I work in a care home which has recently employed the daughter of one of the residents as a carer. This is making staff uncomfortable as the daughter is checking up that staff have attended her mother’s call bell and asks what she wanted, etc. She is also speaking to her mother about the job and other residents and carers which is often inappropriate. Is there any specific legal reason why this should be happening? The company won’t allow members of the same family to work as carers in the same scheme and this seems like a far greater conflict of interest.

Answered by Sheila Scott

Thank you for your question and it’s an issue that arises quite frequently. There may be some arrangement that you are unaware of that was set up when the service user moved into the home that accounts for why the home has deviated from its policy for example if the lady has specific care needs that the home couldn’t meet, but the daughter was able to. What isn’t acceptable however is the breach of professional boundaries and discussing other residents and staff. Whilst it’s understandable she might want to talk about her job to her, she shouldn’t be sharing information inappropriately. If you can, I would speak to the manager and explain your concerns. Ideally, the member of staff should only work where she has no contact during her working day with her mum. If she does need to provide care to her mum another member of staff should double up with her.