Habitus Homecare Ltd

Duty of Candour Policy

Aim of Policy
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Duty of Candour is an incredibly important element of providing high-quality care. Service Users and their loved ones deserve to know details of the care they are receiving and clarity regarding any incidents that occur. Everyone who works in Health and Social Care has a Duty of Care for those they work with. Therefore, they should fulfil the Duty of Candour. Duty of Candour is a regulation under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as well as a crucial part of care. An important element of high-quality care is honesty. We must support a culture of openness and transparency.
When something goes wrong health and social care workers must tell the service user, their advocate, carer, or family, and apologise, if something goes wrong with their treatment or care. This policy sets out an understanding of Duty of Candour, the two duties involved in Duty of Candour and the relevant legislative actions and communications required to be completed under Duty of Candour.
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Habitus Homecare Ltd Aims & Objectives
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Habitus Homecare aims to provide a high-quality standard of care and support to all residents within all homes. Habitus Homecare aims to ensure all staff have an understanding of Duty of Candour; regulated under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and a full understanding of the two duties involved in Duty of Candour. We aim to ensure compliance with Duty of Candour and to ensure staff adhere to the correct practice of being open and transparent about any aspect of the care provided in any of our homes. All Habitus Homecare staff have a duty of care for those they work with and have a duty to fulfil Duty of Candour.
Habitus Homecare will notify the appropriate relevant person (this is either the person who was harmed or someone acting lawfully on their behalf) explaining what is known about what happened and offering an apology. We will provide suitable support to the client and those affected by the incident and ensure a full account of records is retained with documented actions noted in detail. Where any persons have been unable to provide consent due to incapacity, all necessary communications will be with their lawful representatives, with the expectation that the individual will be involved fully. This will be further set out in writing and appropriate actions taken in line with regulation.
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Health & Social Care Standards
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The policy is in alignment with the following Care Standard Principles:
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Dignity and respect
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• Residents’ human rights are respected and promoted through the provision of person-centred care by respecting residents through being honest and involving them in their care.

• Residents are respected and treated with dignity and treated fairly.

• Residents’ privacy is respected, and record-keeping is undertaken in line with Data protection regulations and policies.

 
Compassion
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• Residents experience warm, compassionate and nurturing care and support.

 
Be included
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• Residents receive the right information, at the right time and in a way which promotes understanding.

• Residents are included in the wider decisions about the way the service is provided, and my suggestions feedback and concerns are considered.

 
Responsive care and support
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• Clients have the right to make a complaint and be assured this will be dealt with timeously and in accordance with the company's complaints policy.

• The health and social care needs of residents are fully assessed with their involvement, and anyone else that they wish to be involved in the assessment process.

• Residents will experience consistency in who provides their care and support and in how it is provided.

 
Wellbeing
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• Residents are supported to make informed choices

• Residents are supported and cared for to ensure they feel safe and protected from neglect, abuse, or avoidable harm.

 
Policy Principles
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The policy sets out the commitment that Habitus Homecare has to ensure a culture of openness and transparency is adhered to at all times. The policy will ensure that, when there has been an unexpected event or incident that has resulted in death or harm, all care services should respond following the procedures laid out in the Duty of Candour regulations.
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The policy and its associated procedures and practices reflect the current legislation and regulation in terms of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and ensure Duty of Candour is a crucial part of care. The policy recognises that saying sorry is always the right thing to do. However, doing so is not an admission of liability. Apologising acknowledges that something could have gone better and is the first step to learning from the incident and prevent it from re- occurring.
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Policy Detail
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Habitus Homecare seeks to allow steps to be taken to mend the relationship between the client and Habitus Homecare after an incident. It ensures clients and families are not kept in the dark, it ensures the client receives a genuine apology for what happened from the people involved and it provides Habitus Homecare the opportunity to offer guidance and support or remedy the mistake. Habitus Homecare will strive to ensure internal actions are taken to prevent the mistake from occurring in the future.
The registered person is responsible for carrying out the required actions. They will, in the first instance, notify the relevant person in writing, explaining what is known about what happened, and to continue good communication throughout the subsequent investigation. The potential short- and long-term effects will be fully explained.
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Responsibilities
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All Habitus Homecare staff share the responsibility for ensuring an open and transparent environment, where residents and their loved ones deserve to know details of the care they are receiving and the truth about any incidents that occur. All staff are responsible for upholding and implementing the aims of this policy, however, it is the registered person who is responsible for carrying out the necessary actions per legislation under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
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Breach of Policy
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Habitus Homecare takes seriously any instance of non-adherence to this policy. Any breach will be investigated, with the intent of resolving matters and will be governed by Employee codes of practice, Complaint procedure, Grievance policy and procedure and Bullying and Harassment policies and procedures.
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Terms & Definitions
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Professional Duty of Candour
This states that all healthcare professionals have a duty to tell the service user or their family advocate or carer when something has gone wrong. 
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Statutory Duty of Candour
This was introduced after the professional duty of candour but also aims to make sure care providers are open and transparent. This contains specific requirements for situations known as notifiable safety incidents.
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Notifiable Safety Incident
This term must not be confused with other types of safety incidents or notifications and must meet the 3 criteria below to be deemed a notifiable safety event. It is an event which is unintended or unexpected. It must have occurred during the provision of an activity the care provider regulates, and it has or it might result in death or severe or moderate harm to the person receiving care.
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Relevant Person
This is either the person who was harmed or someone acting lawfully on their behalf.