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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Compliance with the Health and Social Care Standards Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that {{org_field_name}} operates in full compliance with the Health and Social Care Standards (Scotland), ensuring that every person receiving care experiences safe, compassionate, and person-centred support. The policy provides clear guidelines on how we integrate the standards into daily practice, ensuring that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in upholding these expectations.

This policy ensures that:

• Care is dignified, compassionate, and responsive to individual needs.
• Staff understand and implement the five key principles underpinning the Health and Social Care Standards.
• All services provided by {{org_field_name}} comply with the Health and Social Care Standards, the requirements of the Care Inspectorate, the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011, and all other legislation and guidance applicable to registered care at home and support services in Scotland.
• Individuals receiving care are treated with respect and encouraged to make informed choices about their care and support.
• Systems are in place for monitoring, evaluating, and improving compliance with these standards.

This policy also supports compliance with the Care Inspectorate’s current quality framework for support services, including care at home and supported living models of support. The framework expects services to evidence how well they support people’s wellbeing, how good leadership and staffing arrangements are, how well care and support is planned, and the service’s overall capacity for improvement.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All staff, including care workers, supervisors, and management, ensuring they uphold the standards in daily practice.
• Agency and temporary staff, ensuring they comply with the same quality expectations as permanent employees.
• Volunteers, students, contractors and any other person carrying out a regulated role or providing support on behalf of {{org_field_name}}, where applicable.
• The Responsible Individual, registered manager, supervisors and office-based staff involved in assessment, care planning, staffing, quality assurance, complaints, records, communication or regulatory compliance.
• People we support, their families, and representatives, ensuring they are aware of their rights under the standards.
• External professionals and partners, ensuring collaboration aligns with regulatory compliance and quality care delivery.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy is informed by, and must be read alongside, the following legislation, standards, codes and guidance applicable to care at home and support services in Scotland:

• Health and Social Care Standards: My Support, My Life – setting out the outcomes people should experience when using health, social care or social work services, including care delivered in a person’s own home.
• Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 – establishing the Care Inspectorate’s regulatory functions in relation to registered care services.
• Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 – establishing the framework for the regulation of care services and the social service workforce.
• Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 – including requirements on welfare, personal plans, fitness of providers, complaints, staffing, records and notifications.
• Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 and associated statutory guidance – requiring care service providers to ensure appropriate staffing, including suitably qualified and competent staff in sufficient numbers to provide safe and high-quality care and support.
• Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers 2024 – setting out the standards of practice, conduct and behaviour expected of workers and employers in Scotland.
• Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 and Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 – requiring appropriate PVG scheme membership and disclosure checks for staff and volunteers carrying out regulated roles with protected adults and/or children.
• Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 and the associated Code of Practice – supporting the protection of adults at risk of harm.
• Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 – supporting lawful decision-making for adults who lack capacity, using the principles of benefit, least restriction, taking account of the adult’s wishes and consultation with relevant others.
• Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, where relevant to people receiving support.
• Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013, where people receive or arrange care and support through self-directed support options.
• Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, where unpaid carers are involved in, or affected by, a person’s care and support arrangements.
• Equality Act 2010 – protecting people from unlawful discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity.
• Human Rights Act 1998 – supporting respect for people’s rights, dignity, private and family life, liberty, autonomy and protection from degrading treatment.
• UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 – governing the lawful, fair and secure processing of personal and special category information.
• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated regulations – supporting the health, safety and welfare of people receiving support, staff and others affected by the service.
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 – protecting workers who raise whistleblowing concerns in the public interest.
• Care Inspectorate Quality Framework for Support Services: Care at Home, including Supported Living Models of Support – used for self-evaluation, scrutiny and improvement.

4. The Five Key Principles of the Health and Social Care Standards

The Health and Social Care Standards are based on five key principles:

4.1 Dignity and Respect

• Every person is treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.
• Individuals’ rights to privacy, cultural identity, and personal choices are upheld.
• Staff communicate effectively and listen actively, ensuring people feel heard.

4.2 Compassion

• Care is delivered with kindness, empathy, and emotional sensitivity.
• People receiving care feel valued, safe, and reassured.
• Staff are trained to recognise and respond to emotional needs.

4.3 Be Included

• People we support are fully involved in decisions about their care and support.
• Services are designed to be accessible, inclusive, and person-centred.
• Families and advocates are involved where appropriate.

