Accountability

As a practitioner, you are personally accountable for your professional work

As an occupational therapy practitioner, you are accountable to society, your service users, your employer/s and your registration body, the Health Professions Council (HPC). They are four discrete areas and you can be held to account in all four (Lynch 2009, p22.).
 
You must be aware of your legal and professional obligations and how they impact upon your work. These are defined in law, contractual agreements, standards and guidelines. Ignorance of these is no defence should your practice be called into question.

You are accountable to society

If you commit a criminal offence you will be tried in the criminal courts, which act in the public interest; for example, causing harm to a service user that is deemed a criminal offence, such as assault.

You are accountable to your service users

You must endeavour to provide the highest standard of care at all times. If you were to cause harm to a service user, they may hold you to account through the civil courts, seeking compensation. The service user may take your employer to court, as the organisation is more likely to have funds to pay compensation. Some employers will accept liability for negligent acts and/or omissions by their employees (vicarious liability), but only when the practitioner is working within the terms and conditions of their employment and within the remit of their job description. Self employed practitioners should ensure that they have sufficient insurance (professional indemnity) to protect themselves should such a situation arise. More information is available from COT/BAOT Briefings 66 Professional indemnity insurance for BAOT members (COT 2006a).

You are accountable to your employers

You must always work within the terms and conditions of your employment and within the remit of your job description. If you fall short of these requirements, the employer can hold you to account through a system of grievance and disciplinary procedures, with resulting sanctions or possible removal from employment. In such circumstances your employer, or a service user, may consider informing HPC as your registration body.

You are accountable to your registration body

Registration bodies, such as HPC, are concerned with your fitness and competence to practise. Should you fall short of their standards, they will hold you to account through their complaints and hearings processes, possibly resulting in the imposition of conditions of practice, or suspension or removal from the register. If a professional member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT) is removed from the HPC register they may be deemed ‘a member not in good standing’ by BAOT and therefore no longer eligible to be a member.
 

1 Accountability - standards

1.1  You abide by legislation (statutes, common law and regulations) that is relevant to your location and area of work

Criteria
1.1.1 You participate in training or self-directed learning in the legislation that relates to your work
1.1.2 You practise according to legislation that relates to your work
1.1.3 Your own workplace policies or strategies take account of any legal requirements that relate to your work
 

1.2  You work and conduct yourself within the professional and ethical boundaries of your profession, taking into account any national regulatory requirements that are applicable to your location and area of work

Criteria
1.2.1 You practise according to any codes of conduct or standards that relate to your work, as defined by your profession and national regulatory bodies
1.2.2 Your own workplace policies or strategies take account of any such requirements
 

1.3  You work within the terms and conditions of your contractual arrangements and within the remit of your job or service description

Criteria
1.3.1 You have a contract giving clear terms and conditions of employment
1.3.2 You have a contract or job/service description which clearly defines the remit of your role
1.3.3 Any activity that expands the  scope of occupational therapy practice is formally recognised by your employer and incorporated into your job description
1.3.4 You have sufficient professional indemnity insurance, arranged personally, through your employer or through professional body membership
 

1.4  You abide by national and local practice standards, guidelines and protocols that are applicable to your location and area of work

Criteria
1.4.1 You participate in training or self-directed learning in national and local standards, guidelines and protocols that relate to your work
1.4.2 You practise according to the national and local guidelines and protocols that relate to your work
1.4.3 Any occasion when your practice differs from national standards, guidelines or protocols is reported, recorded and an explanation given
1.4.4 Your own workplace standards, guidelines and protocols are written to take account of national requirements
 
Right click and save Professional Standards for Occupational Therapy Audit Tool - Accountability
 
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These standards link with: 
Code of ethics and professional conduct, section(s) Preface; 1.1, 3.3; 4.1; 4.3; 4.4 (COT 2010a) 
Guidance about compliance: essential standards of quality and safety, outcome(s) 12 (CQC 2010)
Doing well, doing better: Standards for health services in Wales, standard(s) 1; 25 (Welsh Assembly Government 2010)
Quality standards for health and social care, section(s) 4.1; 5.3 (DHSSPS 2006a)
Standards of conduct, performance and ethics, standard(s) 3; 4; 12; 13 (HPC 2008)
Standards of proficiency: occupational therapists, section(s) 1a (HPC 2007)