ASSIGNMENT TITLE: HOW VALUES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE EMPOWER INDIVIDUALS.
INTRODUCTION
Values as a term means ethics and standards of behaviour, which includes a person's decisions of
what's useful in life. Value has a relation to something worth. Everyone has got their values they
hold as individual. In our lives, we all have our values and how we make use of them. There are
different ways some people show their value and what they are committed.
This unit is about Health and Social Care values and how I demonstrated them effectively in my role
play. In health and social care, values are the objectives and concept that make certain that health
and social care is offered or provided in the best appropriate way or acceptable manner in Health
and social care. All health and Social Care workers have got their values they used in different
healthcare settings. Some of the healthcare setting includes Care home, Residential homes,
hospitals, ambulance services and the others. All these settings follow their standards and ethic to
meet their legal requirements. These values are the principle or standards that guide healthcare
professionals to understand the right from wrong and what is useful when supporting individuals.
These principles must be followed by healthcare professional to improve their professionalism and
skills and abilities. Care Values are important to follow as it signifies whether you’ve got the passion
for your work.
Furthermore, when care values are not followed by healthcare professionals, their career, skills and
ability would be downgraded, and they can lose their job. Most times, when health and social care
values aren't followed and as a result of a mistake it can be a criminal offence which the law has the
right to deal with you. As a healthcare professional, health value must be your guidance for what
you are supposed to do. I know we can encounter problems and dilemmas when working in a
healthcare setting. The best way to get out of these are, just be professional.
In this report, I am going to show how I worked with the six care values during my role play. I will
work with all the six values of care which include, Respect, Dignity, Safeguarding, Duty of care,
Confidentiality and Person-centred approach. I will make note of the important of each care value on
the service user and the service provider (me).
The first scenario was about a care home for the elderly people. I was a care worker in an elderly
care home. Where Mr Hill is a service user who am fond of. Mr Hill was an art teacher for 25 years
and enjoys taking part in creative activities. He has been in care for three years and his only living
relative who lives very close to the home and visit every day is her daughter. I am planning an art
and crafts activity and I have been asked by my manager to demonstrate the care values that
underpins health and social care.
The second scenario was about a residential setting, where I was a care assistant working with young
adult with learning disabilities. Zainab, who is a service user has a movement and coordinating and
language and speech. I was planning a trip to take Zainab out for day, and I was told by manager to
demonstrate the care values that underpin health and social care.
The following are the care values I used and how I demonstrated them in the role play.
DIGNITY
, Dignity is the way of being worthy of honour or respect. Dignity is the right of everyone to be valued
and respected for their own purpose for who they are. When you are treating someone with dignity,
it means you will be happy to be treated that way. There are many ways people show their dignity in
general.
In Health and social care dignity means delivering care that maintains the self-respect of the service
users. Dignity is practiced everywhere by healthcare professional in health and social care setting. If
you go to the hospital, mostly they ask you to choose the agender you will prefer to look after you.
This is not discrimination, but they are maintaining your dignity.
All service users in health and social care settings have the right for their own choice and what they
are comfortable with. We know that, not all choices are advisable for service users it might put their
health at risk. But if their choice deal with personal choices and what they prefer, then service
providers must work with dignity and accept it. For example, if a service provider is a diabetic and he
insist taking too much sugar content, then as a healthcare professional you should speak to him and
show him why it’s bad for his health. This will maintain dignity and improve the health of the service
user.
To maintain dignity, healthcare professionals must promote independence by encouraging or
empowering them to do something on their own. This will improve the service user self-confidence.
A healthcare professional must also give service users privacy when doing something which deal
with personal care. This includes closing doors and curtains. A healthcare professional must speak to
service user when dealing with personal care and know what you are not doing right. To treat
service users with dignity, service providers must listen to what the individual want, involve the
individual in conversation and not talk about them when they’re not present. In a hospital, when a
nurse or any other healthcare professional is taking care of a patient and they notice the patient is
wearing a hair scarf where it needs to come off to be able to deliver proper care, then as a
healthcare provider you must ask her politely if she can take it off. This has protected her privacy
and she might have the scarf due to religious purpose. This is an example of dignity in health and
social care setting. Service providers must be giving chance for independence to service user. This
will make them know that they can do it and shouldn’t underestimate themselves. Healthcare
professional must give service user a chance to decide when relating to their care. This will make
them feel they have control of their life as well.
Service user must also be able to detect if a service user is in pain. This can be, you’ve noticed some
unexpected behaviour from them which you know is rare. Then as a service provider, you must act
to be able to help the service user. This has promoted dignity in care and respected their dignity. A
friendly chat too, is very important as it may give them chance to speak without hesitation.
When dignity is not showed properly in a care setting, the service users can be mentally unstable,
and it will put their health at risk. This is because they will feel like they aren't part of the living due
to their old age and some might have dementia. A service provider may lose her work, some care
setting has got secret camera which monitor how you address and care for individuals. When they
notice that proper care wasn’t giving including showing dignity their employer may fire or make
them stop coming to work for some time.
Dignity also allows individual to make their own decision and speak for themselves. If service
providers give service users chance for their own choice, they feel relieved and comfortable with you.
In that case, then they can tell you whatever they feel without hesitating.
