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Unit 5 Aim B
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Unit 5 Aim B - Meeting individual care and support needs
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Unit 5 Learning Aim B: Meeting Individual Care and Support NeedsEmily Pride
Ethical working includes respecting the fundamental values and principles that
underpin practice, which involves facing moral dilemmas. I am going to be
researching upon two case studies; Tremayne, who is a 54-year-old man who
suffers from autism and a wheat allergy. He was recently admitted to hospital for his
broken leg. Also, Aisha, who is an 82-year-old Buddhist who suffers from pneumonia
and vascular dementia. I am going to explain how to incorporate ethical principles
into providing support for individuals with different needs, analyse how ethical
approaches would benefit specific individuals with different needs and justify the
strategies and techniques used to overcome ethical issues when planning and
providing care.
Ethics in Health and Social Care and why it is important
The term ‘ethical’ means to deal with right and wrong behaviour. This affects how
people make decisions and how the individual decides to lead their life. Ethics also
involves facing moral questions such as whether to prolong a life against the wishes
of a terminally ill patient. These decisions impact day to day lives. Morals are the
views, beliefs and principles about what is right and wrong. Ethics are essential
within a health and social care setting so that health care professionals can
understand the patient efficiently. Also, they can then make a good judgement and
decisions based off of their values.
Ethical theories are used in health and social care settings to help provide support
and to benefit vulnerable individuals. A number of philosophical theories underline
how to approach ethical issues. There are four key theories, these include:
Consequentialism
The consequentialism theory suggests that an individual’s actions are judged based
on their consequences rather than the intentions behind it. Consequentialists focus
on positive outcomes if behaviour is morally right or wrong. For example, choosing to
treat one patient with drugs that can give them an extra 6 months of life or choosing
to treat 2,000 children with a meningitis vaccine. As a consequentialist, the doctor
would choose to treat the 2,000 children and allow the patient who would only have 6
months to die, as it would ensure there would be more successes vs the one
success, they would have if they’d cured the other patient. Although this may not be
ethical to everyone, the act is morally right if it produces good outcomes. These
types of actions affect people, so they have to be morally judged.
Consequentialism provides support for Tremayne, because he isn’t old or severely
ill, meaning that he is more likely to get treated. This is because his broken leg and
his dietary issues are simple to fix and isn’t costly to the NHS. Tremayne getting
treated quickly and efficiently could have a positive outcome on his mental health as
he will feel like he’s being listened to rather than ignored as he got seen quickly and
didn’t have to wait for his treatment. On the other hand, Aisha may not be supported
by consequentialism due to the fact she is elderly and terminally ill, this may mean
,that her treatment will have a lower success rate. With Aisha being 82 years of age,
a consequentialist may decide that treatment is not an option as it will be costly for
the NHS and there is a chance, she could not make full recovery. It will also take
Aisha longer to heal from any surgery than someone younger and healthier.
Deontology
This theory focuses on the action and doing the right thing. Some of these actions
include the right to die- assisted suicide for long term terminal illness with an
undignified ending. This theory tells us that is it okay for a health care professional to
tell lies if it calms down a distressed patient for example, before an operation. This
theory suggests that treatment should be constantly available to anyone, despite the
cost or shortage of resources.
Aisha has vascular dementia, which is coming more severe. However, health care
professionals can manage the dementia to ensure that Aisha lives until the end of life
happy and as comfortable as possible. Although, the time and resources could be
used for a patient that is younger and healthier, it is ethical to treat and support
Aisha. Deontology supports people like Aisha, even though she is old and coming
towards the end of her life, she still has access to health care and so she can still be
treated, no matter of the cost to the NHS. This theory helps support the older
generation so that they can get treated for their specific individual needs, despite of
their age. Tremayne is also supported by Deontology; all people are owed a duty of
care, and everyone should be treated with respect. This will benefit Tremayne
because it will get him to get treated for his broken left leg.
Principlism
Principlism brings together pieces of all ethical theories and works with social,
individual and religious belief services. Beauchamp and Childress (2008) initiated
four basic principles: Autonomy, Beneficence, Non- Maleficence and Justice.
Autonomy enables the person to choose how they live their lives. Providing
information about a patient’s illness us considered a moral obligation by
professionals based on the principle ‘respect a patient’s autonomy.’ Beneficence is
the principle of balancing someone’s treatment in line with the likelihood of danger
and funding. The professional should carry out their duties that promotes PIES.
When an individual is incapable of making their own choices, the professionals
ensure that their best interests are met. Non- Maleficence avoids harm towards the
patient. For example, making sure that side effects of medication do not outweigh
the benefits of the treatment. Justice is a moral obligation that is right and fair. This
includes treating people equally, following the law and considering people’s rights.
Principlism can support Aisha, as it allows her to get treatment for her pneumonia,
without the fear of being turned down for someone else who is healthier and needs
treatment. This can allow her to improve her health, live a longer life and be
comfortable with her health care. Principlism allows everyone to get the same
treatment fairly. Despite the fact Aisha can’t make decisions for herself, this theory is
still supportive for Aisha as it weighs out the advantages and disadvantages for her
care. This theory is also supportive for Tremayne, as it respects Autonomy, this
, allows him to make decisions for himself regarding his care. This means he is fully
involved in his care, and health care professionals cannot do anything he doesn’t
want them to do, even if they think it is the best option for him. This is important as it
can help him become empowered, this will help him understand his conditions and
treatment better. Because of his autism, he may feel like he isn’t being listened to, so
by empowering him, it could increase his confidence and mood as he will feel more
in control.
Virtue Ethics
This theory which Aristotle and Plato worked on, focuses on the moral
character of individuals. a health or social care professional, would make decisions
based on their own morals, how they behave towards the service users and what the
professional feels is the best course of action. This theory shows how the doctors
morals allow them to promote good to the patient. Health care professionals use
virtue ethics with Aisha’s case. When treating Aisha, professionals may sit with her
explaining her pneumonia and the ways of treating it, so she can understand what is
going on, this is better than treating her and sending her home. Similarly, with
Tremayne using virtue ethics, it can allow health care professionals to go through his
care plans with him, explaining what is happening and what everything means. Also,
it will allow him to make any decisions about his care going forward. The theory
Virtue Ethics support both Tremayne and Aisha, as they are both sensitive cases
and both have a limited understanding of what is going on around them. As Aisha
can’t make decisions for herself, she would benefit from having a doctor that follows
this theory. This is so the professional would take the most morally right course of
action most suitable for her. Tremayne can also benefit from a professional using
Virtue Ethics because it would mean that health care professionals can consider his
sensory needs, before trying to get him to make any decisions about his care. This
will allow him to stay calm and reduce his chances of any outbursts of temper which
lead to distress.
Managing Conflicts
There are times when health and social care workers face conflict, and they must
make an ethical decision. Health and social care professionals face conflict often and
can be complex. They need to know how to deal with conflict so that the solution is
ethical. Usually conflict occurs between service users, caregivers, and families, as
well as between colleagues when a decision must be made based on the ethical
theories. When a conflict occurs, when emotions are high it is more difficult to control
it, especially if the service user is suffering from an illness or concerned about family
members or friends. It is very important that the health care professionals know how
to deal with conflict and that they notice the patients’ emotions and feelings, making
sure that the issues are fully outlined. Also, it can be managed by convincing both
parties that something can be done. When managing conflict, there are rules that
can be followed to ensure that everyone is comfortable as possible. This means
having a comfortable environment for any meetings and do not use jargon when
communicating to the specific service user or colleague. Health care professionals
dealing with Tremayne may have to manage conflict due to his outbursts of temper.
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