Privacy and Dignity in Health and Social Care

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.