Where a person has reduced capacity or requires support to make or communicate decisions, staff must take all reasonable steps to involve the person as fully as possible. This may include using preferred communication methods, visual information, interpreters, independent advocacy, family members, welfare attorneys, guardians or other representatives where legally appropriate.

4.4 Responsive Care and Support

• Each person’s care is tailored to their needs, preferences, and changing circumstances.
• Regular assessments and reviews ensure care plans remain relevant.
• Staff respond promptly and effectively to any concerns or requests.
• Personal plans must be outcome-focused, dynamic and reviewed whenever needs, wishes, risks or circumstances change.
• Staff will support positive risk-taking and risk enablement, balancing the person’s rights, choices and independence with the duty to protect people from avoidable harm.

4.5 Wellbeing

• People we support have opportunities to participate in activities that enhance their physical, emotional, and social wellbeing.
• A focus on preventative care, nutrition, exercise, and mental health support.
• Staff promote independence and self-care, encouraging individuals to make choices about their daily lives.

These principles must be applied in a rights-based, person-led and outcome-focused way, recognising that people are experts in their own experiences, needs, wishes and outcomes.

5. How {{org_field_name}} Ensures Compliance

5.1 Staff Training and Development

To ensure all employees understand and implement the Health and Social Care Standards, we provide:

• Mandatory induction training covering the five principles.
• Ongoing refresher training and competency assessments.
• Workshops on person-centred care, dignity, and communication.
• Supervision and mentoring to reinforce best practices.
• Training and discussion on the SSSC Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers 2024, including workers’ responsibilities to uphold rights, maintain professional boundaries, report harm, work safely, maintain records and engage in continuous professional learning.
• Training on adult support and protection, safeguarding, whistleblowing, equality and human rights, infection prevention and control, medication support where relevant, confidentiality, data protection, complaints, risk enablement and health and safety.
• Role-specific learning and development to ensure workers are competent and confident to meet the assessed needs, wishes and outcomes of the people they support.
• Support for workers who are required to register with the SSSC to meet and maintain their registration requirements, including continuous professional learning.

5.2 Person-Centred Personal Planning

Each person receiving care and support from {{org_field_name}} will have a written personal plan that is right for them and sets out how their assessed needs, wishes, choices, rights and personal outcomes will be met. The personal plan will be developed with the person and, where appropriate and with consent or lawful authority, their family, carers, advocate, welfare attorney, guardian, representatives and relevant professionals.

A personal plan will be in place within 28 days of the person starting to use the service. The plan will be reviewed with the person at least once every six months, or sooner where there is any change in the person’s needs, wishes, outcomes, health, risks, medication, communication needs, capacity, support arrangements or personal circumstances.

Personal plans will include, where relevant:

• the person’s preferred name and how they wish to be addressed;
• what matters to the person, including their strengths, abilities, routines, goals and personal outcomes;
• assessed health, social care, emotional, cultural, spiritual, communication and wellbeing needs;
• the person’s wishes and choices about how, when and by whom support is provided;
• risk assessments and risk enablement arrangements;
• medication support, nutrition, hydration, mobility, falls, skin integrity, moving and assisting, infection prevention and control, and other health-related support where applicable;
• communication needs, including preferred language, accessible formats, interpreters, communication aids or advocacy;
• people to be contacted in agreed circumstances, including emergency contacts and relevant professionals;
• any legal decision-making arrangements, including welfare power of attorney, guardianship, intervention orders or advance statements where applicable;
• arrangements for review, evaluation and updating of the plan;
• contingency arrangements for emergencies, missed visits, staff absence or changes in support.

The person will be offered a copy of their personal plan in a format they can understand. Staff must read, understand and follow the personal plan, and must record care and support accurately, respectfully and in a way that evidences whether planned outcomes are being met.

5.3 Written Agreement and Information Before Support Starts

Before, or as soon as practicable after, the service starts, {{org_field_name}} will provide the person and/or their representative with clear information about the service in a format they can understand. This will include the aims and objectives of the service, contact details including out-of-hours arrangements, what support can and cannot be provided, charges where applicable, complaints arrangements, cover arrangements for staff absence, and how to raise concerns.

Where applicable, the person will receive a written agreement setting out the service to be provided, when and how support will be delivered, any charges, arrangements for changing or ending the service, and the responsibilities of {{org_field_name}} and the person receiving support.

