What are policies and procedures (2023)

Health and safety policies and procedures put in place in social care settings protect those who work in and use the services by minimising the risks of injury, illness and harm. They also ensure that the environment is safe and fit for purpose, and that staff are properly trained and equipped to carry out their roles safely.

Whether it is a patient, family member, staff member, or another service user, individuals should feel confident that they are safe and protected at all times.

Compared to other sectors the range of policies a health and social care provider needs is extensive. An increase in complexity of care or support typically means increased numbers or policies and procedures too.

In order to register as a care service in any part of the United Kingdom you will need to have rigorous policies and procedures in place. They must:

• Comply with current legislation, (such as The Care Act, 2014)
• Comply with the latest regulations from your national regulator for standards in health and social care (CQC in England, Care Inspectorate Scotland or Care Inspectorate Wales, RQIA in Northern Ireland).
• Reflect best practice in the area they cover

It’s important to note that policies and procedures need to be updated to reflect any relevant legislative or regulatory changes. For this reason, and the cost, expertise and time needed to assemble the right policies and procedures in the first place, many care providers opt for a digital policies and procedures solution.

What policies and procedures are needed in health and social care?

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Policies and procedures are used together to enable those working in a care setting, but to understand them properly it is important to disentangle the two and establish what each means separately.

In short, a policy in health and social care sets out what is to be done and why, and how the organisation seeks to approach specific areas.

For example, a Whistleblowing policy would outline (but not be limited to):

• What whistleblowing is and why it is different from a grievance
• Why whistleblowing might be difficult
• Why whistleblowing is important to protect service users, the organisation, and staff
• How we want to approach whistleblowing (e.g. how to encourage it, organisational culture)
• Examples of areas and concerns that could necessitate whistleblowing
• The ways staff can raise a concern internally and to whom
• How staff concerns should be handled by management/the organisation
• Recording processes
• Identifying/working with external bodies.
• Contacts for internal/external whistleblowing

A procedure in health and social care is the written set of step-by-step instructions for how a specific activity is to be conducted. For example, in the case of medicines administration.

Unlike a policy it is less about the overall attitude and approach. It will guide a member of staff through each step, for example when in assisting service users with eating and drinking or administering medication.

Policies and procedures in health and social care are important to protect the people you provide care and support for, and to ensure your organisation is on the right side of regulations and the law.

If you are starting a new care service and looking to make your registration smooth and successful, or you want to ensure continuous compliance, Access Policies and Procedures has all the expertly written, easy to use policies and procedures you need.

As I outlined to you above, policies and procedures in health and social care require a lot of time and expertise to produce. While lots of providers used to outsource this work to consultancies (and pay a fair whack for it), policies and procedures software has taken off and is starting to take over!

Access Policies and Procedures is a market leading policies and procedures solution, with all the documentation you need to implement and maintain regulatory compliance. Watch a short on-demand video demonstration of the software now.

You can even download the contents list of policies and procedures for domiciliary/community or residential care settings via the links below:

• Contents list for Residential Care
• Contents list for Domiciliary Care

Find out more

Related policies and procedures resources

Learn more about the Care Quality Commission and the importance of staying up to date with all the policies and procedures when you're a care provider.