Duty of Care

Duty of Care  

CosyChats.com is built upon our belief that ordinary people can share their knowledge and experience to the benefit of others. That this shared experience and knowledge can make a difference to another person’s life.  

CosyChats.Com is a platform and marketplace to enable users to register as service providers and once activated on the site offer a telephone or virtual  based Service where at agreed times the Service Provider will call the Customer to share their experience and knowledge, the Service. 

This Service is limited to the Subject matter described by the Service Provider. Cosychats.Com does not provide a Service nor does the marketplace as facilitated on CosyChats.com in any way intend to replace the  Service provided by the Samaritans, a GP, doctor  for example.  

As a Service Provider, as part of offering your Service you have a Duty of Care to the person you are providing the Service to but the Service offered through CosyChats.Com is limited in that each Service Provider will share their experience and knowledge. On a given subject. By providing this telephone Service, Service Providers, will have telephone contact with the Customers and possibly other people. This could lead to a situation where the Service Provider identifies concerns for that or another person’s well-being.  

We hope you never encounter such a situation, but we would like you to be as prepared as possible to deal with it if you ever do.  

By becoming a Service Provider on CosyChats.Com you are offering a Service that will bring you into contact with a wide range of people. You need to be prepared for that. Part of that is realising your Duty of Care to those people you are providing a Service to.  

You need to be aware of this Duty of Care and be able to identify and respond to various situations and triggers. You don’t need to have all the answers, but you must know and exercise your limitations and be able to assist someone if they need more specialised help. 

Duty of Care – One definition ‘a moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety or well-being of others’. 

Registering and providing a Service through Cosychats.Com means you are assuming a duty of care to the people you provide a Service to. Duty of Care is not something that starts or ends through CosyChats.Com it is a responsibility we all have already. For example; 

When you drive a car you have a duty of care to yourself, your passengers, other road users and pedestrians. You must drive in a safe and competent manner, within the speed limits and to the standard as defined by the Highway Code and laws of the land.  

Pedestrians do not pass a test but also assume a Duty of Care, to walk on the pavement, stop at crossings and not to walk out in front of cars.  

If you are a parent your inherently assume a Duty of Care to your children both morally and legally. 

Duty of Care describes an obligation we already have in our lives but through your registration on CosyChats.Com you also undertake a Duty of Care. 

Duty of Care is there to protect you and the people you speak to. Duty of Care is being responsible and making sure you fully meet all the criteria that would be expected of you. We ALL have an obligation under Duty of Care. 

This section will help you understand the Duty of Care you have when offering a Service on CosyChats.com and provide additional resources to assist you in performing this Duty of Care.  

Duty of Care.  

You must adhere to a standard of reasonable care and you are expected to: 

keep your knowledge and skills up to date  

provide a service of no less a quality than that to be expected based on the skills, responsibilities, and range  of activities within your particular trade or profession  

be in a position to know what must be done to ensure that the service  is provided safely 

keep accurate and contemporaneous records of your work  

not delegate work, or accept delegated work, unless it is clear  that the person to whom the work  is delegated is competent to carry  out the work concerned in a safe  and appropriately skilled manner  

protect confidential information except where the wider duty of care or the public interest might justify disclosure 

 A clear, not misleading and achievable Service  

It is vital as a Service Provider you offer and provide, a clear, achievable and accurate description of yourself, your Service, experience and knowledge. This is important for several reasons (generating positive reviews and increased business for instance) but also so your Customer is clear on the Service you offer. That does not mean that your Duty of Care ends at the Service you offer it means that you and the customer are clear on the service you offer and if qualified or additional assistance is required then you can help the customer get the help they require.  

 Declaration  

Life can be challenging and difficult at times and we ALL need help at some point in our lives. We should be open and honest about this. We ALL need help at times in our life. The Service I offer and provide is limited to my experience and knowledge. I am only available on the times booked and my experience and knowledge is limited. There will be times when you may negative feelings, including, isolation, despair, loneliness, anxiety, self-harm and possibly suicide. If you ever have any of these feelings or others, or simply feel the need to talk to someone else you must call the Samaritans immediately on 113 22333.  

