Your role, duty of care, and boundaries
Duty of care
A legal and professional obligation to act in the best interests of those you care for, to avoid causing harm, and to work within your competence.
| DUTY OF CARE MEANS | IN PRACTICE |
|---|---|
| Acting in the person’s best interests | Choices that support their wellbeing and their wishes |
| Not acting negligently | Following procedure, using equipment correctly |
| Working within competence | Doing only what you are trained and authorised to do |
| Raising concerns | Reporting unsafe practice, hazards, and abuse |
| Keeping records | Accurate, timely, factual |
“I was only following instructions” is not a defence if you carried out something you knew to be unsafe or outside your competence. You remain accountable for your own actions.
Working within your competence
| YOU SHOULD | YOU SHOULD NOT |
|---|---|
| Perform tasks you are trained and signed off for | Perform any clinical task you have not been assessed on |
| Ask when unsure | Guess |
| Report changes in a person’s condition | Diagnose or interpret symptoms |
| Support with medication only as authorised and trained | Administer medication outside your role |
| Escalate promptly | Delay because you fear looking inexperienced |
Asking for help is a professional strength, and every assessment treats it as the correct answer.
Professional boundaries
The relationship is a caring one, not a personal friendship, and the imbalance of power makes boundaries essential.
| DO NOT | WHY |
|---|---|
| Accept gifts or money | Creates obligation and suspicion of exploitation |
| Give or lend money | Financial abuse risk |
| Share your personal contact details or add people on social media | Blurs the relationship and creates risk |
| Discuss your personal problems | Shifts the burden onto the person receiving care |
| Take photographs | Consent, dignity, and data protection |
| Do favours outside the care plan | Undermines the plan and may be unsafe |
| Form a romantic or sexual relationship with someone in your care | An abuse of position, and a criminal matter in many circumstances |
Report any offer of a gift or money rather than simply refusing it. Recording it protects you.
Whistleblowing
If you see unsafe practice, poor care, or abuse, you must raise it — with your line manager, or through the escalation route if that is not appropriate or nothing changes. Whistleblowers are legally protected from being penalised in most jurisdictions.
Failing to report is itself a failure of duty of care. In every major care scandal, staff had noticed and said nothing.