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Watching over
‘Watching over’ should be given its ordinary dictionary meaning, which is to pay attention to someone to make sure that nothing bad happens to them (Collins English Dictionary (collinsdictionary.com)).
Example: an individual requires someone to watch over them to avoid substantial danger
Callum is 83 years old and has dementia. He wakes up feeling disorientated and confused between 2am and 5am at least five nights every week. Callum will go downstairs and into the kitchen, where his son has observed him trying to cook and leave the house through the backdoor. Callum’s son has now moved in with Callum and sleeps downstairs.
Callum’s son:
- wakes up if Callum comes downstairs
- is ready to intervene
- prevents Callum from using kitchen appliances or attempting to leave the house
- encourages Callum to go back to bed
Callum’s son does not need to be looking at Callum all the time. It is enough that his son is awake for the purposes of watching over Callum for the necessary period or periods.
Frequent intervals at night
The frequent intervals (PADP regs, reg 5(3)(b)) do not need to be spread throughout the night, but can be concentrated in one part of the night.
Frequent should be given its ordinary meaning. There is no strict numerical test. However, it is unlikely that once or twice would amount to ‘frequent’. The case manager should consider all the facts of an individual’s application.
Prolonged or repeated
Prolonged (PADP regs, reg 5(3)(a)) is not defined in legislation, but is generally understood to be for a period in excess of 20 minutes. Anything less than 20 minutes is unlikely to be prolonged. However, case managers should consider the facts of each individual’s application and look for factors that may result in attention of less than 20 minutes being prolonged.
Repeated means more than once – it is not a single or occasional occurrence.