Well done, you made the correct decision.
Here are some points that you need to consider. You should have included some of these in your reflective activity:
- You have made the correct decision. The best thing to do now is to contact your manager and give her all the information about what has happened. Offering to record all this information retrospectively is also the right thing to do.
- You made some mistakes earlier. It was your responsibility to record and report the first choking incident. You also remain responsible for work that you have delegated to others.
- When you passed the responsibility for taking action onto Dave, something as simple as a change to the staff rota resulted in Bill being put at risk of harm.
- Choking will affect Bill’s breathing. Immediate action was required to ensure the first choking incident was recorded and reported. This would have helped to prevent it happening again.
- You must protect service users from danger and harm, and never put anyone at unnecessary risk. Had you taken the correct action sooner, you could have prevented Bill from having another choking incident.
- It is essential to maintain clear, accurate and up-to-date records in line with procedures relating to your work.
- Bill’s dietician and doctors need as much information as possible to help with diagnosis and to create an updated care plan.
- It is important to communicate in an appropriate, open and straightforward way.
- Being truthful, honest and trustworthy is one of the ways social service workers create and maintain the trust and confidence of people who use services and carers.
- You need to learn more about meeting relevant standards of practice and working in a lawful, safe and effective way.
- You must recognise and use responsibly the power and authority you have when working with people who use services and carers.
- You need to learn the SSSC Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers. Make sure that you fully understand and follow these Codes.
- Had you not taken the correct action in this situation, it could have called into question your suitability to be a social services worker.
- Failure to take the right action now could place Bill at risk of further serious harm.
When Bill said he had choked on food the previous night and you saw it had not been recorded and reported, the correct action to take was to write an incident report, update the communication book, and make a note asking for a referral for a dietician and for a new risk assessment. You should then have contacted a manager to explain your actions. Click here to find out why this was the correct option.
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