Working with Aged People PDF

Running Head: WORKING ETHICALLY AND LEGALLY
Working with Aged People
Name of Student
Name of University
Name of Tutor
Date
Knowledge Assessment
1. Briefly explain how the following legal and ethical considerations are applied in organisations
providing aged care services:
Guidance: Provide examples where necessary, e.g., specific legislation, codes of practice which are

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relevant to the legal and ethical considerations listed.
a) children in the workplace Children are always very vulnerable beings and need to be given
greater concern (Wilkinson, 2009). Children in the workplace may be
exposed to different forms of dangers. However, there must be
specific regulations and codes of practice that must be followed to
ensure their safety and protection.
b) codes of conduct Code of conduct are sets of rules that would require that every
member of an organization to voluntarily operate within the stipulated
guidelines (Tuckett, 2012). They allow us to see the essence of
adopting good behaviours as per the expectations of the organization
and the public. In a health and social care organization, employees
would be required to behave accordingly so that the organization’s
reputation can be upheld. Aged care services are sensitive and values
must be observed.
c) codes of practice Codes of practice involve a set of rules that are laid down and enacted
by the members of an organization; every employee is expected to
legally and ethically apply the codes of practice. In most
circumstances, they contain information on preventive strategies,
practical advice etc. They are helpful to an organization because they
streamline the behaviour of employees towards the objectives of their
organization (Barnes & Henwood, 2015). In providing care for the
aged people, codes of practice are vital in ensuring that the rules and
guidelines are strictly followed. By developing the codes of practice,
the organization will have to recognize the responsibility it has to
provide social and healthcare services to the aged people and ensure
that they promote safety, equality, integrity, and fairness to all.

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d) complaints management This is one of the vital areas to be considered in any organization. It is
important for an organization to have a complaints department
responsible for receiving complaints from the employees, service
users and the public in general and presenting them to the
management for the next course of action in response to the specific
complaints. Complaints may come from different corners, both ethical
and legal considerations (Akgür, Erdem, & Coşkunol, 2012). In health
and social care organization, the department that deals with complaints
should be very strong. A lot of complaints may arise from the way
patients are handled, quality of services provided, security, and
protection. In this connection, the management should get the
complaints in good time to enable them to investigate and act
accordingly.
e) continuing professional
education
Skills upgrade is an important step in any organization. With
continuous dynamics in technology, many new ways are invented on
how to deal with different problems including health issues. This has a
greater impact on the quality of services offered in health and social
care services (McMillan, 2016). Continuing professional education
help employees refresh their minds, develop new strategies, and
become rich in ideas that help them be effective in service delivery.
f) Discrimination One of the most common problems that health and social care
organizations have to deal with more frequently is discrimination. It,
therefore, means that the employees of an organization must not
indulge in any form of discrimination. Because of the issue of
discrimination which old people may be facing at their homes, they
seek services in social and health care organizations to help them deal

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with stigma and enable them to cope with the environment
(Wilkinson, 2009). In this connection, the employees are expected to
be discriminatory free and friendly enough to understand the elderly
clients as that is the core mandate of the organization.
g) dignity of risk There are a lot of risks involved while offering care and social services
to elderly people. Risks are involved in both sides; therefore,
participants are obliged to ensure that they know the risks and operate
within the periphery of risk-free environment (Portus, 2015).
Following ethical standards will certainly lower the risks levels and
enable the organization to improve its image and enhance confidence
level.
h) duty of care In a health and social care organization, the core mandate is to offer
services in regards to care. The duty of care as shrined in the code of
ethics is a mandatory assignment to every employee (Cook, Schouten,
Henrickson, 2018). In the duty of care, every employee should devote
himself or herself to ensure that ethical values are upheld.
i) human rights:
Universal declaration of human
rights
The universal declaration of human rights is a document designed by
the United Nations and it puts straight the requirements for
understanding human rights. In essence, it states that the recognition
of dignity and the rights of all human beings should be equal to the
foundation of freedom, peace, and justice in the world (Cook,
Schouten, & Henrickson, 2018). It, therefore, calls for a great concern
to obey the human rights as we partake to our duties in social and
health care organization.
j) human rights:
the relationship between human
needs and human rights
Human needs are those things that are required by human beings, they
include food, clothing, and shelter basically known as basic human
needs. Human rights, on the other hand, were made from a Universal
Declaration and the main aim is to see moral practices enshrined in

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international and moral laws (Lloyd & Sullivan, 2018). Human rights
and human needs are important to an organization that is offering
social care services to elderly people because they form the
foundation of the organization's responsibility.
k) human rights:
frameworks, approaches, and
instruments used in the
workplace
Employees are expected to know the legal and ethical frameworks in
the social and health care organizations. These frameworks may
include sources of law, legislation, international treaties among other
(Barnes, & Henwood, 2015). The social care provider should not
only pass government policy but must be aware of the ethical and
human rights issues as well as having a clear understanding of their
roles in the organization.
l) informed consent In most cases, service providers will have their own consent. But their
consent should conform to the ethical requirements and the laws
governing the organization (Lloyd, & Sullivan, 2018). Informed
consent may be using a time when a decision has to be made
regarding issues in the organization.
m) mandatory reporting Mandatory reporting involves the work, done by physical therapists;
emergency medical service providers; physicians; surgeons among
others. Elderly people have the risk of health emergencies which may
require quick reporting (Cook, Schouten & Henrickson, 2018).
Mandatory reporting must conform to the codes of conduct, codes of
practice, and the general ethics of the organization. This practice is
very important in health and social care organizations because it
enables handling of the aged people are faster and reliable.
n) practice standards Standards of practice are the key components of the ethical
framework as laid down in procedures and guidelines. They are
standards in conformity to the ethical requirements. It is important to
take note of the ages that are dealt with. They are helpful in the
realization of organizational goals and objectives because they enable

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employees to understand that they have to operate within the
procedures and regulations both national based and organizational
based.
o) practitioner/client boundaries This is one of the most important practices in health and social care.
As much as the practitioner’s and the client’s privacy must be
protected, their boundaries must be respected as well (Cartwright,
2005). Confidential information about the client must be protected as
well as the confidential information about the practitioner in
conformity to the procedures for good practice.
p) privacy, confidentiality, and
disclosure
Privacy, confidentiality, and disclosure are very fundamental ethical
requirements in any organization dealing with the provision of care to
elderly people. The requirement is that these people must have their
privacy maintained and non-disclosure of confidential information is
adhered to (Tuckett, 2012). This is necessary as it is part of the
requirements of the good standards resulting from ethical behavior
needed in the organization.
q) policy frameworks Good policy frameworks will certainly create a good environment
where every individual will work comfortably and the clients will get
the kind of services they need. However, I the policy frameworks are
not proper, clients may not be satisfied or attended to accordingly
(Fonad, Robins Wahlin & Rydholm Hedman, 2015). The main
objective of the organization is to satisfy the requirements of its
clients; therefore, it is important that the policies create a wonderful
environment for all the users.
r) records management In any health and social care organization, records management is a
critical undertaking that requires full attention. Health records are
fundamental in helping practitioners keep track of all the patients and
the activities they do (Cook, Schouten, & Hendrickson, 2018). This is