1. Accountabilities of health and social care practitioners
To professional bodies and employers

2. Types of accountabilities
The legislative framework and guidance
Organisational policies and procedures
Professional bodies
Employers
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3. Legislative framework
Health and social care practice is regulated in several ways, including the associated legislation that applies to health and social care practice and to specific service user groups.
All health and social care practitioners must be aware of the relevant legislation that applies to their area of practice for two main reasons:
They must not infringe service user rights; if they do they will be held accountable.
It informs practice and gives guidance in difficult situations they may encounter in their practice.
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4. Types of law (1)
Statute laws are acts of Parliament and identify statutory ‘duties’ and ‘powers’.
Duties must be done.
Powers allow some flexibility in that they can but do not have to be done.
Laws and government policies are often accompanied by relevant guidance to assist implementation into health and social care practice within care settings.
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5. Types of law (2)
Regulations must also be followed and are enforceable by law.
They are often introduced as the result of a European Directive and are ‘transposed’ into UK law.
An example is the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, which states that lifting equipment must be used when objects exceed certain weights, following a risk assessment.
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6. Types of law (3)
Common law is an example of case law and is made by judges who can set a judicial precedent.
This means that whatever was decided by a judge must be followed in other court cases, especially in lower level courts.
This type of law is very important in relation to social care practice.
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7. How is this applied in health and social care practice?
When legislation has been passed, it must then be implemented and enforced in health and/or social care practice.
This means practitioners are made aware of any new responsibilities that relate to their job role and working practices; this may include training.
This is usually managed by employers producing relevant organisational polices and procedures.
In short, policies identify what is to be done and procedures identify how it is to be done in a specific workplace or care setting.
However, it is the health and social care practitioner’s responsibility to be familiar with organisational policies and procedures.
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8. Why is law important to health and social care practice
Why is law important to health and social care practice? The answer is relatively simple…
If health and social care practitioners do not follow the law and relevant regulations, they will be guilty of breaking the law.
They may be accountable in three ways, including:
criminal court: they may face criminal charges and possible imprisonment
professional regulatory bodies: possible investigation and disciplinary hearing
employer: may discipline, suspend or terminate their employment.
This could result in them not being able to practise any more.
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9. Professional regulatory bodies
These organisations regulate the practice of health and social care professionals to ensure they meet standards.
Different ‘specialisms’ usually have different regulatory bodies:
doctors are regulated by the British Medical Council
nurses are regulated by the Nursing & Midwifery Council
social workers in England (but it can be different for home countries) are regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council – which also regulates other health professionals such as dietitians and physiotherapists, etc.
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10. Requirements of professional regulatory bodies
Requirements include:
keeping and maintaining registers
setting and promoting standards of conduct, ethics and competence
setting standards of education and training
dealing with concerns from patients, the public and others about practitioners who are alleged to be unfit to practise because of poor health, misconduct or poor performance
removing professionals from their registers and preventing them from practising if the regulatory bodies consider this to be in the best interests of the public
taking action against those falsely claiming to be registered.
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11. Employer requirements
Employers (through their management systems) produce organisational policies and procedures for their health and social care workers for two main reasons:
To ensure they know what is expected of them.
To ensure they comply with any relevant legislation; otherwise they may be prosecuted.
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12. Tensions arising from requirements of professional bodies and employers
Sometimes health and social care practitioners struggle to meet the requirements of their respective professional body and their employer; for example, unsafe staffing levels to meet the needs of service users.
But if they do not adhere to the Codes of Practice set by their professional body they may be ‘removed’ from their register, preventing them from practising.
This has often resulted in ‘whistleblowing’ by practitioners against their employers to protect their registration.
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