Duty of Care

[GluteusMaximus00]

I am sorry for rambling, but the situation is a little complex.

My son (19) is in residential care. He has autism and mental health issues related to anxiety, but no learning disability. The home in which he lives is staffed, during the day, by a team of mental health workers and from 10 pm a member of staff sleeps over.

On Saturday I phoned him and we were chatting about this and that when a member of staff began to ask my son for information relating to an accident form. It appears that my son had left the home at 11 pm, cycled to a nearby suburb, collected a second hand bike from someone he had contacted online and started cycling back whilst wheeling the second bike. The inevitable had happened: one bike crashed into the other and my son was thrown over the handlebars.

Fortunately, he was only bruised and grazed so he abandoned the broken bike and cycled back to accommodation. The sleeping night staff dressed his wounds and he went to bed, but found it hard to sleep.

I now my son is 19 and has mental capacity but surely, as a vulnerable adult in supported accommodation, a duty of care has been failed somewhere.

know not 'now'

Sorry but I think you'll have to examine the contract you or he signed when he entered the accommodation to see exactly what the staff's responsibilities are. And the legal definition of duty of care.

It does sound lax that he was allowed out at 11pm, but if it's classed as "Residential" it may be that he's allowed to come and go as he pleases, especially as he has capacity.

Caveat, I only know the difference between a residential home and a nursing home when I had to choose care for an elderly parent. residential meant the residents were free to come and go as they pleased as they had capacity. Young peoples' care placements may operate by very different rules, you need to check all the small print.

unless he has a deprivation of liberty in place, I doubt they can stop him as he is an adult.

Thank you. Your comments are very helpful. I can see that there is really little that staff could do to prevent my son from going if he insisted. However, they never spoke to him to remind him that:

(a) meeting someone who he had contacted on the Internet, late at night alone, is not a good idea (even if it was just for the sale of a bike)

(b) riding back whilst wheeling another bike is potentially dangerous

(c) going out at night, alone, is potentially dangerous.

He is a very vulnerable young man and he has been exploited in the past, so this just makes me worry.

I have seen him today and the graze on his arm is quite deep and bandaged. However, he seems in good spirits.

I think his placement is a therapeutic, residential home so he is free to come and go. However, given his vulnerability, I also think he needs some boundaries and guidance as well.

Sorry i cant really help, my dd has a DOLS in place.
I would be talking with the home, maybe you can get a plan in place.