Harassment and Bullying Policy

Harassment is likely to occur when temporary workers are alone with the client in their premises.

 WNA Healthcare (WNA) and HMR Medical & Nursing Service (HMR) will ensure to provide temporary workers with appropriate mandatory training for identifying and handling any acts of harassment and this will be recorded in the temporary workers record. Temporary workers will not be expected to work with a client that has been identified as high-risk until all mandatory training has been successfully concluded.

 Acts of harassment may include:

• Verbal or racial harassment
• Physical harassment which includes any aggression, threats or violent acts
• Sexual harassment which may be verbal or physical.

Temporary workers must make the Service User aware of and avoid any conversation that has a sexual or political topic or may lead towards a topic of such subject.

WNA & HMR ensures that temporary workers maintain mutual respect between themselves and the Service User and be aware of any mood swings or reaction to medication. If any other temporary workers have been made aware or experienced this, it shall be entered into the Service Users folder notes and head office staff shall ensure that all staff going to that Service User is made aware of previous history.

WNA & HMR make all Service Users fully aware of the Service Users clinical history, which includes psychiatric history and history of alcohol and drug abuse.

All temporary workers are required to record all acts of harassment and abuse in the Service Users file and must also report it immediately to the applicable registered manager or to any staff member of the head office staff for the applicable agency who shall follow protocol and deal with the matter with immediate effect.

Harassment can involve conduct that is unlawful under either common law or statute. WNA & HMR make it clear to everyone that such behaviour will not be tolerated. In these circumstances, the individual who harasses or bullies may have a legal liability under the following:

• Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• Race Relations Act 1976
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
• Employment Rights Act 1996
• Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
• Protection from Harassment Act 1997
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Trade and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (the whistle blowers act)
• Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Acts 1976 & 1989

Bullying

WNA Healthcare (WNA) and HMR Medical & Nursing Service (HMR) will, through formal and informal procedures, supervise the care of clients on a regular basis so as to ensure that individual care plans are implemented, maintained and updated and that care is delivered to proper and laid down standards.  It is the duty of all temporary workers to report to their manager any witnessed or suspected incidents of abuse.

All temporary workers are assured that their jobs will not be threatened by reporting abusive behaviour by others. WNA and HMR will not tolerate abuse in any form (either of clients, employees or anyone connected with the agency) and where abuse is suspected, or witnessed, then direct action will be taken, as outlined in the following procedure. For the purposes of this policy, abuse is defined as (more detailed definitions can be found at the bottom of this policy):

A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress.

Any temporary worker who is discovered to have abused a client of WNA and HMR will face disciplinary action which may account to their dismissal.

Procedure

Prevention of Abuse

WNA & HMR are dedicated to preventing the abuse of clients. They will endeavour to achieve this by:

• promoting a strong and identifiable culture of respect and valuing people;
• ensuring that thorough and systematic recruitment practices are followed which ensure that references are taken up for all care workers, and use is made of all checking procedures, particularly the Disclosures and Barring Service (DBS), formerly known as the Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) disclosure process,
• Encouraging the role of the advocate for clients. Clients who have no relatives or friends to act as advocates should be encouraged to have an independent advocate who will act as spokesperson for the client and participate in care reviews as necessary;
• recognising the fundamental rights of clients to privacy, dignity, maintenance of self-esteem and fulfilment, choice, recognition of diversity, individuality and independence, together with the maintenance of their rights as citizens;
• making relatives and advocates aware of the agencys complaints procedure and encouraging them to comment upon the care received by clients and to participate in reviews of care;
• committing to Quality Assurance and regular Quality Reviews (please see Quality Assurance Policy);
• ensuring that training is provided on the forms and prevention of abuse and that such training is available to all temporary workers;
• taking action whenever there is suspicion that abuse has occurred in any of the forms described below;
• utilising management systems which support and supervise employees in their work and facilitate good communications;
• Encouraging an atmosphere where temporary workers feel able to discuss and therefore prevent the development of potentially abusive situations.
• ensuring that induction procedures for temporary workers include the prevention of abuse of clients;
• giving clients a copy of the agencys complaints procedure upon commencement of care and ensuring that they understand how to use the procedure;
• Encouraging clients, their relatives or advocates to participate in reviews of care and to comment on care received.

