Privacy and Dignity in Health and Social Care

Privacy and dignity are immensely important to us all throughout our lives, whatever our age, or physical or mental ability. Being able to maintain privacy and dignity has a profound effect on self-esteem, confidence, and the ability to function within society. Invasion of privacy, or an attack on dignity, produces different reactions in different people – it may be annoyance or embarrassment, or a feeling of being ignored or considered irrelevant. Whatever the reaction, it will be negative and damaging. For this reason, it’s absolutely essential that workers in health and social care do all they can to ensure that those in their care are protected from these damaging effects of loss of privacy, or dignity. This course will enable the learner to understand why supporting the privacy and dignity of the people they care for, or support, is so important, and why they must do everything that they possibly can to maintain it at all times. The duration of this course is 20 minutes and can be completed over multiple sessions. This course covers: • What is meant by privacy and dignity • The role of personal values in promoting dignity • Maintaining privacy and dignity in the work setting • Using the 7 Skills for Care Principles • Supporting skills in self-care • Risk assessment and supporting informed choice • Risk enablement • Active participation and supporting dignity • Confidentiality and private personal information • Reporting concern