Health and Social Care: Law, Policy, Ethics and Practice Analysis

This report delves into the crucial intersection of law, policy, and ethical practice within the health and social care sector, using the Winterbourne case study as a focal point. It outlines key legislations such as the Care Act 2014 and the Health & Social Care Act 2012, alongside codes of practice, emphasizing their role in ensuring patient safety and guiding healthcare professionals. The report explores how laws, policies, and ethics impact patient care, highlighting the importance of ethical principles like autonomy and beneficence. It examines ways workers can ensure compliance through ethical practice, the impact of equality legislation, and the relationship between law, policy, and ethics. Furthermore, it describes the roles of the legislature, executive, and judiciary in shaping the legal landscape for healthcare practitioners, and discusses ethical dilemmas and national professional standards. The report concludes by addressing the importance of a national system of government and relevant legislation for safe and healthy practices, including human rights laws and the rights and responsibilities of practitioners.

Law, Policy And Ethical Practice
In Health And Social Care

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Key legislations & national policies, statutory guidance and codes of practice.........................3
Role of laws, policies and ethics in context of patient's safety & care.......................................4
Ways of workers to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and national policies through
ethical practice............................................................................................................................5
Impact of different equality legislation and equity while safeguarding individuals...................6
Relationship between law, policy and ethics in relation to practices..........................................7
Comparison between national & organisational policies against national professional
standards......................................................................................................................................7
PART 2............................................................................................................................................7
Describe how the legislature, the executive and the judiciary set out the legal and policy
landscape for Health and Social Care practitioners....................................................................7
Relationship between key legislation and national policy of direct relevance to health & social
care practice................................................................................................................................8
Ethical practices including examples of ethical dilemmas to deal with by ensuring
consideration of ethical codes of practice...................................................................................8
Examples of tasks conducted that meet national professional standards of safe and non-
discriminatory practice................................................................................................................8
Importance of national system of government including relevant issues and improvements.....8
Different legislation and policy in regard to being able to work safely and healthily in health
& care settings.............................................................................................................................8
Human Rights Laws for England and the rest inform about equal and fair ways of treatment. .8
Importance of relevant legislation and national policies while informing rights &
responsibilities for practitioners working in the setting..............................................................8
INTRODUCTION
Law, Policy and Ethical Practise is defined as the set of regulation which is required to be
followed by any of the individual. This rules and regulation are commenced by the authorised

department of a ruling government. The most important things is that it is necessary to be followed.
Law, Policy and Ethical practise is important because it gives the guidelines through which working
condition becomes easy and suitable. This report will be based on Winterbourne case study of
institutional abuse. It is one of the small village located in England, UK. The population of Winterbourne
is below 20,000 and there are various problem which is going on at the moment. The topics that will be
covered in this respective file will be related to legislature, executive and the judiciary and there plans
and policies for the betterment of health and social care practitioner. Explanation will also relate to key
legislation and national policy of direct relevance to health care. Also, there will be the interpretation to
the law and key ethical and professional practice themes in health and social care. At the end, law and
policies will be applied as per the relevant practice setting.
PART 1
Key legislations & national policies, statutory guidance and codes of practice
The legislation, statutory guidance and codes of practices are very helpful to to conduct various
clinical practices in appropriate manner. These are supportive to make accurate decision making about
care facilities and facilitate to gain better outcomes for patients. In context of selected case study based
on Winterbourne, it has been analysed that patients suffering from autism or learning disability get
abused by practitioners which is an extreme level of torture for them and it impacts negatively on
condition of people. However, it is necessary for care professionals to follow desired legislations,
statutory guidance and codes of practices in which some of them are given below.
Legislations & national policies
Care Act 2014 – This can be described as an appropriate legal framework for care professionals
and local health care authorities to protect people from risk of any kind of abuse and neglect. They
should put efforts to evaluate the abusing incidents of individuals and take effective actions to save
them. In case of Winterbourne, the care professionals should follow guidance provided by framework of
Care Act 2014 for reducing problem of abuse of disable people at healthcare institution. They can report
to legal authorities about those practitioners who abuse and harm patients in any manner.
Health & Social Act 2012 – This is known as a legal set of principle which provide instructions to
care practitioners in terms of providing secure healthcare services and treatment to needy people. It
consist the criterion of putting efforts to improve effectiveness and safety of patients while providing
medical facilities for their well being. The care professionals working in Winterbourne should focus oh
this legislation and follow it to give safe and appropriate care services to make them healthy.
Codes of practice
The codes of practices consist number of factors which are required to be focussed by medial
professionals at the time of providing treatment to patients for their well being. It consist different types
of people having mental or physical disorders and they must gain proper facilities by appropriate efforts
of care practitioners in healthcare institutions. In context of Winterbourne scandal, employees were not
well trained and attempt abusive activities with individuals having problem of autism or learning
disability. They should follow code of practices while providing care services to people which are
described here.

