Policy– Respect for human rights

Suitable for all providers

Note: this worked example policy is for illustrative information only. It may be used by an adult social care or healthcare organisation as a basis upon which to develop its own policy but should be fully customised and adapted to the specific needs of the organisation concerned.

Aim

The aim of this organisation is to ensure that human rights are respected throughout the organisation, including the human rights of service users to privacy, dignity, autonomy and freedom from discrimination and unlawful restriction.

Background

This organisation believes that respect for human rights, or basic human freedoms, is a fundamental element in the provision of care services. Such freedoms include freedom of association, freedom of movement, freedom to have privacy, and freedom from abuse, discrimination and unlawful restriction on movements and activities.

The organisation recognises the following relevant legislation and international conventions:

  • UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948
  • European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • Equality Act 2010
  • Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice 2015

The organisation recognises that:

  • The Human Rights Act (HRA) gives effect in the UK to certain rights and freedoms guaranteed under the ECHR.
  • The HRA places a duty on public authorities to respect and protect people’s human rights.
  • The Mental Health Code of Practice 2015 requires providers to have in place a human rights and equality policy for service provision and practice in relation to the Mental Health Act 1983, which should be reviewed at least annually.
  • Article 8 of the ECHR requires public authorities to respect a person’s right to a private life.
  • A wide range of bodies carrying out public functions, including the delivery of public services by private and contracted-out providers, have legal obligations to respect and protect human rights.
  • The Equality Act makes it unlawful to discriminate (directly or indirectly) against a person on the basis of a protected characteristic or combination of protected characteristics, including age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
  • Commissioners of services must, in the exercise of their functions, have due regard to the need to reduce health inequalities with respect to the ability of people to access health services.
  • It is a basic human right of service users to complain about the care they receive if they wish to and to be helped to complain if they need assistance.

In addition to the above, this organisation also recognises that respect for human rights is also an important part of compliance with the registration requirements of the Care Quality Commission.

Care Quality Commission regulatory requirements
All adult social care providers must comply with the regulatory requirements of the CQC in order to maintain their registration.
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which include the fundamental standards, apply to health and social care providers from April 2015.
Regulation 10: Dignity and respect, states that service users must be treated with dignity and respect. This includes:
  • ensuring the privacy of the service user
  • supporting the autonomy, independence and involvement in the community of the service user
  • having due regard to any relevant protected characteristics (as defined in section 149(7) of the Equality Act 2010) of the service user.
Guidance for providers on meeting the regulations, published by the CQC in March 2015, includes the following prompts which service providers must take notice of:
  • When people receive care and treatment, all staff must treat them with dignity and respect at all times.
  • Thisincludes staff treating them in a caring and compassionate way.
  • All communication with people using services must be respectful.
  • Staff must respect people’s personal preferences, lifestyle and care choices.
  • When providing intimate or personal care, provider must make every reasonable effort to make sure that they respectpeople’s preferences about who delivers their care and treatment, such as requesting staff of a specified gender.
  • People using the service should be addressed in the way they prefer.
  • People using the service must not be neglected or left in undignified situations.
  • Each person’s privacy must be maintained at all times including when they are asleep, unconscious or lack capacity.
  • People who use services must be offered support to maintain their autonomy and independence in line with their needs and stated preferences.
  • People using services must not be discriminated against in any way and the provider must take account of protected characteristics, set out in the Equality Act 2010.

Policy

This organisation believes that it must respect the human rights of all service users, their families and representatives at all times.

In this organisation:

  • Effective governance arrangements will be in place which will include monitoring of human rights standards as well as effective remedies for human rights breaches.
  • All staff will work to eliminate discrimination by embedding equality through systems, processes and outputs and ensuring that all forms of discrimination are prohibited, prevented and eliminated.
  • Where staff have concerns or recognise that abuse is occurring or that human rights are not being respected they will be expected and encouraged to report their concerns through the appropriate safeguarding channels and policies. In certain cases this may include whistleblowing.
  • Service users and their families and advocates will be empowered by providing them with choice based on the provision of information and knowledge – all information should be supplied in a format that each service user can understand.
  • All staff will respect the privacy, dignityand property of service users at all times.
  • Respecting patients’ privacy encompasses the circumstances in which patients may meet or communicate with people of their choosing in private, including in their own rooms, and the protection of their private property.
  • Blanket restrictions which restrict a service user’s liberty and other rights, which are routinely applied to all service users without individual risk assessments to justify their application, should be avoidedunless they can be justified as necessary and proportionate responses to risks identified for particular individuals.
  • Care must always be based on the principle of the ‘least restrictive option’ where independence and autonomy are maximised and service users empowered, wherever possible, to make their own decisions.
  • Service users (or their representatives) should always be asked for their explicit, informed consent whenever care or treatment services are being proposed to meet their needs.
  • The confidentiality of service users’ consent decisions and deliberations should be respected at all times.
  • Where a service user is suspected of lacking the capacity to make an informed decision relating to a consent issue then a ‘best interests’ decision may have to be made for them – in such cases the full provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 should be followed, the fact that they have not been able to give their valid consent should be fully recorded using an appropriate form and, where necessary, deprivation of liberty safeguarding procedures should be implemented.
  • Any valid advance decision by a service user should always be fully respected.
  • The organisation should support, enable or facilitate advocacy for any service user who might require it by being undecided about giving consent or by lacking the capacity to give their informed consent.
  • Service users, and their relatives and advocates, will be made fully aware of the organisation’s complaints procedures and helped to complain wherever they need assistance.
  • Service users will be protected from discrimination by the implementation of effective anti-discrimination policies and procedures that encourage equality and respect for diversity.

Management duties

Managers and supervisors in the organisation have a duty to:

  • regularly audit the use of this policy and the effectiveness of procedures to promote safeguarding from abuse and respect for human rights
  • monitor complaints and compliments relating to abuse and human rights issues or breaches, taking action as required and fully investigating any complaints
  • ensure that there is robust monitoring of equalities so that the organisation can better understand how people with protected characteristics are protected from discrimination
  • obtain qualitative evidence on service users’ experiences with respect to equality
  • ensure that service users, and their relatives and representatives, have adequate processes in place to be able to register queries or complaints about human rights issues and to have their thoughts listened to and acted upon.

Staff duties

Staff in this organisation have a duty to:

  • report any safeguarding concerns, discrimination or suspected abuse/failure to respect human rights
  • always act in full compliance with the Equality Act 2010, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the associated deprivation of liberty safeguards
  • always respect the privacy and dignity of service users and support their independence
  • always respect the property and possessions of service users
  • comply fully at all times with organisational policies on human rights and safeguarding
  • attend appropriate training.

Training

In this organisation:

  • induction will include training and guidance on safeguarding, equality and diversity, on least restrictive practice, and on respect for privacy, dignity, property and human rights
  • all staff will be trained in the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act and with the associated deprivation of liberty safeguards.

Applicability and scope

This policy applies to all staff and volunteers working in or for the organisation without exception. All staff are responsible for ensuring that they work within the remit of this policy and in the manner in which they have been trained.

Associated policies and procedures

  • Safeguarding and whistleblowing policies
  • Mental Capacity Act policy
  • Deprivation of liberty safeguards policy
  • Confidentiality and data protection policies
  • Equality and diversity policies
  • Advocacy policy

Responsibilities

Responsibility for the implementation, monitoring and review of this policy lies with the service provider.

Signed:

Dated:

Policy reference number and version:

Author:

Implementation date:

Next review date:

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