5.4 Quality Assurance and Monitoring

To ensure compliance, we implement a robust quality monitoring system, which includes:

• Regular audits of care delivery, documentation, and service outcomes.
• Feedback mechanisms, including surveys and complaints procedures.
• Supervision and performance appraisals to ensure staff uphold standards.
• Incident reporting and response mechanisms to address issues promptly.

Quality assurance will be based on the Care Inspectorate’s current Quality Framework for Support Services, including care at home and supported living. The service will use self-evaluation to ask: “How are we doing?”, “How do we know?” and “What are we going to do now?” Findings from audits, incidents, complaints, compliments, staff feedback, supervision, service user feedback, professional feedback and inspection outcomes will be used to inform improvement planning.

5.5 Records, Confidentiality and Information Sharing

{{org_field_name}} will maintain accurate, respectful, clear and up-to-date records in line with legal, regulatory and organisational requirements. Records will evidence the care and support planned and delivered, changes in need or risk, communication with the person and relevant others, incidents, complaints, medication support, reviews, outcomes and actions taken.

Personal information will be processed lawfully, fairly and securely in line with the UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018 and organisational confidentiality policies. Information will only be shared where there is a lawful basis to do so, including consent, contractual necessity, legal obligation, vital interests, safeguarding, regulatory requirements or another legitimate lawful basis. Staff must explain confidentiality and its limits to people receiving support and must report any actual or suspected data breach in line with organisational procedure.

5.6 Promoting Dignity and Inclusion

We ensure every individual feels valued and respected by:

• Encouraging active participation in decision-making.
• Ensuring services are accessible and inclusive.
• Providing interpreters, assistive technology, and advocacy services where needed.

5.7 Safe, Effective and Appropriate Staffing

{{org_field_name}} will comply with the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 and associated statutory guidance by ensuring that, at all times, suitably qualified, competent and skilled staff are deployed in appropriate numbers to provide safe, high-quality care and support and to promote the best outcomes for people receiving support.

Staffing arrangements will be informed by:

• people’s assessed needs, wishes, choices, risks and outcomes;
• personal plans, risk assessments and visit requirements;
• staff skills, competence, experience, training and registration requirements;
• continuity of care and the importance of positive relationships;
• travel time, visit duration, complexity of support and geographical factors;
• staff wellbeing, supervision, support and workload;
• contingency arrangements for sickness, absence, emergencies, missed visits, adverse weather or service disruption.

Managers will monitor staffing levels, skill mix, staff deployment and continuity of care. Where staffing, resourcing or operational pressures may affect safe or high-quality care, managers and staff must escalate concerns promptly and take action to reduce risk.

5.8 Safer Recruitment, PVG and SSSC Registration

{{org_field_name}} will operate safer recruitment procedures to ensure that people employed or engaged by the service are suitable to work in social care and have the values, skills and competence required for their role. Recruitment checks will include identity checks, employment history, references, right to work checks, role-specific qualification and registration checks, and PVG scheme checks where required.

From 1 April 2025, staff and volunteers carrying out a regulated role must be members of the PVG scheme. {{org_field_name}} must have received the appropriate PVG scheme disclosure before the staff member or volunteer starts any regulated role. It is not sufficient for an application to have been submitted.

Staff required to register with the SSSC must apply for, obtain and maintain registration within the required timescales for their role. {{org_field_name}} will support staff to understand and meet SSSC registration conditions, continuous professional learning requirements and the SSSC Codes of Practice.

5.9 Complaints, Feedback, Concerns and Continuous Improvement

{{org_field_name}} will actively encourage feedback, comments, concerns and complaints from people receiving support, families, carers, representatives, advocates, staff and professionals. Feedback will be welcomed as an opportunity to improve the quality, safety and responsiveness of the service.

People will be given information about how to complain to {{org_field_name}} and how to contact the Care Inspectorate directly. People do not need to complain to {{org_field_name}} before contacting the Care Inspectorate if they prefer to raise the matter directly with the regulator.

Complaints will be handled fairly, promptly, transparently and without discrimination or victimisation. The service will keep clear records of complaints, investigations, outcomes, apologies, learning and improvement actions. Themes from complaints, concerns, incidents and feedback will be reviewed as part of quality assurance and improvement planning.

5.10 Adult Support and Protection and Safeguarding

{{org_field_name}} is committed to protecting adults at risk of harm and to promoting people’s rights, safety, dignity and wellbeing. Staff must be alert to signs of harm, abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, self-neglect, undue pressure, coercion or unsafe practice.

