My mums homecare provider (Scotland) has recently started sending out male carers to my mum for personal hygeine related tasks. She has refused them citing that she doesnt feel comfortable with male carers.
My understanding is that -
Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014: Regulation 10
10(1) Service users must be treated with dignity and respect
This states providers must have regard to the following guidance:
When providing intimate or personal care, providers must make every reasonable effort to make sure that they respect people’s preferences about who delivers their care and treatment, such as requesting staff of a specified gender
So can care providers force the issue or can we push to not send male carers?
Yeah I tried that and couldnt come up with a definitive answer. I thought i’d try here in the hope that someone may have dealt with this kind of thing before.
As far as I can tell, you are right - you can’t insist but she should be consulted and they should try to help her. But I can’t find any law allowing her to insist. Maybe someone else knows more?
It’s more common for there to be a surplus of female careworkers in my experience, but I believe they may have a different proportion and can only do their best. Is a difference care company a possibility? How did they react to her refusal?
@Graham_2104 , really the care provider should provied a female carer for your mum doing washing her and other things, there is supose to be some act or some legal rights. I would email the carers helpline who can point you in the right dierection.
So I spent the past while trawling through stuff and found the scottish legislation for carers.
In here it states at 1.4 If I require intimate personal care, this is carried out in a dignified way, with my privacy and personal preferences respected.
I’m fairly certain that would cover her preference. I have emailed the Care Inspectorate (Scottish CQC) to see what is covered under preference.
If i can ask what the carers helpline number is?
@Greta The care is free provided by local council. When she refused they waffled on about how they dont discriminate between male and female carers, which is all good as I believe anyone should be able to be a carer but peoples choices to not have an unknown solo male carer entering her home for intimate hygiene must also be respected.
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Yes, that sounds a good idea. I only wrote because I could not find anything in the legislation to support you - it’s complicated though. I do agree with you that your mother should have the right to have a female carer.
I do not think the Act says you can insist on single-sex care provision. If you think I’m wrong, please supply chapter and verse! I looked at the Act itself.
733/734 of the Equality ACT covers it.
There is mention of same sex wards too. Without any prior notice I was booked into a mixed sex ward when I had my hysterectomy, 40 years ago. Had I been told, I would have gone to Southampton instead.
When I had an op in the Spire or Nuffield Hospital I had a catheter removed by a male member of staff, and I didn’t like that either!
There is a time and place for an “all girls together” policy, and this should be respected.
Also look at “Protected Characteristics”.
When I did my degree we discussed these issues, but that was prior to the Act being updated, however but it’s all the same principles.
Yes, fair enough, but all I meant was: it is not mandatory. “Can”, not “shall”. “Has to be justified”, and hopefully that works. But let’s hope it works out in the present case. I admit I did not do the Equality Act in any detail when I trained as a solicitor.
Hi Graham, so you can definitely have a preference, and they have to try their best to meet that preference, though it may not always be possible, I would suggest talking to the agency’s manager and make it very clear that if the preference can’t be met, you’ll find one that can, don’t nervous about putting pressure on them