1. Purpose
A care worker enters someone's home, often when the person cannot get to the door. How the Service gets in, holds keys and protects access codes matters for the person's safety, their security and their dignity. This policy sets out how the Service agrees access, keeps keys and codes safe, and behaves as a guest in the person's home.
The Service must verify this policy against data protection law and its own insurance arrangements before adoption.
2. Sources to verify before adoption
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 10 (dignity and respect): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2936/regulation/10
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2936/regulation/12
- Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR (key-safe codes and keyholder details are personal data): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents
- The Service's insurance terms covering the holding of clients' keys
3. Scope
This policy applies to:
- how the Service enters every home it visits
- keys, key-safe codes, fobs and any other means of access the Service holds or uses
- everyone who enters a person's home on the Service's behalf
4. Consent to enter
The Service enters a home with the person's agreement. The access arrangement is agreed with the person, or their representative where the person cannot agree it themselves, and recorded in the care plan. A worker enters only to provide the agreed care, and only the parts of the home needed to provide it.
5. Agreed access arrangements
For each person, the Service records how workers get in. Common arrangements are:
- the person answers the door
- a family member or keyholder lets the worker in
- a key safe holds a key, opened with a code
- the Service holds a key to the property
The care plan names the arrangement, any backup, and who to contact if access fails.
6. Key-safe codes and access details are personal information
A key-safe code or a held key is, in effect, the key to someone's home. The Service treats access details as personal information and protects them:
- codes are stored securely and shared only with the workers who need them to attend that person
- a code is never written on the key safe, left on display in the home, or written where it can be linked to the address
- access details are held in line with the Service's data protection arrangements
7. Holding and recording keys
Where the Service holds a key to a property, it keeps a key record:
- each key is given a reference that does not reveal the address, and is never labelled with the address or the person's name
- keys are signed in and out, so the Service knows who holds each key
- keys are stored securely at the office and not left in vehicles or carried longer than needed
- the Service holds keys only where its insurance allows
8. When a worker cannot get in
If a worker cannot get in or gets no reply, they follow the no-access procedure in the missed and late visits policy: try to reach the person, use the agreed backup access, contact the office or on-call, and where there is reason to fear for the person's safety, call the emergency services and stay until help arrives. A worker does not force entry themselves.
9. Respecting the person's home
A worker is a guest in the person's home. The Service expects workers to:
- enter only the rooms needed for the agreed care
- treat the person's home, belongings and routines with respect
- leave the home secure on the way out, locking up and returning the key to the key safe or as agreed
10. Lost keys or a code that may be known to others
If a key is lost, or a worker believes a code may have become known to someone who should not have it, they report it to the office straight away. The Service acts to keep the person secure, which may include changing a lock or a code, and records what happened and what was done. Access codes are also reviewed when a worker who knew them leaves the Service.
11. Recording
The Service records, for each person, the agreed access arrangement and any backup, and keeps the key record up to date. No-access events and lost-key events are recorded with the action taken.
12. Audit cadence
The Service checks, on a stated cadence, that:
- every active package records an agreed access arrangement
- access codes and held keys are stored securely and not labelled with addresses
- the key record matches the keys actually held
- access codes are reviewed when workers leave
- no-access and lost-key events are recorded and acted on
The Registered Manager reviews the results and records the improvement actions that follow.