This page is designed to answer the following questions:
- 10.1j Demonstrate the importance of ensuring individuals are treated with dignity and respect when providing health and care services (Care Certificate, Standard 10: Safeguarding adults)
- 10.2a Describe how care environments can promote or undermine people’s dignity and rights (Care Certificate, Standard 10: Safeguarding adults)
NOTE: This page has been quality assured for 2023 as per our Quality Assurance policy.
As a health and social care worker, you have a responsibility to ensure that the individuals that you care for are treated with dignity and respect.
Care environments and care staff have the power to either promote or undermine people’s dignity and rights. The table below gives some examples:
Promoting dignity and rights | Undermining dignity and rights |
---|---|
Encouraging an individual to collaborate on their care plan | Writing an individual's care plan without even speaking to the individual |
Asking for consent before performing personal care | Performing personal care without first obtaining consent |
Encouraging an individual to participate in meetings with other professionals so that their voice is heard | Speaking to other professionals about an individual and answering on their behalf without good reasons |
Asking what time an individual plans to go to bed | Telling an individual what time they should go to bed |
Creating and maintaining a culture of dignity and respect in a care setting is important because it builds bonds of trust and keeps an open dialogue between individuals and their care staff.
Individuals will have an important role in deciding how their care is delivered and understand that they have the right to complain if they are unhappy. This leads to higher self-esteem, self-confidence and independence which means they will be much less vulnerable to abuse and much more likely to speak up if they feel they have been abused. Also, by having more independence they have less reliance on others that could potentially abuse them.