Posted By Donna Thats a difficult one. All i can help you with is the viewpoint of the person your saying is competent. Having worked in a Care home I know the importance of bedrails and how they are fitted etc. Carers are reluctant to take any responsibilty due to the cases that have been highlighted in the press over the last however many years. Your asking them to sign off on something they could later be held responsible for should an injury or death occur. Can you not have a nurse or manager sign off on them or maybe have just one or two members of staff who are trained and qualified to sign off on them? maybe Senior Carers/nurses etc.

Posted By martinweddell Hi FH my feeling is similar to those above, that people may be reluctant to accept that they are deemed 'competent' in case of liability in the event that something goes horribly wrong. How about, if you have not done so already, comparing your people and their capabilities with the NHS competencies which are clearly defined and state what can and cannot be done due to what training/experience a person has within their field? My wife is a band 8 in the NHS(still a nurse but manages a number of operating theatres) and when I asked her for her opinion she replied with the following: "As far as I am concerned if they have received full training then they are deemed competent. However, if they state they do not feel competent then they need to provide proper evidence of why and what are the specific things they need to be trained on / receive further training on in order for them to be competent. When these things are then identified and carried out there should be no reason why they can still say they are not competent. I would suggest that if they continue to say this then I would question their capacity and capability to do their job!!" So within the NHS it is expected that you do what you are capable of, and that capability is based on experience and on the training and ongoing updates which you have received. Out of interest, did anyone who received the training indicate, before they received it, that they would not be putting it into practice once they had received it? If not, then you have a situation where they are simply refusing to work which allows you to take a hard line should you wish. I still think that if you find the root cause that you could resolve this. Good luck!