Awareness of proposed Delegated Healthcare Activities is crucial

Skills for Care has recently launched its ‘Guiding Principles for Delegated Healthcare’ and employers need to be aware of proposed principles to ensure they provide safe and appropriate care. Here’s why:

• Understanding the Scope: Delegated healthcare activities are typically clinical in nature and involve tasks usually performed by registered healthcare professionals. These activities might include wound care, insulin administration, or catheter care. Social care employers must understand what activities are being proposed and ensure that their staff are competent to perform them.
• Meeting Regulatory Requirements: Social care providers must comply with regulatory standards set by organisations like the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This includes ensuring that staff are appropriately trained and supervised when undertaking delegated activities.
• Managing Risk and Liability: Delegation involves transferring the authority to perform a specific task to a competent individual, but the registered healthcare professional retains overall accountability. Social care employers must understand the risks associated with delegation and put appropriate safeguards in place to protect both the person receiving care and their staff. This includes having robust policies and procedures, providing adequate training and supervision, and ensuring proper insurance coverage.
• Ensuring Adequate Training and Competency: Social care employers are responsible for ensuring their staff are adequately trained and competent to perform delegated healthcare activities. This involves providing appropriate training programs, conducting competency assessments, and ensuring ongoing supervision and support. The level of training required will vary depending on the complexity of the activity and the individual care worker’s skills and experience.
• Financial and Resource Planning: Delegating healthcare activities to care staff can have financial implications for social care employers. Training, supervision, and insurance costs must be considered. Employers need to engage in conversations with health partners and commissioners to agree on appropriate funding arrangements.
• Promoting Person-Centred Care: Ultimately, delegated healthcare activities should aim to improve the quality of care and support provided to individuals. Social care employers must ensure that delegation decisions are made in the person’s best interests and consider their individual needs and preferences. This involves obtaining informed consent, involving individuals in decision-making, and ensuring clear communication.

The sources emphasise that successful delegation requires collaboration and open communication between health and social care partners. Social care employers need to be proactive in understanding the proposed activities, assessing their capacity to deliver them safely and effectively, and working with health partners to establish robust frameworks and protocols.

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