Any allegation, suspicion or disclosure of harm must be taken seriously, recorded accurately and reported without delay in line with {{org_field_name}}’s Adult Support and Protection and Safeguarding Policy, local Adult Support and Protection procedures, Care Inspectorate notification requirements and any other applicable legal or professional duties.

Staff must not investigate safeguarding concerns beyond what is necessary to ensure immediate safety and preserve information. Managers must ensure appropriate referrals, notifications and protective actions are taken, and that the person is involved and supported as far as possible.

5.11 Openness, Learning and Duty of Candour

{{org_field_name}} will promote an open, honest and learning culture. Where care or support has caused, or may have caused, harm or loss, staff must report this promptly to their manager. The service will take immediate action to support the person, reduce further risk, inform relevant people and agencies where required, and identify learning.

Where the organisational duty of candour applies, {{org_field_name}} will follow the statutory duty of candour procedure, including notification, apology, review, support and reporting requirements.

5.12 Professional Boundaries, Gifts, Money and Property

Staff must maintain professional boundaries at all times and must not abuse the trust, dependency or vulnerability of any person receiving care or support. Staff must follow organisational policies on gifts, bequests, personal relationships, social media, confidentiality, lone working and professional conduct.

Where staff support a person with shopping, money, receipts, property or financial transactions, this must be agreed in the person’s personal plan and recorded clearly. Staff must not borrow from, lend to, sell to, buy from, or enter into private financial arrangements with people receiving support.

6. Roles and Responsibilities

6.1 Responsibilities of All Staff

• Uphold the Health and Social Care Standards in daily practice.
• Ensure care is person-centred and responsive to individual needs.
• Communicate effectively and treat all individuals with respect and dignity.
• Participate in training and development activities to enhance competency.
• Read, understand and follow each person’s personal plan, risk assessments and communication needs before providing support.
• Record care and support accurately, respectfully and promptly.
• Report any change in a person’s needs, wishes, wellbeing, capacity, risks, medication, environment or support arrangements.
• Report safeguarding concerns, incidents, near misses, complaints, missed visits, poor practice, staffing concerns or unsafe conditions without delay.
• Work in line with the SSSC Codes of Practice 2024, including maintaining professional boundaries, respecting confidentiality, promoting rights and working safely.
• Take part in supervision, training, continuous professional learning and reflective practice.

6.2 Responsibilities of Managers and Supervisors

• Provide leadership and guidance in implementing the standards.
• Conduct regular staff supervision and performance monitoring.
• Address any compliance issues or gaps in practice promptly.
• Ensure policies and procedures are aligned with Care Inspectorate regulations.
• Ensure personal plans are completed within 28 days of the service starting and reviewed at least six-monthly or sooner when required.
• Monitor staffing arrangements, skill mix, continuity, staff competence and service capacity in line with the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019.
• Ensure safe recruitment, PVG, induction, SSSC registration and training requirements are met before staff work unsupervised or carry out regulated roles.
• Ensure complaints, incidents, adult protection concerns, duty of candour events and Care Inspectorate notifications are managed in line with legal and organisational requirements.
• Use audits, feedback, supervision, observations, complaints and incidents to identify learning and improvement actions.
• Promote a culture where staff can raise concerns, whistleblow and report unsafe practice without fear of detriment.

6.3 Responsibilities of the Organisation

• Ensure that the principles of the Health and Social Care Standards are embedded in all aspects of service provision.
• Provide ongoing training, supervision, and resources to support staff compliance.
• Maintain an open culture where people feel safe to raise concerns and provide feedback.
• Work collaboratively with the Care Inspectorate, SSSC, local authorities, Health and Social Care Partnerships, NHS professionals, adult support and protection services, advocacy services, carers, families and other relevant agencies to promote safe, lawful, person-led and outcome-focused care and support.
• Ensure the service’s aims, objectives, policies, procedures, staffing arrangements, training, quality assurance and improvement plans remain aligned with current Scottish legislation, Health and Social Care Standards, SSSC Codes of Practice and Care Inspectorate quality frameworks.

7. Related Policies

This policy should be read alongside:

• Person-Centred Care Planning Policy
• Training and Continuing Professional Development Policy
• Safeguarding and Protection Policy
• Supervision and Appraisal Policy
• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy

8. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where there are changes to legislation, statutory guidance, Care Inspectorate requirements, SSSC Codes of Practice, Health and Social Care Standards, organisational practice, inspection findings, complaints, incidents, safeguarding learning or identified service improvement needs.

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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.