Launch of two draft codes of practice for social care professionals places new duties on employees and employers to prevent abuse

The General Social Care Council today launches its long-awaited draft codes of practice for social care professionals.

The codes represent a milestone in the history of a profession that has historically suffered from a poor image and poor understanding of its work.

Over the next three months professionals and the public are being asked to give their views on the codes, which for the first time set down nationally-agreed professional standards for all those working in the profession.

It is estimated over one million people working in social care in England will eventually be eligible to go onto the professional register that the General Social Care Council will draw up – making it one of the biggest registers of its kind. The standards set down by the codes will apply to anyone who wishes to register with the General Social Care Council as a social care professional and will include people such as social workers, managers of residential and day care and residential childcare workers amongst many others.

The three month consultation period starting on January 9th 2002 will provide the opportunity to respond on two codes: one for employers and one for employees.

The draft codes contain important statements of standards and values. Social care workers will be asked to safeguard and promote the interests of service users and carers and to strive to maintain the trust and confidence of those they deal with.

They will also have to balance the rights of service users and carers with the interests of society and take responsibility for their own practice and learning. The new code will also ask them to justify public trust and confidence in social care services.

Employers will be expected to use rigorous recruitment and selection processes to make sure that only people who are suitable and competent enter the workforce. They will also have to agree to make checks of police records, relevant registers and other sources before confirming their appointment.

There will also be a new requirement on employers to make it clear to their clients that violence, and threats or abuse to staff are not acceptable.

The majority of social care and services workers work hard, often in difficult circumstances to support and improve the lives of service users and carers. Regulation will help to give the profession confidence in itself, backed up by a nationally agreed set of standards. It will improve the standing and quality of social care, while at the same time ensuring that action can be taken against the minority of workers who abuse their positions of trust.

Launching the consultation on the codes, Lynne Berry, the Chief Executive of the General Social Care Council, said: “We’re keen to hear the views of as many people as possible who work in the profession, or use social care services, or who care for someone who uses those services and others who have an interest in the sector.

“It is very important that the Councils set the right standards of conduct and practice for social care and services workers and employers. We’re asking people to help us to get them right by commenting on the draft codes and pointing out to us how they could be improved.

“Every voice is important – worker, employer, service user, carer, or colleague in a related profession. It is an attempt for the first time to set down the shared values and principles of a profession which has for 25 years been very little understood by the public and has consequently struggled with a negative public image.”

Interim Chair of the General Social Care Council, Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, commented: “All too often it is the negative headlines about social care that grab the public’s attention. The beginning of our three month consultation period marks a real opportunity for change in the profession.

“We hope to improve the public perception of social care workers by giving them a professional body and a champion for the first time and at the same time reinforce the public’s trust by keeping unsuitable people out of the workforce.”

The beginning of the consultation exercise is supported by unions and social care organisations.

Michael Leadbetter, President of the Association of Directors of Social Services welcomed publication of the draft codes: "Directors and colleagues throughout social services have invested much time, energy and commitment over the past 15 years to help secure this vital ingredient of a properly regulated and respected profession.

"My colleagues and I warmly welcome this important step towards providing for the public, as well as social care professionals, the reassurance that social care is delivered within consistent and comprehensive policies and guidelines established to enhance professional practice."

Ian Johnston, Director of the British Association of Social Workers, said: “Having campaigned for more than 20 years for the independent regulation of social care the British Association of Social Workers warmly welcomes the GSCC and its counterparts across the UK.

“The codes of practice clearly lay down the standards of conduct expected from all staff and their employers. I am sure they will boost the confidence of those receiving services and those whose job it is to provide them.”

Owen Davies, UNISON National Officer for Social Services, said: "UNISON
welcomes the creation of the General Social Care Council. To have an agreed code of practice for social care workers and employers will be another big step in the right direction. UNISON looks forward to playing a major part in the consultation process so that the final versions of the codes have the widest possible support amongst the workforce."

Nick Johnson, Assistant Chief Executive of the Social Care Association, said: “The SCA has required its members to sign up to a Code of Practice since 1994 and we are therefore delighted that the workforce will validate its commitment to good practice through this method.”

Polly Neate, Editor of Community Care, said: “This is a breakthrough both for the social care professionals and for all those who put their trust in them. It has been campaigned for and awaited for years and despite the current state of moral in social care it is to be hoped that professionals will participate in it and enter fully into the consultation.”

Notes

The General Social Care Council was established under the Care Standards Act 2000 and began work on 1 October 2001.

Equivalent bodies exist in the rest of the UK: the Northern Ireland Social Care Council; the Scottish Social Services Council; and the Care Council for Wales.

The GSCC will regulate the workforce. The National Care Standards Commission will regulate social care providers and monitor the implementation of the codes of practice. The Social Care Institute for Excellence will determine and disseminate best practice.