Professional Standards

Professional Standards in Health and Social Care

Understanding and Upholding Professional Standards

• Be familiar with national care standards and follow them in your work setting.
• Maintain professional behaviour and attitude in all circumstances during your working hours.
• Ensuring that the quality of care provided aligns with the expectations outlined in care standards.

Best Practice Implementation

• Identify best practices in your professional health and social care practise.
• Use these best practices to ensure superior quality of care and to enhance your professional development.
• Understand that continuous improvement is key in maintaining high professional standards.

Confidentiality and Privacy

• Be aware of the importance of confidentiality and privacy in a healthcare setting.
• Know when and how to share sensitive information ethically and legally.
• Maintain strict patient-client confidentiality unless the law requires disclosure.

Professional Boundaries

• Understand the importance of setting and maintaining professional boundaries with your patients and their families.
• Be able to differentiate between professional relationship and personal involvement.
• Remember the priority is always the welfare of the client, not your personal feelings or beliefs.

Accountability and Responsibility

• Recognise that you are accountable for your actions and decisions in the workplace.
• Understand that being a health and social care worker means taking responsibility for your own actions.
• If something goes wrong, being honest and owning up to mistakes is a part of maintaining professional standards.

Team Work

• Cooperation and collaboration are highly valued in a professional health and social care setting.
• Work effectively within a team, react positively to feedback, and contribute to a positive work environment.
• Understand that different roles and professions within your team have different standards and regulations and respect these multi-disciplinary approaches.

Continuing Professional Development

• Commit to ongoing learning and development to keep your knowledge and skills up to date.
• Participate in training sessions, workshops, and other opportunities to learn and grow professionally.
• Understand that learning new skills and enhancing old ones is part of maintaining and improving your professional standards.