Nadia Muhammad P1, P2, M1 & D1
P1
This report will be looking at and discussing duty of care and safe practice within health
and social care and will be relating to a case study about an NHS ward. This report will
contain the significance of duty of care and complaints procedures. It will also be
considering what procedures would be used within a setting if there was abuse and
neglect. It will discuss the factors which could contribute to neglect and abuse and what
signs and symptoms could be shown.
Within a health and social care sector, each professional has a moral and legal
obligation to ‘duty of care’. Duty of care is where the service provider must act towards
the best interests of service users. They must also not act in ways that could put the
service user at risk or cause them harm. Each professional must be fully aware of their
limits and act accordingly to these, they should also closely follow the codes of conducts
and guidelines put in place by their employers or governing body such as NISCC.
For the duty of care to properly work and allow for equal care of all service users,
professional detachment is required, this means providing care objectively and without
becoming emotionally involved. Professionals within the HSC sector have a duty of care
to not only the service users and other staff but to themselves, basically meaning
anyone who can be affected by the chosen actions. Following this also ensures that
safe practices are being carried out throughout the workplace and ensures the safety of
all users and especially those who are more vulnerable. RQIA requires that all workers
are to have health and safety training to demonstrate the ability to follow safe working
procedures and provide high-quality care. Following this, service providers should be
able to reflect on their practices and take constructive criticism if something they do can
be improved on.
In some cases to carry out the duty of care the service user has to balance individual
rights with risks, this means that the needs, rights and risks of a person may and can be
interpreted differently by individual people and that one person’s choices will likely affect
others whether this is positively or negatively. Therefore it makes it important to
remember that all service users are independent people, who have the right to make
informed decisions even if there is a small risk involved.
In Ward 3B of the Wellings NHS Trust, the duty of care is not being upheld because
medicine is given to patients is not properly by many staff including the Ward Manager,
but also due to the keypad at the entrance being broken and doors propped open, this
allows for anybody to walk into the ward without the staff’s knowledge, this puts the
service users and staff at risk. As a result of this the service users privacy and
1
, Nadia Muhammad P1, P2, M1 & D1
safeguarding is at risk, also has medication is not being properly recorded it means that
service users could be given double dosages which would be a serious health risk. The
service provided in Ward 3B should ensure that all records are properly kept and follow
legislation on how files should be kept such as Data Protection Act 1998 which aims to
protect the rights of the individual to privacy concerning processing personal data. The
service providers should also be working to get the keypad at the door fixed as soon as
possible and have measures in place to stop people just walking in.
Reference:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/duty-of-care
https://www.educare.co.uk/news/what-is-duty-of-care
https://phdessay.com/duty-of-care-in-health-and-social-care/
2
P1
This report will be looking at and discussing duty of care and safe practice within health
and social care and will be relating to a case study about an NHS ward. This report will
contain the significance of duty of care and complaints procedures. It will also be
considering what procedures would be used within a setting if there was abuse and
neglect. It will discuss the factors which could contribute to neglect and abuse and what
signs and symptoms could be shown.
Within a health and social care sector, each professional has a moral and legal
obligation to ‘duty of care’. Duty of care is where the service provider must act towards
the best interests of service users. They must also not act in ways that could put the
service user at risk or cause them harm. Each professional must be fully aware of their
limits and act accordingly to these, they should also closely follow the codes of conducts
and guidelines put in place by their employers or governing body such as NISCC.
For the duty of care to properly work and allow for equal care of all service users,
professional detachment is required, this means providing care objectively and without
becoming emotionally involved. Professionals within the HSC sector have a duty of care
to not only the service users and other staff but to themselves, basically meaning
anyone who can be affected by the chosen actions. Following this also ensures that
safe practices are being carried out throughout the workplace and ensures the safety of
all users and especially those who are more vulnerable. RQIA requires that all workers
are to have health and safety training to demonstrate the ability to follow safe working
procedures and provide high-quality care. Following this, service providers should be
able to reflect on their practices and take constructive criticism if something they do can
be improved on.
In some cases to carry out the duty of care the service user has to balance individual
rights with risks, this means that the needs, rights and risks of a person may and can be
interpreted differently by individual people and that one person’s choices will likely affect
others whether this is positively or negatively. Therefore it makes it important to
remember that all service users are independent people, who have the right to make
informed decisions even if there is a small risk involved.
In Ward 3B of the Wellings NHS Trust, the duty of care is not being upheld because
medicine is given to patients is not properly by many staff including the Ward Manager,
but also due to the keypad at the entrance being broken and doors propped open, this
allows for anybody to walk into the ward without the staff’s knowledge, this puts the
service users and staff at risk. As a result of this the service users privacy and
1
, Nadia Muhammad P1, P2, M1 & D1
safeguarding is at risk, also has medication is not being properly recorded it means that
service users could be given double dosages which would be a serious health risk. The
service provided in Ward 3B should ensure that all records are properly kept and follow
legislation on how files should be kept such as Data Protection Act 1998 which aims to
protect the rights of the individual to privacy concerning processing personal data. The
service providers should also be working to get the keypad at the door fixed as soon as
possible and have measures in place to stop people just walking in.
Reference:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/duty-of-care
https://www.educare.co.uk/news/what-is-duty-of-care
https://phdessay.com/duty-of-care-in-health-and-social-care/
2
