Delegation

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the microsite for Delegation. The purpose of the microsite is to present a range of key facts and resources to help nurses and midwives understand:

• the roles and responsibilities of each of the professions and the challenges and issues faced when delegating tasks and duties
• how decisions to delegate ensure the most appropriate use of skills within a health and social care team to achieve person-centred outcomes
• how effective delegation has the potential to improve safety and quality of care and services
• the decision making process for delegating nursing and midwifery tasks and duties to promote consistency across all care and service contexts

• View the Definition of Delegation

  Delegation is the process by which a nurse or midwife (delegator) allocates clinical or non-clinical tasks and duties to a competent person (delegatee). The delegator remains accountable for the overall management of practice, for example, in a clinical context: the plan of care for a service user, and accountable for the decision to delegate. The delegator will not be accountable for the decisions and actions of the delegatee.

• View the Purpose of Delegation

  The purpose of delegation is to ensure the most appropriate use of skills within a health and social care team to achieve person-centred outcomes and has the potential to improve safety and quality of care and services.

Decision Framework for Delegation of Nursing and Midwifery Tasks and Duties

Framework Overview
The illustration demonstrates that safe effective, person-centred delegation of nursing and midwifery tasks and duties is supported by policy, procedure and governance arrangements within organisations, and that accountability and responsibility to oversee an appropriate process for delegation of tasks and duties lies with employers, delegators and delegatees, at different stages of the process.

The three elements below set out the requirements to support decisions to delegate nursing and midwifery tasks and duties. Click on each link to find out more.

Context of Practice

Accountability/Responsibility

Process