Duty of Care

Barbara Braithwaite, Safe Swallowing Team • January 9, 2022

Duty of Care is defined simply as a legal obligation to: always act in the best interest of individuals and others, not act or fail to act in a way that results in harm, act within your competence and not take on anything you do not believe you can safely do.

That all sounds very straight forward, but in real life Duty of Care can be quite a balancing act. It’s more encompassing than simply caring for an ageing relative or resident or client with a disability We may also have a duty of care to an employer, other staff and general public.

This 7.5 minute video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRF7rFRj5XA&t=10s) looks at what the concept means to support workers and gives some examples of what it might look like in the workplace. Being aware of the needs of clients and the expectations of the Aged Care and Disability Quality Standards is a vital aspect of our role as carers. (Reference https://cdcs.com.au)

The following transition periods apply for existing registered NDIS providers:

The mealtime management practice standard applies to existing registered NDIS providers from Monday 13 December 2021.
The emergency and disaster management practice standard applies to existing registered NDIS providers from Monday 24 January 2022.

There is no transition period for the severe dysphagia management practice standard, which will be in effect from 15 November 2021.

Whilst your Safe Swallowing Dysphagia Management & IDDSI Education Course in no way replaces a speech pathologist’s assessment and recommendations specific to each client, it gives the carer an in depth understanding of Dysphagia, thus increasing your ability and comfort in providing your best care.