A member of staff is uncomfortable providing care to service users of a gender other than their own, what should I do?

Answered by Emily Kerrigan

Thank you for your question. Firstly, I would advise that this is picked up with each member of staff on a case-by-case basis. Discuss why the staff member is highlighting this, as there could be genuine reasons, such as inappropriate comments, touching etc, as to why they feel uncomfortable providing care with people of another gender. Where the reason is justifiable, refer to your HR and care policies and processes to support the staff member and try and resolve the issues that are causing them to feel uncomfortable.

 In my view a separate staff policy on this, would do more harm than good. Providing care is very much service user led, and if a service user does not have an issue with someone of the opposite gender providing care, then a policy could provide the opportunity for less scrupulous staff to use this as an excuse not to carry out their role properly.  In all instances the manager should deal with this in a reasonable manner and listen to the member of staff’s concerns.