The Samaritans are a wonderful organisation that exists to help people. My service does not in any way intend to replace or replicate the Service offered by the Samaritans or any other professional body.   

I very much hope you benefit from the Service I offer but if you ever feel the need to speak to another person please call the Samaritans.  

Also as part of the Service I offer I do not need to collect, establish, record or ask for personal or confidential information. You must not offer or share Personal or Confidential information . If you do offer or share personal or confidential information then I must inform you this is not appropriate and will have to consider ending the Service.  

Thank you for your attention and understanding.  

HelpisOnly donates 5% of its profits to the Samaritans (5% to Cancer nurses).   

 Stress and Warning indicators.  

Duty of Care highlights the importance of offering a clearly defined and achievable Service but it goes beyond that. Duty of Care also encompasses identifying signs and taking appropriate action.   

 Example Behaviours  

You can’t generalise behaviour but if you recognise these behaviours in your Customer or a member of their family or friends then please instruct them to contact the Samaritans.  

(The Samaritans exist to help people through difficult periods in their life and only 1 in 5 people who contact the Samaritans are suicidal.)  

Lacking energy or feeling tired 

Feeling restless and agitated 

Feeling tearful 

Not wanting to talk to or be with people 

Not wanting to do things they usually enjoy 

Using alcohol or drugs to cope with feelings 

Finding it hard to cope with everyday things 

If you recognise or your customer describes, any of these behaviours please take the time to clearly explain the Samaritan service, the wonderful service they offer and provide contact details. If you have any concerns, please contact the Samaritans directly. 

This may not be the easiest conversation to have but we’ve provided some text below that we hope can offer an example of how to approach this, please tailor or use your own wording as you consider appropriate.  

 From what you’ve said you’re having a hard time at the moment and I’d like to share details of people who are totally confidential and available 24 hours a day 365 days a year. They won’t judge you and you shouldn’t feel any shame at all or that you’re being a burden by contacting them. They are there to listen and help.   

They are the Samaritans. They are trained to listen. They want to help you. Please contact them. There is no shame at all in doing this as we all need help in our lives at some point.  

Please talk this through with your customer, relay the openness of the Samaritans. That there is no shame at all about seeking help. We all need help at some point in our lives.  The Samaritans have an excellent website where they confirm only 1 in 5 people contact them who are feeling suicidal. The Samaritans help people through periods in their life where they need help and support. 

Samaritans  

 Phone  

116 123 (UK) 

116 123 (ROI)  

Email  

jo@samaritans.org 

Visit us 

Find your local Samaritans branch. 

Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA 

Cosychats.com fully supports the Samaritans and donates 5% of its profits to help them fund their Service. 

CosyChats.Com does not exist to try in any way to replace the Samaritan Service.  

Example warning statements.  

‘we can’t have children, I feel so empty and worthless’  

‘food rules my life, I don’t feel in control, I have no friends’  

‘my kids are driving me mad, I can’t cope  

‘IVF is so stressful’  

‘I hate myself’ 

‘I have no control over my life’  

‘I just don’t feel like carrying on’  

Each one of these statements can be said in apparent jest or with more conviction. Often, it’s hard to tell but each is a trigger that should highlight a warning to deeper emotions that may or may not exist currently but may in future. The Samaritans exists to help people suffering emotional strain. There should be no shame or embarrassment about using the Samaritans or referring someone to their services. The Samaritans exist to help us when we need it the most.   

Cosychats.Com does not exist to try in any way to replace the Samaritan Service.  

If you have any concern at all then you should encourage the person to contact the Samaritans. The Samaritans is a charity that exists to help people through difficult periods in their life.   

Please talk this through with your customer, relay the openness of the Samaritans. That there is no shame at all about seeking help. We all need help at some point in our lives.  The Samaritans have an excellent website where they confirm only 1 in 5 people contact them who are feeling suicidal. The Samaritans help people through periods in their life where they need help and support.  

If you have any concerns or feel your customer would benefit from speaking to the Samaritans then please do not hesitate to direct them to that service. Please support and encourage them as much as you can.   

We appreciate this may be a difficult conversation and if you have any concerns or doubts please contact the Samaritans directly for assistance.  We have prepared an example (there is another example above) that may prove of assistance.   

