AG5 Implement policies to manage risk to individuals and third parties

Overview

This standard is about implementing organisational or local/regional policies to help minimise risk of harm to individuals and third parties. The standard involves translating risk management policies into practical guidelines and providing colleagues with advice and support to help them arrive at effective decisions in relation to reducing risk. In some situations, you may have to take timely and effective action to deal with risks or incidents or consult with more experienced colleagues about the situation. You need to work with other agencies in managing risks effectively and make recommendations for improvements to policies and practices, if required. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. How to conduct formal, periodic reviews of individual cases
2. The legislation relating to child protection
3. Local structures and bodies with responsibility for developing local overarching, multi-agency policies and protocols for managing risks to children
4. The range of risks that substance misusers might pose to children and the potential impact of these risks
5. Your own responsibilities under child protection legislation
6. How to raise colleagues’ awareness of risk issues
7. Reflective questioning techniques
8. How to present recommendations for improvements to risk management policies and practices
9. Organisational and inter-agency record-keeping protocols
10. The development opportunities available to help colleagues assess and manage risk
11. How to facilitate learning from incidents or potential incidents that have been successfully prevented
12. Other agencies involved in managing risks to individuals and third parties
13. The protocols for sharing information on risks with other agencies
14. How to work with other agencies to help them understand the possible risks to individuals and third parties, assess and communicate these risks effectively
15. Your own level of competence
16. Colleagues’ levels of competence
17. How colleagues can help in dealing with risks, incidents, and situations beyond your own level of competence
18. Organisational policies and guidelines on managing risks to individuals and third parties
19. How to translate policies into practical guidelines
20. Local/regional and national policies and guidelines on managing risks to individuals and third parties
21. The difference between serious untoward incidents and other incidents or accidents and the different policies and procedures that must be followed in each case
22. How professional anxiety about risk can be managed as part of the overall risk plan
23. How to carry out risk assessments and develop risk management plans with substance misusers
24. The ways in which individuals’ co-existing conditions may affect risk
25. The ways in which social, gender, ethnic and cultural issues may affect risk
26. The range of risk management options that can be applied in different situations
27. How to review incidents with colleagues to enable learning to take place and prevent similar situations and issues arising in the future
28. The harms that may be caused by substance misuse
29. The nature of dependency
30. The range of risks to substance misusers and third parties

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. work within current legislation, policies and guidelines on managing risks to individuals and third parties
2. raise colleagues’ awareness of risk issues and disseminate relevant information about managing risk
3. provide colleagues with practical guidance and development opportunities to help them assess and manage risk in line with policies
4. ensure that colleagues assess and evaluate risks to individuals and/or third parties correctly, in line with policies and guidelines
5. discuss with colleagues the options for managing risks and the possible consequences of decisions on risk
6. review specific cases and their associated risks with colleagues
7. take timely and effective action, in consultation with colleagues where feasible, to deal with risks and incidents when the situation has gone beyond the level of competence of the colleague directly involved
8. review incidents with colleagues to enable learning to take place and prevent similar situations and issues arising in the future
9. consult colleagues about problems and issues around risk, when the situation is beyond your own area of competence
10. work with other agencies to help them understand the possible risks to individuals and/or third parties, assess and communicate these risks effectively, within agreed protocols
11. make recommendations for improvements to risk management policies, guidelines and practices, if required

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: Core 3 Health, safety and security