Reception and Unattended Children
Is Your Reception Area a Child Minding Service?
Most of you would have answered “NO” to this question. However, there maybe occasions when a patient leaves their child at reception with an expectation their child will be supervised while they receive treatment.
This article will discuss how and when that expectation arises, and how to avoid these expectations arising.
Legal Position
As an occupier or owner of commercial premises, you owe people who enter your premises a duty of care. This duty requires you to take reasonable steps to protect those persons entering your premises against foreseeable risks of injury.
In circumstances where you have breached your duty of care (you were negligent) and someone is injured or suffers property damage, a legal liability to pay compensation may arise.
By way of example, let’s assume Billy attends your practice with his mother. He enters the reception area and trips over a magazine left on the floor by another patient fracturing his wrist. It could be argued you breached your duty of care, as the injury could have been prevented if the area had been tidied up. For example, the magazine could have been put back on the table by your staff.
This general duty can be extended by arrangements or circumstances where a child is left at reception and the parent has an expectation you or your staff will supervise their child.
Parents’ Expectations
One could reasonably think there is no duty to mind a child left at reception, as a health care provider is not in the business of minding children. You could say your duty does not extend beyond that owed to an entrant to your premises, as discussed above. But what would flow from the following scenario:
A patient is running late to his appointment and enters the reception and says to you or your receptionist: “I am leaving my child here can you look after her?” Your receptionist either says nothing or says: “That is fine.”
Does the parent have an expectation you will supervise the child? Arguably, if a parent believes the child will be supervised, you could be liable if you fail to supervise and something goes wrong. The issue is complicated when what a parent says to staff is vague. For example a parent might say: “I am leaving my child here.” This may not imply staff have agreed to supervise or were asked to supervise.
What Are the Risks?
Possible risks to consider when children are left in reception include:
- The child may be injured or lost.
- The child may injure another person.
- The child may damage your property or property of a third party.
In scenario a) an action might be brought for personal injury under one of the personal injury statutes applicable in your State. For example in NSW it would be the Civil Liability Act.
In scenario b) an action might be brought for personal injury as in a), but framed in terms of failure to supervise.
In scenario c) there is scope to argue you are legally liable for failing to supervise, if you assumed the risk of supervision.
How to Minimise the Exposure to Legal Liability
To minimise the risk of a complaint or claim for compensation, consideration should be given to the following:
- You should educate your staff of the importance of not agreeing to supervise children.
- You should ensure that your staff send a clear message to parents that their children will not be supervised.
- You could install a sign at reception stating that unattended children will not be supervised.
- You should not make any exceptions to agree to supervise children. It is when you make exceptions that you find yourself in trouble.
Conclusion
Children accompanying a parent to an appointment is a common scenario, and occupiers of premises need to be aware they may bear some liability for children left at reception if they have agreed to mind the child while the parent is receiving treatment.
Your staff should send a clear message to parents that children left at reception will not be supervised. If you communicate clearly with your patients they will accept your protocols.
You are not trained to supervise children, so why take on the risk? Remember that the child’s parent or guardian is responsible for supervision, and not you nor your staff.
This article has been prepared by Melisa Robledo of Guild Legal for Guild Insurance Limited, AFSL No. 233791. It contains information of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute the provision of advice.