 It is necessary for care professionals to maintain respect and dignity of patients while dealing
with them.
 It is essential to follow equal and fair treatment principle and remain always non-discriminatory
to provide desired medical facilities to every individual.
 It consist the criterion to remain honest & reliable and put needs service user first to make
accurate decision making to given correct medications.
 It is necessary to respect rights of individuals and put efforts or protecting them from any kind of
abuse at healthcare institution.
Role of laws, policies and ethics in context of patient's safety & care
The laws, policies and ethics lays an important role to conduct overall clinical activities and
procedures properly for improving condition of an individual. It is necessary for medical professionals to
focus on desired legal norms and ethical principles because they facilitate to conduct clinical practices in
correct direction through making right decision about treatment process of particular patients. In
context of Winterbourne scandal, it has been analysed that professionals do not consider ethics and
they are not well trained and skilled due to which they attempt abusive activities among patients.
However, it is essential for them to gather Knowledge about laws and polices in order to conduct their
roles and responsibilities in proper manner.
Laws – This can be described as number of legislations relevant to various aspects of health care
that are required to followed by medical professionals in home care of Winterbourne. It consist Health
& Social care Act 2012, Equality Act 2010, Social Value Act 2012, Data Protection Act and many more.
However, these laws provide correct direction to care practitioners to conduct medical procedures and
protect people appropriately.
Policies – The policies consist organisational rules & regulations such as update new lase &
regulations, utilise advanced technology & education, pay respect to patient, follow ethical principles
and take feedbacks to solve problems. The employees working in care home of Winterbourne, they are
required to obey set policies to make decision and deal with sick people which improve safety of them
and increase appropriateness of treatment practices.
Ethics – The ethical principles should be followed by professionals because they facilitate to
conduct correct activities which are favourable for patients. It involves principle of autonomy,
beneficence, non- maleficence and justice which provide support to improve patient outcomes
respectively. However, it is mandatory for staff working in Winterbourne care home to obey ethical
principle which helps to avoid abusive attempt and other harmful actions.
Ways of workers to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and national policies through
ethical practice
The legislations and national policies provide help to employees for conducting clinical practices
and procedures in appropriate manner. It will provide support to avoid wrong activities and prefer more
effective procedures in order to gain better outcomes of sick people in health care institution.

Meanwhile, every legislation and national policy has set of framework including several sections which
can be consider one-by-one to ensure compliance. Moreover, the ethical principles encourage
practitioners to obey every relevant legal rule while conducting number of clinical procedures in
accurate way. The Winterbourne scandal of care home reflects about abusive activities carried out by
workers with sick people having problem of autism and learning disability which can removed by
following ethics and legislations.
At the other hand, workers can analyse the response of patients and impacts of treatment on
them to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and policies. It is necessary to make analyse the
comfort zone of people that how they feel while talking with care professionals to make sure about
attempting desired policies. However, it is essential for them establish an effective as well as efficient
care plan of action considering overall legislations and national policies carefully along with making
appropriate decision of providing treatment or medications accordingly. In addition to this, care plan is
supportive to carrying out treatment activities in correct sequence through analysing its impact of
condition of specific patient along with monitoring risk factors to avoid them effectively.
The workers in care home of Winterbourne are required to focus on codes of conduct and
ethical principle which facilitate to direction overall efforts of them in correct direction which helps to
increase patient outcomes. It consist the criterion of following ethical norms to maintain respect &
dignity of service user and make informed consent by providing desired information about treatment
procedure to patient for gaining their permission regarding the same. Meanwhile, care practitioners
should analyse about relevant legislation before conducting any kind of clinical practice and then follow
desired regulations to render correct medications in appropriate manner.
Impact of different equality legislation and equity while safeguarding individuals
The equality legislations plays an important role for facilitating delivery of medical services to
every person for improving their health status and spend their lives in comfortable manner. It has been
analysed that lack of equality is responsible for developing complications in condition of number of
patients belongs to discriminated community or having severe mental problem. However, different
types of equality legislations and equity is favourable or those individuals who get discriminated while
seeking care services for particular health problem and suffer from complexities of the same.
Equality Act 2010 is a legal framework which provide support to protect people from different
types of discrimination in society. It includes number of regulations such as Sex Discrimination Act 1975,
Race Relations Act 1976 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which facilitate to maintain equality
among patients in health & social care. Meanwhile, equality act also encourage protection of individuals
from discrimination in other areas also including job opportunities, education, public functions,
transport etc. In context of care home of Winterbourne, safeguarding of abused people can be ensured
by following Equality Act by providing desired facilities and give equal healthcare facilities. Moreover, it
is essential for care professionals to remove threat of discrimination and provide equal care services to
every person suffering from autism and learning disability.

Relationship between law, policy and ethics in relation to practices
Comparison between national & organisational policies against national professional standards
PART 2
Describe how the legislature, the executive and the judiciary set out the legal and policy
landscape for Health and Social Care practitioners
The legislation is the major body in UK that form laws and regulations. The main work of this
organisational body is to commence the law as per the demand of situation. The laws which is
commenced by legislature body is legal binding in nature and no one is allowed to breach its terms and
condition. For health and social care practitioner, legislature, executive and judiciary body plays the
crucial role because they tells that how any of the practitioner need to work and what are there
boundaries which they are not allowed to break. It is helpful for any of the practitioner because they
gets the idea that how they need to deal with any of patient. The judiciary body commences any of the
law as per the demand of situation where any of the new situation arises and legislation has not
explained about that particular topic. The laws and policies which are being commenced by them are
crucial because while commencing any of the law they have huge responsibilities which they need to
fulfil. All of the authorised department need to know that it is not easy in each and every situation that
law can be followed so legislature, executive and judiciary need to consider this things too. Although,
legislature commences the law but the responsibility to check each and every terms are being followed
or not is to be checked by the executives and the judiciary. They try to set out the legal polices as per
the requirement of patient and healthcare practitioner and that has been very beneficial too.

Relationship between key legislation and national policy of direct relevance to health & social
care practice
Ethical practices including examples of ethical dilemmas to deal with by ensuring consideration
of ethical codes of practice
Examples of tasks conducted that meet national professional standards of safe and non-
discriminatory practice
Importance of national system of government including relevant issues and improvements
Different legislation and policy in regard to being able to work safely and healthily in health &
care settings
Human Rights Laws for England and the rest inform about equal and fair ways of treatment
Importance of relevant legislation and national policies while informing rights & responsibilities
for practitioners working in the setting