‘I would like to direct you to the Samaritans. They are a wonderful organisation that exists to help people.  They offer support and assistance and will be available when you need to speak to them. I feel speaking to these people could benefit you. These people are more experienced in helping in situations like these and are totally confidential. I (may/could/like) continue to offer my Service to you, but you should speak to these people first.’ 

Cosychats.Com is built upon the fundamental principal that people get the help they require and that this help may or may not be through our site.

The Samaritans are a wonderful organisation that help many people. They will not judge you or your circumstances. They will listen.  

The Samaritans can be contacted in many ways, please consult their website or see below.  

The Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours a day 365 days a year.  

Phone  

116 123 (UK) 

116 123 (ROI)  

Email  

jo@samaritans.org 

Visit us 

Find your local Samaritans branch. 

Freepost RSRB-KKBY-CYJK, PO Box 9090, STIRLING, FK8 2SA 

 Obtaining immediate help  

In very rare circumstances immediate help is required. You may for instance hear instances of physical or emotional abuse in the background. The caller may state they are in immediate danger or express concern over a person close to them.  

In these instances where immediate assistance is required, if it is safe to do so, you should instruct the customer to dial the emergency services immediately. It may not be safe for the customer to call the police (the assailant maybe in the room for instance) in which case, if it is safe to do so, you should obtain as much information (i.e. where the person is) and call the emergency Services on their behalf.  

In extremely rare circumstances the caller may express or make self-harm or suicidal comments. This can be scary and disconcerting but if you are able please engage the person, please follow the below guidance from the Samaritans. 

https://www.samaritans.org/media-centre/our-campaigns/small-talk-saves-lives 

From the Samaritan website 

How you can help 

Suicidal feelings can be overwhelming, but they will pass. 

How someone behaves in this brief window is as unique as the individual themselves 

If you feel that way about someone, trust your instincts and try to help. 

How to help someone in need 

We know that when a person is suicidal having someone to talk to them and listen to them, and showing that they are not alone, can encourage them to seek support. There is no evidence that talking to someone who could be at risk will ‘make things worse’. 

A little small talk can be all it takes to interrupt someone’s suicidal thoughts and help start them on a journey to recovery. If you think that someone might need help, trust your instincts and strike up a conversation, with a comment about the weather for example. Life-saving questions used by rail staff to help people have included: 

  • Do you need any help? 
  • What’s your name? 
  • It’s a warm evening isn’t it? 
  • What train are you going to get? 

 Following on from this idea of creating small talk here’s some questions we at CosyChats.Com thought of.   

  • Is it raining where you are? Whats the weather like?
  • Can you make a cup of tea?  Do you have a slice of cake? 
  • What are you interested in?
  • Do you like football? Do you watch TV? 
  • What do you do for a living?

 We hope these will be very rare circumstances, but you should be prepared and know what to do if you have a caller in imminent danger and/or threatening self-harm or suicide.  

Duty of Care 

A Duty of Care exists on all of us. We trust you understand the Duty of Care you undertake through registering and offering your Services on CosyChats.Com.    

We trust you diligently and responsibly undertake your duty of care. We will make available further resources but if you identify anything that you feel would benefit other Service Providers please let us know. Contact@cosychats.com 

 Duty of Care to Yourself. 

You have a Duty of Care to the people you provide your service to but also  to yourself. You must be able to offer the best possible service you can and ensure you do not unduly negatively impact your own life and those around you.  

Segregation of your life. You must be able to segregate your working and personal life.  You are offering and providing a Service, this is your working life. You set your availability through CosyChats.Com. These are the hours you are available for booking, not the hours you are available to receive calls. You control the call making process and must limit your working time to the allotted time you have been booked for.  

It is very important you separate your working and personal life.  

You can do this in several ways; 

Limit the amount of personal information you provide about yourself. Use first names only, don’t provide any social media or other details that could identify you.  

Have a separate phone and number for your work. You must be able to turn off your work phone when you have finished your daily calls. Through CosyChats.Com you offer a specific service to provide outbound calls at designated times as per the customers booking. 

Your Customer may require additional assistance that goes beyond the Service you offer, in these instances you should direct them to the Samaritans. The Samaritans are available 24 hours a day 365 days a year. They are a wonderful organisation that can provide assistance to those that need it.  

