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CH195-Escorting Policy

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Escorting Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that individuals supported by {{org_field_name}} are safely and appropriately escorted to and from appointments, activities, social outings, and other community settings, in line with their assessed needs and preferences. The policy outlines how we plan, risk assess, and implement escorting arrangements while upholding the principles of dignity, respect, person-centred care, and safeguarding. This policy supports compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, including Regulation 9 (Person-Centred Care), Regulation 11 (Need for Consent), Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment), Regulation 13 (Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment), Regulation 17 (Good Governance), Regulation 18 (Staffing), and Regulation 20 (Duty of Candour), together with the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, including Regulation 18 (Notification of Other Incidents). Escorting arrangements must therefore be person-centred, lawfully consented to, safe, properly risk assessed, delivered by competent staff in sufficient numbers, appropriately recorded, reviewed, and escalated where incidents, safeguarding concerns, or notifiable events arise.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all staff, agency staff, volunteers, and representatives involved in escorting residents of the care home to appointments, activities, social outings, hospital visits, community appointments, and other external locations as part of the care home’s regulated activity. It also applies to any planned or unplanned escorting arrangements where staff accompany a resident on foot, in a company vehicle, taxi, private vehicle authorised for business use, ambulance transport, community transport, or public transport. It includes escorting individuals on foot, in vehicles, or while using public transport, and applies to all outings arranged or supported by {{org_field_name}}.

3. Related Policies

4. Policy Statement

{{org_field_name}} is committed to supporting the independence, rights, and wellbeing of individuals by enabling safe access to community services and opportunities. We ensure that any escorting activity is risk assessed, planned in partnership with the person receiving care, and delivered by competent staff who understand the person’s health, mobility, communication, and behavioural needs.

5. Key Principles and Implementation

Consent, Capacity and Person-Centred Planning

Escorting must only take place with the valid consent of the resident or, where the resident lacks capacity for the specific decision, in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and any lawful authority held by another person. Consent must be decision-specific, recorded, and reviewed whenever circumstances change. Staff must presume capacity unless assessed otherwise, provide information in a way the resident can understand, use communication aids or advocacy where needed, and support the resident to make their own decision to the fullest extent possible. Where a resident lacks capacity to decide about a particular outing, appointment, or escorting arrangement, a best-interests decision must be made, taking account of the resident’s wishes, feelings, beliefs and values, and consulting those lawfully involved in the decision-making process. Any restrictions on a resident’s movement during escorting must be necessary, proportionate, the least restrictive option, and must never amount to unlawful restraint or an unauthorised deprivation of liberty. Escorting arrangements must be clearly reflected in the care plan, including the resident’s preferences, communication needs, mobility needs, cultural and religious considerations, anxieties, known triggers, preferred escorts where appropriate, and any agreed arrangements about family involvement or advocacy.

Risk Assessment, Review and Staffing for Escorting

Before any escorting activity, the service must complete and record an individualised risk assessment that considers the resident’s physical health, mental health, cognition, communication, behaviour, mobility, continence needs, pain, falls risk, sensory impairment, risk of distress, risk of becoming lost or separated, risk associated with medication timings, food and fluid needs, manual handling needs, transport arrangements, environmental risks, infection risks, weather conditions, and the need for emergency contact information. Risk assessments must identify the control measures required to mitigate risk and must specify the number, competence and role of staff needed for the escort. Staffing levels must be sufficient to meet the resident’s needs safely both during the outing and within the care home. Risk assessments for routine escorting arrangements must be reviewed regularly and whenever there is a change in the resident’s health, behaviour, mobility, legal status, care plan, transport method, destination, or identified risk. In addition to planned risk assessments, staff must undertake and record dynamic risk assessment on the day if circumstances change. No escorting activity may proceed where the assessed risks cannot be reduced to a manageable level or where sufficient competent staff are not available.

Escorting to Medical and Professional Appointments

When accompanying a resident to a GP, hospital, dental, optical, therapy, or other professional appointment, staff must ensure that relevant information needed for the safe support of the resident is available, including appointment details, reason for attendance, communication needs, mobility aids, emergency contacts, allergies, current risks, and any instructions relating to medicines, eating, drinking or fasting. Staff must support the resident to communicate their own views and choices wherever possible. Staff may only share confidential information, remain in the consultation, or make decisions on the resident’s behalf where this is consistent with the resident’s wishes, their best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and the lawful authority in place. Outcomes of the appointment, including any changes to treatment, medicines, follow-up actions, referrals, advice given, or concerns identified, must be recorded promptly on return and handed over to the appropriate senior person without delay. Where urgent deterioration, safeguarding concerns, or significant new risks are identified, staff must escalate immediately in accordance with the service’s clinical, safeguarding, incident reporting and duty of candour processes.

Use of Vehicles, Transport Providers and Public Transport

Where escorting involves travel, the mode of transport must be suitable for the resident’s assessed needs and risk profile. Only authorised drivers who have been approved by the organisation and who hold a valid driving licence, appropriate business-use insurance, and any required checks may transport residents. Vehicles used for escorting must be roadworthy, appropriately maintained, suitably equipped, and capable of safely accommodating the resident and any mobility aids. Seatbelts, wheelchair restraints and other safety equipment must be used in accordance with legislation, manufacturer instructions and the resident’s needs assessment. Staff must ensure that any medicines, documentation, continence supplies, moving and handling equipment, drinks, snacks, and emergency items required for the journey are taken where appropriate. Where taxis, community transport, ambulance services, or other external providers are used, the provider must be satisfied so far as reasonably practicable that the arrangement is safe and suitable. Staff using public transport must consider crowding, accessibility, timings, weather, route familiarity, waiting times, and what action to take if the journey is disrupted or unsafe.

