Fostering Dignity and Respect in Health and Social Care

FOSTERING
DIGNITY AND
RESPECT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
QUESTION 1...................................................................................................................................1
Demonstration of understanding of ethical and moral concepts............................................1
QUESTION 2...................................................................................................................................4
Discussion of effective communication and interpersonal skills...........................................4
QUESTION 4...................................................................................................................................6
Identification of Strategies for enhancing dignity and respect...............................................6
QUESTION 3...................................................................................................................................7
Examination and Reflection upon personally held values.....................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Dignity and respect are crucial aspects to be considered in health and social care and it is
considered within one of the major responsibilities of all the professionals working within this
sector. It is associated with protecting a person's rights, providing them effective care and
effective provision of respect to the patient under all circumstances (Hanna and Robert, 2019).
Hence, in this context, below is a detailed account of dignity of respect within the case study of
Mrs. Wang. The report would hence cover an effective demonstration of understanding of ethical
and moral concepts within the professional healthcare setting, along with discussion of
communication and interpersonal skills. Moreover, the assignment also covers identification of
strategies for enhancing dignity and respect accorded to people in healthcare setting and
examination and reflection upon personally held values and their impact on practice, individual
learning and personal development.
QUESTION 1
Demonstration of understanding of ethical and moral concepts
Ethics refer to a person's deposition, nature, as well as character, which is related to
morals, which is directed towards distinction and differentiation between what is right and wrong
within different practices (Leathard and McLaren, 2007). According to the case study, Mrs.
Wang is a patient at Guy's and St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, who is suffering from lung
cancer. With severely poor symptoms and prognosis, she is believed to have very less time left to
give. In addition, despite of having an understanding of the English language, she uses Mandarin
to communicate to he professionals. On the other hand, her two sons and extended family have
requested that she must not be told about her actual condition, rather than be lied about her
tumour being in a non-malignant state.
Hence, in this context, below are several ethical principles, as well a strategies that are
required to be understood and implemented in order to appropriately and effectively support Mrs.
Wang within her situation.
Ethical Principles:
There are several ethical principles that are in accordance with the case study mentioned
above. Some of the most prominent ones are discussed below:
 Beneficence:
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This ethical principle is related to as an act of mercy, kindness and charity, which is
subjected towards doing good to other individuals as a part of moral obligation of individuals.
Hence as per the case study, Mrs. Wang has been suffering from symptoms like loss of weight,
persistent could as well as breathlessness. Hence, this directly impacts the case study as the
nurses and medical professionals within the organisation must work towards ensuring
beneficence in context of Mrs. Wang. However, a violation of this principle could be to abruptly
notify her of her condition, without seeking professional guidance and adherence to safety,
which might be emotionally stressful for Mrs. Wang.
 Respect:
In context of this principle, proper respect must be provided to patients within the
healthcare irrespective of their physical or mental condition. In this regard, one aspect associated
with respecting Mrs. Wang is to ensure complete transparency towards her medical state, along
with communication of the consequences of the same. Not doing so would be violating this
principle to a very grieve extent.
 Autonomy:
According to this principle, there are several variables that are necessary to be put into
practice, such as decision-making, disclosure, informed consent and truth telling. A violation of
this principle would be to keep Mrs. Wang in the dark in context of her situation, as well as take
decisions that are not in the favour of the dignity and respect of the patient as they must be a top
priority of the healthcare professions, as well as the organisation.
Ethical Concepts
Aligning with these ethical principles, there are several appropriate and effective
concepts of ethics that are very crucial to be understood and implemented within the case study.
 Human Rights:
This concept is associated with adherence, as well as protection of rights of the patients
within the organisation for their treatment. A violation of this right on the professional part of the
nurse and other professionals related to the case study would be to not protect Mrs. Wang's rights
of transparency, as well as honesty by lying to her about her condition (Baines and Armstrong,
2018).
 Freedom:
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