It is important you recognise the Service you offer, the limitations to this Service and where additional assistance can be sourced.  

Have a separate work phone, turn it off when you are not working. Have a voice mail that redirects caller to the Samaritans number. 

‘Please contact the Samaritans on 116 123. They are totally confidential and available 24/7 365 days a year.’ 

 Personal / Confidential Information  

As part of the Service you offer you do not need to collect, establish or ask for personal or confidential information. You must inform your customer of this, so they are aware that you do not require this information to perform your Service. If your customer begins to share Personal or Confidential information you must stop them.   

If the customer continues to share personal or confidential information you must inform them this is not appropriate and if they continue you will have to consider ending the Service.  

If you do become aware of any personal or confidential information you must not record it or disclose it to any other party unless you are required to do so, for example to the Police or other emergency or social services.  

Examples of Personal Information 

Read the table below to learn about the different types of personal information that uniquely identify you. 

Personal Information

Personal Descriptors: Name, age, place of birth, date of birth, gender, weight, height, eye color, hair color, fingerprint 

Identification Numbers: Health IDs, Social Insurance Numbers (SIN), Social Security Numbers (SSN), PIN numbers, debit and credit card numbers

Ethnicity: Race, colour, national or ethnic origin

Health: Physical or mental disabilities, family or individual health history, health records, blood type, DNA code, prescriptions

Financial: Income, loan records, transactions, purchases and spending habits

Employment: Employee files, employment history, evaluations, reference interviews, disciplinary actions

Credit: Credit records, credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity

Criminal:Convictions, charges, pardons

Life: Character, general reputation, personal characteristics, social status, marital status, religion, political affiliations and beliefs, opinions, comments, intentions

Education: Education history

Personal Information Definition. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from www.PrivacySense.net 

 Recognising and assisting (Vulnerable) people and Safeguarding adults.  

You have a Duty of Care to provide the best Service you can but there may be times when the person you are dealing with is Venerable and you need to make provision for this and provide additional assistance or refer to another Service.  

You do this in your life without even thinking about it. You may have to speak more slowly, clearly and possibly loudly when speaking to someone with hearing problems, for example.  

 A person’s venerability could be for many reasons, including but not limited to, Old Age, Learning Difficulties, Illness, Stress, Mental Illness, Bereavement etc. Here you have a duty to identify this and act accordingly under a Duty of Care. 

You need to identify the persons venerability and possibly tailor the Service you offer accordingly. This could be taking longer to explain your experience or knowledge. Judging what is achievable or what isn’t or directing the person to a more appropriate Service. See below. 

At all times you should be concerned with the persons possible vulnerability and act accordingly. A person’s venerability may change across the period you offer the Service. For example, a death in the family. Such life events will impact the customer and you should recognise this impact. Vulnerability can mean the person is more susceptible to undue influence, for instance.  You may agree to defer calls but should also direct the person to the Samaritans helpline. The Samaritans is a wonderful organisation that exists to help people.    

 Referring/refusing a request to provide a Service.  

There may be instances where you must refer a customer to an alternative service. You must always put your Customers interest above your own and there may also be times where you judge it would be wrong or ineffective to provide the Service. 

You must judge this yourself considering all the above. You must act in the best interests of your customer and must never accept a booking ‘for the money’. Cosychats.com is built upon doing good and helping people. You as a Service Provider have a moral and legal obligation and Duty of Care when providing your service. 

 You offer a Service not a relationship. 

You do not  personal information you provide about yourself. Use first names only, don’t provide any social media or other details that could identify you.  

CosyChats.Com is built upon the principle of helping people. You provide a Service through CosyChats.com that helps people. You wish to do your best to help your customers, but you must be mindful of the limitations of your Service and that you do not unwittingly build a relationship with your Customer that creates an unrealistic and unachievable expectation. 

For example, you have built a friendly relationship with one of your customers, you give them your personal number just in case they need to call. They start doing exactly that at various times. You are uncomfortable with this and your Customer now treats you like a helpline. You have blurred the lines of your service, your Customers expectation has changed. You now start to resent your customer calling and you become more abrupt and less helpful.  