Detection

• Clients should be assessed for signs of abuse as part of the initial assessment process, during service planning and reviews. Abuse may be occurring where the client appears withdrawn, depressed, frightened, with irregular sleep patterns, low self-esteem etc. Where abuse is suspected, then it must be recorded and reported without delay;

• Temporary workers are encouraged to look for signs of abuse such as bruises that are said to be self-inflicted or the result of repeated accidents; unconvincing explanations should arouse suspicions. Signs of sexual abuse include pain or injury in the genital area, bloodstains or discharge on underwear or discomfort when walking or sitting;

• Clients appearance and reactions should be noted following visits or outings. Temporary workers should be alert to the potential of abuse by other people outside the agency. A client who is frightened of an abusing relative may ask a care worker to stay with them when the relative visits;
• Temporary workers should be alert for potential financial abuse, particularly when someone else is managing a clients finances.

Action in event of abuse occurring or suspected

If abuse of a client is witnessed and the situation is urgent, the person witnessing the abuse should: 

 Immediately challenge the person who is abusing the client and try to persuade him/her to stop;

• Report the incident to the agency manager or person in charge immediately;
• If the immediate risk to the client has passed the person witnessing the abuse should report it immediately to the agency manager or person in charge. The person reporting the incident should be offered the support of another person if they wish;
• Any suspicions of abuse of a client should be reported to the agency manager or person in charge immediately;
• In the event that the client, a visitor, friend or relative alleges the abuse, the matter should be dealt with according to the agencys complaints procedure;
• All incidents must be reported to the agency manager. Requests to keep quiet (even from the victim) will, ordinarily, have to be refused, although the circumstances surrounding the request must be discussed with the agency manager as part of the investigation process.

 Handling the incident

• The agency manager or person in charge must undertake an investigation and if necessary take action to protect the client. Confidentiality must be maintained;
• The agency manager must follow local authority adult / child protection procedures.  In order to do so effectively, it is essential that the agency engage with these arrangements in advance.
• The client may need to be interviewed but caution is advisable, where other bodies may be involved, in order not to prejudice their investigations. 
• If the client is confused or unable to complain formally, an advocate may take up the complaint on behalf of the client;
• Statements should be taken from witnesses. Accurate written records of the ongoing situation should be kept, (dated and signed) in the clients records.
• Where physical harm has occurred the client should be encouraged to consult their General Practitioner so that a medical examination can be  requested;
• CQC should always be informed, if the incident involved any of the agencys workers.
• If there is reasonable cause to believe that any member of the agencys staff has caused harm to a service user either through action or neglect then that worker must be referred to the PoVA or PoCA list immediately and must be suspended, with pay, pending resolution of the situation.
• If there are identified injuries or if fraud is suspected, the Police must be informed.

The agency manager will decide what action to take and which other external agencies should be involved e.g. social workers or the authority which commissioned the service.

Finally

• Any communication with outside agencies, including the briefest of face to face or telephone conversations, should be logged, with the date and time, and noted in the clients records;
• If the alleged abuser is a member of staff, they will also be dealt with according to the agencys disciplinary procedure;
• The abused client should be offered counselling and support;
• Consideration and support should be offered to other clients who may have witnessed the abuse.

Bullying at work can involve conduct that is unlawful under either common law or statute. WNA & HMR make it clear to everyone that such behaviour will not be tolerated. In these circumstances, the individual who harasses or bullies may have a legal liability under the following:

 Sex Discrimination Act 1975

• Race Relations Act 1976
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
• Employment Rights Act 1996
• Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
• Protection from Harassment Act 1997
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Trade and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (the whistle blowers act)
• Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Acts 1976 & 1989

Examples of Abuse