Content area
Full Text
Marc Cornock clarifies the use of terms that are sometimes used interchangeably but have distinct ramifications in law
Summary
The purpose of this article is to legally define the terms responsibility, accountability and liability. The connection between these terms for registered children's nurses, students and healthcare support workers are discussed, along with the implications for professional practice.
Keywords
Accountability, law, liability, responsibility
Whenever responsibility is defined, it appears to be in relation to accountability. This suggests the two are synonymous, but this is not the case. While there is correlation between the two, they are not interchangeable and have different meanings. At the most basic level, responsibility means to be responsible for an act one undertakes, while accountability simply means to be called to account.
There is also a difference between being responsible to, identifying the person or office to whom one is responsible and responsible for, and identifying the action, task or role for which one is responsible. Taking responsibility does not necessarily mean one will be asked to give an account - undertaking the action will fulfil the responsibility one has. The focus of responsibility is on the task, not on accounting for it.
Accountability It can be said that accountability is a higher-level activity than responsibility in that it does not merely designate who is responsible for an action but also requires that the person who undertakes the task is able to give an account, reason or explanation for the action. This account is not necessarily given because something has gone wrong. For instance, it may be required as a part of a monitoring system, or because things are going right and there is a need to share this information for the benefit and education of others.
The account that is required may take different forms, although for it to be true accountability it has to be a formal obligation to give account. For example, one may be required to account for the manner in which a particular treatment was given in the form of a straightforward narrative. Alternatively, the account may be more fulsome, including why a treatment was given, the circumstances that prompted the healthcare professional to instigate the treatment...