Code of Practice 3: As a social care worker, you must promote the independence of service users while protecting them as far as possible from danger or harm.

So, here are the details of what that means and a case study that shows how it can work in practice:

1. promoting the independence of service users and assisting  them to understand and exercise their rights;
2. using established processes and procedures to challenge and report dangerous, abusive, discriminatory or exploitative behaviour and practice;
3. following practice and procedure designed to keep you and other people safe from violent and abusive behaviour at work;
4. brining to the attention of your employer or the appropriate authority resource or operational difficulties that might get in the way of delivery of safe care;
5. informing your employer or an appropriate authority where the practice of colleagues may be unsafe or adversely affecting standards of care;
6. complying with employers health and safety policies including those relating to substance abuse;
7. helping service users and carers to make complaints, taking complaints seriously and responding to them or passing them to the appropriate person; and,
8. recognising and using responsibly the power that comes from your work with service users and carers

CASE STUDY

Ann is a home care assistant working with older people with dementia. Ann noticed that one of her clients, Mr Hughes, may not be eating properly; he is leaving his meals and drinks half finished.

Ann is concerned that her current work rota means she is not able to give Mr Hughes sufficient time and encouragement at meal times, even though this support is included in the Care Plan.

Ann reports these concerns to her line manager and they agree changes to Ann’s schedule which will allow her to spend sufficient time with Mr Hughes, in particular over the lunch time period.

Also, arrangements are made to monitor the situation in case Mr Hughes’ needs are changing. In discussing concerns with her manager, Ann  was able to draw on point 3.4 of the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers: “bringing to the attention of your employer or the appropriate

authority resource or operational difficulties that might get in the way of the safe delivery of care”.

In responding to Ann’s concerns, her employer draws on point 2.3 of the Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers, “having systems in place to enable social care workers to report inadequate resources or operational  difficulties which might impede the delivery of safe care and working with them and relevant authorities to address those issues”.

Would the code help you in a similar way?