Duty of Care (Care Certificate Standard 3)

Duty of care is part of everyday work in health and social care. It means helping to keep people safe while respecting their rights, choices and independence. Sometimes those responsibilities can seem to pull in different directions, particularly when someone makes a choice you think is risky or when something goes wrong.

This course explores what duty of care means in practice. You’ll work through realistic situations involving individual choice, complaints, mistakes, near misses and confrontation, building an understanding of your responsibilities and how to respond appropriately in different situations.

This course is part of the Care Certificate for new care workers in England.

Learning Objectives

Define duty of care and duty of candour and describe how these affect your role
Describe dilemmas that may arise between duty of care and an individual’s rights and where to get support
Describe how to respond to comments and complaints in line with legislation and agreed ways of working
Explain what you must and must not do in relation to adverse events, incidents, errors and near misses
List factors and difficult situations that may cause confrontation and explain how communication can reduce this risk
Explain how and when to access support and advice for resolving conflicts and dilemmas