person able to make their own decisions and choices and do they wish to do so?

Where a vulnerable person appears to be able to make informed decisions and choices and is not being intimidated or coerced then the available options should be explored with them.

Their wishes should be respected, unless these conflict with a legal duty to intervene, or unless another person[s] is considered to be at risk. A refusal of help must not be allowed to deter support staff or others from protecting other vulnerable people who may also be at risk. In all circumstances the vulnerable person should be consulted and involved in decision making.

Consent- does/did the vulnerable parson consent willingly ?

Action with which the vulnerable person does not agree, or does not understand to what he or she is agreeing, may be abusive. Consent is a critical issue in defining what might be deemed abusive and in determining whether to intervene. The person's ability to consent is subject to the legal age of responsibility and their capacity to understand the level of risk and the possible consequences of what they are agreeing to.

Capacity- does the vulnerable parson have the capacity for self determination, the capacity to understand to what they are consenting, or alternatively the capacity to refuse?

The vulnerable person's capacity is the key to action in that if someone has 'capacity' and declines assistance this limits the help that can be given to that person. It will not however limit the action that may be required to protect others or the vulnerable individual who may be at risk of harm, abuse and exploitation. In order to make sound decisions in these situations it will be necessary to assess the vulnerable person's emotional, physical, intellectual and mental capacity in relation to self-determination and consent.

An inter agency care planning meeting will normally be the correct place for this assessment to be made and for identifying what reasonable steps need to be taken to protect the individual or others from harm, abuse and exploitation.

Service users under 18 years of age

For a service user under 18 the parents or the person with parental responsibility must be involved in the assessment process and must give the required consent to any actions or interventions, subject to the law of consent.

In situations were it is clear that the involvement of the parents or the person with parental responsibility will place the person at increased risk of harm, abuse and exploitation, then the situation must be discussed with line management before any action is taken.