Unsafe Practices in Care: Definitions, Risks, and Examples
Unsafe Practices in Care: Key Risks and Practical Examples
Unsafe practices that may affect the wellbeing of individuals include neglect, abuse, poor hygiene, and failure to follow basic safety procedures.
These behaviours often result from poor training, lack of awareness, or negligence, and can lead to physical harm, emotional distress, and illness.
Key risks include medication errors, poor infection control, unsafe moving and handling, breaches of confidentiality, lack of supervision, and failure to maintain safe environments or equipment.
Recognising and addressing these practices is essential to safeguarding individuals and ensuring safe, effective care. All these are covered in CQC five key questions: services are safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs, and well-led.
What is Unsafe Practices in Care?
According to Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, unsafe practice refers to any act or omission that causes avoidable harm or exposes service users to a significant risk of harm.
This includes failure to manage risks, unsafe medicines management, use of unsafe equipment, and poor infection prevention and control.
The CQC considers Regulation 12 to be breached if there is evidence that a person has been exposed to a risk of avoidable harm — even if no actual injury occurs. This includes both physical and psychological harm.
14 Examples of unsafe practices that may affect wellbeing of individuals
- Failing to assess or manage risks
Not identifying or responding to risks such as falls, choking, pressure ulcers, deterioration, or behaviours that challenge. - Unsafe medication practice
Administering incorrect doses, missing doses, recording poorly, storing medicines unsafely, or failing to monitor for side effects. - Poor infection prevention and control
Inadequate hand hygiene, incorrect use of PPE, contaminated equipment, or failure to isolate individuals when required. - Using unsafe or unmaintained equipment
Hoists, beds, wheelchairs, or clinical devices that are not serviced, checked, or used correctly, placing people at risk. - Lack of staff competence or training
Staff providing care without the necessary training, supervision, or assessed competence. - Insufficient staffing levels
Low staffing leading to rushed care, missed care, or unsafe decision‑making that compromises people’s well‑being. - Unsafe restraint or restrictive practices
Using restraint without justification, without appropriate training, or without monitoring the person’s safety and dignity. - Poor record‑keeping
Missing, inaccurate, or delayed documentation that results in unsafe decisions or missed risks. - Failure to escalate concerns or respond to deterioration
Ignoring early warning signs, delaying clinical support, or failing to act promptly when a person’s condition worsens. - Not learning from incidents or near‑misses
Repeating avoidable errors because investigations, reporting, or governance systems are weak or ineffective. - Breach of Confidentiality/Privacy: Sharing personal information without consent, and lack of privacy during personal care.
- Professional Misconduct: Working outside the scope of practice, attending work under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or engaging in inappropriate relationships with patients.
- Abuse and Dignity Violations: Includes physical abuse (e.g. hitting or rough handling), psychological abuse (threats, intimidation, or humiliation), and financial exploitation.
- Neglect and Poor Care Standards: Failing to provide adequate food and hydration, poor infection control (such as lack of hand hygiene or PPE use), and not following dietary requirements.
Regulation 12 — unsafe care and treatment (65% of all cases)
Regulation 12 requires providers to assess and mitigate risks to people’s safety.
It is the most-prosecuted regulation in the register, covering failures that led directly to serious injury and death — falls, burns, medication errors, and avoidable accidents.
👉Download our comprehensive Safe Care & Treatment Checklist to assess and evidence your service’s compliance with Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. This is just for internal use only.
Safe Care and Treatment Checklist
Preventable Falls
Care home, North Yorkshire · 2017
A 98-year-old resident fractured his hip in a fall. After hospital treatment, he fell again and later died.
A safety review identified 14 beds needing rail extensions, but no action was taken.
The resident had four prior entrapment incidents.
CQC Fine
£176,170
Medication Errors
Care home, Shropshire · 2016
A resident missed critical anti-coagulant medication for up to 30 days due to recording and ordering failures,
later dying from a pulmonary thromboembolism. All residents were deemed at risk.
CQC Fine
£50,851
Scalding Injury
Residential home, Kent · 2018
A resident with dementia suffered severe burns after unsafe bathing procedures.
Staff failed to follow temperature and supervision protocols despite prior warnings.
CQC Fine
£61,500
Nutrition & Hydration
Nursing home, West Midlands · 2019
A resident received incorrect food textures against care plans, resulting in malnutrition and hospital admission.
Staff had not received swallowing training.
CQC Fine
£43,750
Consequences of Unsafe Practices
- Physical harm: Injuries, falls, infections, pressure ulcers, and avoidable illness.
- Psychological distress: Fear, anxiety, emotional harm, loss of dignity, and reduced confidence.
- Financial abuse: Misuse, exploitation, or theft of an individual’s money or property.
- Reduced quality of life: Decline in health, independence, comfort, and overall well‑being.
Actions to take if you identify unsafe practices
1. Take immediate action to protect the person: Act straight away if someone is at risk — remove the hazard, stop the unsafe practice, or seek urgent clinical or emergency support.
2. Report the concern without delay: Follow your organisation’s reporting procedure. Inform a senior member of staff, manager, or clinical lead as soon as possible.
3. Record the issue accurately Document what happened, what you observed, who was involved, and any actions taken. Clear, factual records support investigation and learning.
4. Escalate if the risk is serious or ongoing If managers do not respond, or the risk remains significant, escalate to safeguarding leads, senior management, or external professionals.
5. Follow safeguarding procedures where required If the unsafe practice involves neglect, abuse, or a risk of significant harm, raise a safeguarding concern with the local authority.
6. Support the individual affected Ensure the person receives appropriate care, reassurance, monitoring, or medical attention to protect their wellbeing.
7. Cooperate with investigation and learning Provide information, contribute to reviews, and support improvements to prevent the issue from happening again.
8. Whistleblow if concerns are ignored If unsafe practice continues or leadership fails to act, staff have the right — and duty — to escalate externally (e.g., CQC, local authority, NHS England).
How Caring for Care can help
We deliver regulated compliance courses for individuals and groups of up to 12. With over 190 trainer-led courses and 150+ eLearning options, we help you meet compliance in safeguarding, medication management, and duty of candour.
All training is delivered by practising healthcare professionals who truly understand your environment.
Our courses are built around the real risks that lead to CQC prosecution.
Fill the form below and our team will reach out to you within 24 hours Or call us on 01782 563333, Mon–Fri, 8am–4pm.
Tell us how we can help
Tell us what you need and we will find the best solution for you fast - getting back to you within one working day - (usually the same day)