You must be clear about the limitations of the Service you offer, that you have a relationship with your Customer and it is a working one. They Customer has engaged you to provide a Service where you share your experience and knowledge at pre-arranged times. That is the Service.  

You must ensure your good intentions (to help the person) do not interfere with this Service and you do more harm than good. You unintentionally become another problem. There are trained people, The Samaritans for example, who are far better placed to help than you and directing your customer to them, if required, if the correct thing to do.  

We’ve spoken a lot about Duty of Care and responsibility, however unlikely we want you to be prepared for every eventuality. You must set the boundaries and stick to them. You must recognise your own limitations and that there are better qualified and supported people who can provide more appropriate help, if required.  

Once you have blurred the boundaries and expectations it becomes a lot harder to channel that person to the best and most appropriate help. 

Keep your relationship professional, this doesn’t mean you need be robotic or cold but you must ensure your relationship remains professional so you can help your Customer get the Help they require from a more suitable and qualified source, if required. for example   

‘I can share my experience of bringing up my children but I think you need more support. You are having feeling I’m not familiar with or able to help with but I know an organisation that will listen and help you. Let me give you the details now.’ 

Grooming or Coercion  

‘prepare or train (someone) for a particular purpose or activity’ 

the action or practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats’      

As part of providing your Service you will be in a position of trust. You have a moral and legal obligation not to abuse this trust in any way whatsoever.  

Grooming and/or Coheres ion can be for many reasons, including; 

Financial gain, to obtain financial details or monies, 

Religious beliefs, to instill or attempt to instill your religious beliefs on another person, 

Sexual exploitation, to obtain sexual material, favours or gratification. 

Your beliefs, to instill or attempt to instill your beliefs, in another person.  

Influence, to influence or attempt to influence another person.  

CosyChats.Com is a platform and Marketplace that exists to enable you to provide a Service that enables you to share your experience and knowledge. Under no circumstances should you intentionally or not attempt to Groom your Customer or anyone else in any way whatsoever.  

 Being a Nuisance 

There are two ways a Service can be booked, either on behalf of yourself or gifted to another person. This means there maybe instances where the person you are calling is not aware a Service has been booked for them.  You must introduce yourself and explain the Service you offer and that it has been gifted by another person. Whether the Service is booked directly or on behalf of someone else, if you encounter any reluctance or resistance to receive your call or the person indicates or states they do not wish to receive your Service then you must end the call and Service. We must be clear that the call and Service must end and any unused call blocks refunded back to the person who paid. 

Do not become a nuisance caller. Your desire to share your experience and knowledge maybe more damaging and create additional stress and emotional pain for the person you are calling.  

You have a moral and legal obligation not to become a nuisance. 

Additional Resources and Training.  

CosyChats.Com supports Users who wish to undertake training. CosyChats.com has sourced additional materials below. We would love for you to share materials you found helpful.  We plan to launch a message board and registered Service Providers area.  

 DBS Checks.  

CosyChats.Com is a platform and Marketplace to enable individuals to register to be able to provide their Service. As part of this Service Customers who browse our site must have confidence each Service Provider. This is to the benefit of CosyChats.Com and every registered user.     

Resources  

 https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/your-mental-health/getting-help 

Where to get help with Mental Health Related Issues 

https://www.scie.org.uk/publications/ataglance/69-adults-safeguarding-types-and-indicators-of-abuse.asp 

Advice and guidance on safeguarding people from abuse and neglect. SCIE’s evidence-based research reports and guidance.  

https://www.scie.org.uk/adults/safeguarding/abuse-neglect/ 

Safeguarding people & reporting a safeguarding issue 

http://www.cqc.org.uk/what-we-do/how-we-do-our-job/safeguarding-people 

You should contact the social care department at the appropriate local authority if you are concerned about a child or a vulnerable adult. 

If you can’t get through to your council, you can call us cqc on 03000 616161. 

You can also email at enquiries@cqc.org.uk. 

 https://www.mind.org.uk/ 

Wealth of information on mental health. 

 

 

 

 

 

How To.

1.       Change Drop down list. Add / Delete Services.

This obviously then has impacts on other pages. 

Duty of Care CosychatsDuty of Care Cosychats

 

2.       In Top Menu, add, delete, edit Services.