Staff Roles, Professional Boundaries and Confidentiality

Staff undertaking escorting duties must remain vigilant, attentive and professionally accountable throughout the activity. Staff must not leave a resident unsupervised unless this has been specifically assessed, agreed, documented in the care plan or risk assessment, and remains safe in the circumstances. Staff must maintain the resident’s dignity, privacy and confidentiality at all times, including in public places and during conversations with third parties. Only information necessary for the resident’s care, treatment or safety may be shared, and this must be done lawfully. Staff must not combine escorting duties with personal errands, unauthorised stops, unofficial visits, or any activity that places the resident at increased risk or creates a conflict of interest. Any refusal by a resident to continue with an outing, board transport, attend an appointment, or remain accompanied must be responded to in a calm, respectful and person-centred way and managed in accordance with the resident’s capacity, risk assessment and care plan.

Emergencies, Incidents, Safeguarding Escalation and Duty of Candour

In the event of an emergency or unplanned incident during escorting, including sudden illness, fall, injury, medication error, behavioural crisis, missing person episode, transport breakdown, delayed return, refusal of care, safeguarding concern, or loss of essential equipment, staff must take immediate action to protect the resident and others, summon emergency assistance where required, inform the office or on-call manager without delay, and follow the relevant emergency, safeguarding and incident procedures. All incidents, accidents, near misses and concerns must be recorded promptly, investigated proportionately, and reviewed for learning. Where an incident meets the threshold for a safeguarding referral, statutory notification, or the duty of candour, the registered manager or delegated senior person must ensure that the appropriate action is taken without delay, including informing relatives or representatives where appropriate and lawful, apologising where required, and notifying the Care Quality Commission and other agencies where this is a notifiable incident.

Safeguarding, Restrictive Practice and Professional Boundaries

Staff must remain alert to any signs of abuse, neglect, exploitation, discriminatory practice, degrading treatment, inappropriate restraint, or psychological harm during escorting activities. The service operates a zero-tolerance approach to abuse and improper treatment. Escorting must never be used to impose control, convenience-based restrictions, humiliation, intimidation, or unnecessary supervision on a resident. Any use of physical intervention must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, recorded, and only used as a last resort to prevent harm. Staff must understand that unnecessary or disproportionate restraint, or escorting arrangements that unlawfully restrict a resident’s liberty, may amount to abuse or improper treatment. Any safeguarding concern identified before, during or after escorting must be reported immediately and managed in line with local safeguarding procedures and the provider’s safeguarding policy.

Record-Keeping and Information Governance

Escorting arrangements must be clearly documented in the resident’s care plan and supporting records, including the purpose of the escort, level of support required, staffing ratio, transport arrangements, consent or capacity considerations, identified risks, control measures, emergency contacts, and any specific instructions for the outing or appointment. A contemporaneous record must be completed after each escorting episode, including departure and return times, destination, staff involved, whether the resident attended as planned, key observations, any incidents or near misses, advice received, changes to needs or treatment, any refusal of attendance or support, and any actions handed over for follow-up. Records must be accurate, complete, timely, stored securely, shared only on a lawful need-to-know basis, and reviewed through supervision and audit.

Insurance, Authorisation and Third-Party Transport

The provider must ensure that escorting activity is covered by appropriate organisational insurance arrangements. No member of staff may use a private vehicle to transport a resident unless expressly authorised by the provider and unless the provider has seen and approved current evidence of driving licence, MOT where applicable, roadworthiness, and business-use motor insurance. Where third-party transport providers are used, the care home must take reasonable steps to satisfy itself that the arrangement is appropriate and safe for the resident’s needs. Insurance arrangements do not remove the provider’s duty to assess and manage risk or to ensure that escorting arrangements are safe, person-centred and lawful.

6. Training, Competency and Supervision

All staff undertaking escorting duties must receive training and supervision appropriate to the level of escorting they are expected to perform. This must include safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act 2005 and consent, moving and handling where relevant, risk assessment and dynamic risk assessment, lone working, incident reporting, duty of candour, confidentiality and information governance, equality and human rights, behaviour support where relevant, basic life support or emergency response arrangements appropriate to role, and the safe use of vehicles or transport equipment where applicable. Competence to escort residents independently must be assessed in practice and kept under review through induction, supervision, observations, appraisal and refresher training. Staff must not undertake escorting duties beyond their competence.

7. Monitoring, Audit and Governance

The registered manager will ensure that escorting arrangements are monitored through care plan review, incident analysis, spot checks, staff supervision, service-user feedback where possible, complaints review, and periodic audit of records and risk assessments. Themes and trends arising from escorting incidents, late returns, missed appointments, transport issues, safeguarding concerns, or documentation gaps will be reviewed to identify learning, reduce risk, and improve practice. Where audit or review identifies deficits, action plans will be implemented and monitored to completion.

8. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where there is a change in legislation, CQC guidance, local safeguarding procedures, operational practice, following an incident, complaint, safeguarding concern, audit finding, or learning review relevant to escorting arrangements. Review of this policy will include consideration of incidents, near misses, feedback from residents and relatives where appropriate, staff feedback, and any CQC or local authority concerns relating to the safety or management of escorting activities.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.

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