This assignment hits all the criteria needed to achieve a Distinction in Unit 5 - Learning Aim B for BTEC Health and Social Care. Case studies used are Aurel and Kevin/Lucy.
Learning Aim B – examine the ethical issues involved when
providing care and support to meet individual’s needs.
B.P3 – Explain how to incorporate ethical principles into the provision of support for
individuals with different needs.
B.M3 – Analyse how an ethical approach to providing support would benefit specific
individuals with different needs.
Ethics are moral principles that determine how an individual behaves. Ethics are a study of how
individuals’ treat each other and the natural environment. In addition to this, ethics are based
on well-founded standards of right and wrong, which determine what an individual ought to do.
Ethical is dealing with right or wrong behaviour; it is the discipline concerned with what is
morally good or bad. Morals are what is expected to be the right thing to do. Morals can also
be known as an individuals’ character and own personal principles in relation to what they
consider right and wrong.
Ethical issues and approaches in Health and Social Care are issues that must be considered by all
service providers’ when working in the healthcare sector. Service providers must ensure that all
service users’ feel safe and are respected in every way. For example, if a service user would like
to visit the GP and they request a female practitioner, the service provider must take this into
consideration and respect their morals, as well as being ethical by ensuring a female practitioner
is available to attend to the service user.
Ethical theories are guidelines which have been produced by 4 philosophers that are given to
service providers. These are expected to be followed, as they guide healthcare professionals
how to behave and act in accordance with the ethical guidelines which have been set. These
theories are split into four fundamental areas, which are known as consequentialism,
principlism, deontology and virtue ethics.
Consequentialism:
Consequentialism was initially founded by Jeremy Bentham, and modern studies of
consequentialism were studied by Peter Singer. Consequentialism is a moral theory that
focusses on the morality of an action based on the outcome of it. Consequentialism provides a
justification on which actions are good or bad. In the context of Health and Social Care,
consequentialism is used when making decisions on a service user’s health, taking into account
, what the result of their decision will have on the service user’s overall health and wellbeing. This
provides service users with guidance when they are faced with a moral dilemma. For example, if
a service user requires an expensive surgery, but they have a low survival rate of making it even
after the surgery is conducted, service providers may use consequentialism to make the decision
that the money could be used towards other surgeries that other service users will benefit from
that have a higher survival rate. This suggests that healthcare professionals must consider which
case is more important and evaluate the consequences of each situation before making their
decision.
Principlism:
Principlism is the most common ethical theory which is used in the Health and Social Care sector
and was first published by Tom Beauchamp and James Children in the 1980s. Principlism is a
moral theory that emphasises the importance of four ethical principles that reinforce ethical
decision-making in healthcare. These four principles include autonomy, non-maleficence,
beneficence and justice. Autonomy emphasises the importance of respecting an individual’s
right to make decisions. For example, healthcare professionals e.g. nurses should not try and
influence an individual’s decision based on their own personal beliefs. Instead, they should
provide the service user with all the correct information, before allowing them to make their
own decision in line with their values and preferences. Non-maleficence revolves around the
idea that service providers must not cause any harm to the patients. For example, if there is a
certain type of medication that has more negative side effects than positive benefits, it is
therefore considered maleficence and the medication should not be distributed to the patient.
Beneficence is for the service providers to act in a way that benefits the service users as well as
their health and wellbeing as much as possible. Justice requires healthcare professionals to act
fairly when dealing with patients. It emphasises the importance of ensuring that all service users
have equal access to care and that all resources are distributed fairly.
Deontology:
Deontology was first introduced in 1814 by Jeremy Bentham and focusses on the duties, rights
and respect that individuals have for themselves. This ethical theory states that healthcare
professionals should stick to the obligations that they always have for service users, as it is
believed ethically right to do so. This theory focusses on an individual’s intentions, rather than
the outcome of their actions. For example, a deontologist may argue that it is always wrong to
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