# The Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007, Regulation 15: Arrangements for the provision of prescribed services

Extent: N.I.

(1) Paragraphs (2) to (12) apply only to the supply of domiciliary care workers to service users by an agency which is acting otherwise than as an employment agency.
(2) The registered person shall, after consultation with the service user, or if consultation with the service user is not practicable, after consultation with the service user’s representative, prepare or ensure that a written plan (“the service user plan”) is prepared which shall—
(a) be consistent with any plan for the care of the service user prepared by any Health and Social Services Trust or Health and Social Services Board or other person with responsibility for commissioning personal social services for service users;
(b) specify the service user’s needs in respect of which prescribed services are to be provided;
(c) specify how those needs are to be met by the provision of prescribed services.
(3) The registered person shall—
(a) make the service user’s plan available to:
(i) the service user;
(ii) any representative of a service user who was consulted on its preparation or revision;
(b) keep the service user plan under review;
(c) where appropriate, and after consultation with the service user, or if consultation with the service user is not practicable, after consultation with the service user’s representative, revise the service user plan; and
(d) notify the service user or, where applicable, the service user’s representative, of any such revision.
(4) The registered person shall, so far as is practicable, ensure that the prescribed services which the agency arranges to be provided to any service user meets the service user’s needs specified in the service user plan prepared in respect of him.
(5) The registered person shall, for the purpose of providing prescribed services to service users, so far as is practicable—
(a) ascertain and take into account the service user's, and where appropriate their carer's, wishes and feelings;
(b) provide the service user, and where appropriate their carer, with comprehensive information and suitable choices as to the prescribed services that may be provided to them; and
(c) encourage and enable the service user, and where appropriate their carer, to make informed decisions with respect to such prescribed services.
(6) The registered person shall ensure that where the agency arranges the provision of prescribed services to a service user, the arrangements shall—
(a) specify the procedure to be followed after an allegation of abuse, neglect or other harm has been made;
(b) specify the circumstances in which a domiciliary care worker may administer or assist in the administration of the service user’s medication, or any other tasks relating to the service user’s health care, and the procedures to be adopted in such circumstances;
(c) include arrangements to assist the service user with mobility in his home, where required; and
(d) specify the procedure to be followed where a domiciliary care worker acts as agent for, or receives money from, a service user.
(7) The registered person shall make arrangements for the recording, handling, safe keeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines used in the course of the provision of prescribed services to service users.
(8) The registered person shall make suitable arrangements, including training, to ensure that domiciliary care workers operate a safe system of working, including in relation to lifting and moving service users and the operation of any special equipment.
(9) The registered person shall make arrangements, by training or by other measures, to prevent service users being harmed or suffering abuse or neglect or being placed at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.
(10) The registered person shall ensure that no service user is subject to physical restraint unless restraint of the kind employed is the only practicable means of securing the welfare of that or any other service user and there are exceptional circumstances.
(11) On any occasion on which a service user is subject to physical restraint by a person who works as a domiciliary care worker for the purposes of the agency, the registered person shall record the circumstances, including the nature of the restraint.
(12) The procedure referred to in paragraph (6)(a) shall in particular provide for—
(a) written records to be kept of any allegation of abuse, neglect or other harm and of the action taken in response; and
(b) the RQIA to be notified of any incident reported to the police, not later than 24 hours after the registered person—
(i) has reported the matter to the police; or
(ii) is informed that the matter has been reported to the police.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2007/235/regulation/15 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/domiciliary-care-agencies-regulations-northern-ireland-2007/regulation-15
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.