Chapter 3: ... continued
Conclusion
As we now come to the end of Chapter 3 you should have an even fuller picture of some of the key issues that affect your role as a personal assistant, particularly those aspects that relate to the potential for abuse. Chapter 4 will concentrate on health and safety matters, but, before we start focusing on those, let’s just recap on the main learning points from Chapter 3:
Abuse can happen to anyone, but older and/or disabled people are more prone to abuse. It is therefore essential to be tuned in to potential for abuse.
The effects of abuse can be very harmful indeed, and so every effort needs to be made to ensure that personal assistants are alert to the possibilities of abuse.
It is also important to know what to do if you come across abuse or suspect it is taking place.
The relationship between abuse and confidentiality can be complex at time, so you need to be aware of your responsibilities in making sure that confidentiality is respected in general, but over-ridden where necessary in matters relating to abuse.
Pause for thought
Once again it is time to review what you have learned and how it relates to your specific role.
What strikes you as most significant from the chapter you have just completed?
Is there anything that has surprised you? If so, in what way?
Is there anything that puzzles you or that you would like to know more about?
How might what you have learned help you in your role?
Taking your learning forward
There is helpful information from The Care Council for Wales that should tell you much of what you need to know.
There is a document written for volunteers but which has a lot of very helpful and relevant material for personal assistants too available from Volunteer Now.
A good basic introduction is to be found in this book:
Martin, J. (2007) Safeguarding Adults.
Finally, you can check your knowledge using this short quiz before moving on.