Champion accountability when carrying out health and care procedures

For this assessment criterion, you will be required to demonstrate to your assessor that you are able to champion accountability when carrying out health and care procedures, which will include making recommendations for improving practice with colleagues and others.

The word accountability is often used synonymously with the word responsibility, however, there is a distinct difference. To be responsible for a task means that it is our obligation to complete it. To be accountable for a task means that we are answerable for its results. Accountability happens after the task is complete and is how we respond to the results.

For example, as managers, we are responsible for making lots of decisions as part of our job role. If the outcome of one of our decisions has unwanted outcomes, we must be accountable for those results, take ownership of it and be able to explain why we made that decision.

Ensuring staff understand their accountability when undertaking health and care procedures to include the reporting of any concerns

Staff must understand their own responsibilities and accountabilities relating to healthcare tasks.

They will be set out in their contract of employment and they, along with their manager, must ensure that they are competent and confident in their role. Accountabilities can include obtaining consent, ensuring proper records are kept, reporting concerns and only performing tasks for which they have been trained in.

As a manager, you will need to check that staff have a good understanding of their accountabilities through training, supervision, team meetings and informal discussions.

When a team member does not perform a task correctly, they must be held accountable for their actions. As a manager, we must be honest about the feedback we provide and take into account the team member’s perspective. If the failure was outside of the team member’s control, then we cannot hold them accountable for it. If it was within the team member’s scope of accountability, then we must work with them to ensure it doesn’t happen again. This could mean they require additional training or more experience with the task.

The importance of consent and maintaining confidentiality

Important responsibilities and accountabilities for all workers in the health and care sector are those of consent and confidentiality.

We must always obtain consent from an individual before performing a healthcare task. This is referred to in Regulation 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

We also have a legal duty of confidentiality to keep an individual’s personal data secure and only share it when absolutely necessary.

Consideration of other professionals and their responsibilities and limits relating to health and care procedures

As stated above, the manager has a responsibility to ensure that team members understand their accountabilities. This will include providing them with support and supervision, ensuring they have access to policies and procedures and ensuring they are aware of the scope, boundaries and limits of their role.

Managers must also ensure that team members are only given tasks for which they have sufficient knowledge and training to accomplish.

Ways to improve integrated working which fosters accountability, high standards of practice and seamless service provision

To create an organisational culture that fosters accountability, high standards of practice and seamless service provision, a manager must make team members feel supported and valued.

This contributes towards staff morale and will team members feel comfortable approaching you with any issues that they have.

An open, positive and inclusive culture with a strong team spirit will support team members to take pride in their practice and take accountability for their actions and inactions. Shared goals and values within the team will encourage team members to be accountable because they will not want to let their colleagues down.

A leader that takes accountability for their own actions and apologises when they make mistakes will serve as a good role model for others.