Dear Aunt Agony

I'm a member of a self-help group for people living with a very debilitating condition. Several committee members are keen to set up a home visiting scheme for those members who are too ill to attend meetings. Are there any policies or procedures of which the group should be aware?

Mystified of Mackworth

There certainly are! Home visiting is a veritable can of worms if you look at all the things that could go wrong. First of all, the people doing the visiting aren't going to be trained carers. Volunteers naturally want to do the best they can for their clients and there is a danger that a well-meaning volunteer could go too far and get themselves or the group into trouble. You need to put an all-embracing policy in place to cover yourselves against these things.

First there's the question of confidentiality. Mentioning to someone else that Mrs So-and-so sits on her own all day and can't get up unassisted could be asking for a burglar to call if overheard by the wrong people. Also don't discuss the person's health in front of other visitors - they may not wish others to know details of their condition.

Then there's lone working - if the visiting volunteer is on their own, nobody knows where they are or what they're doing. Arrange for someone to check up if a visitor hasn't been heard from by a certain time.

Don't carry out personal care tasks or lifting. If you haven't been trained you could injure the person and render the group liable to legal action. And on no account administer medication to the person you're visiting.

If you carry out shopping tasks, protect yourself by keeping receipts. Misunderstandings can easily occur over money and if an elderly or disabled person forgets money was returned to them, they or their relatives may accuse the visitor. Don't accept offers of money for services rendered as again this can be misunderstood.

Don't offer advice or sign anything on behalf of the person you're visiting. In particular, don't raise their expectations about benefits. If they want advice, refer them to an organisation that can provide appropriate professional assistance.

Finally, check the group's insurance situation - you'll probably find no insurance company will cover you unless you have policies in place that make it clear visits are entirely social, intended to support the person's morale.

Derby CVS has a factsheet on this subject (Number 20) which goes into more detail. Contact Nick Meakin on 01332 227708 for a copy.

(from Network News, Jan/Feb 2004)

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