Fostering Dignity: An Ethical Analysis of the Martha Jayasekera Case

This case study analyzes the ethical considerations surrounding the care of Martha Jayasekera, a young woman with cerebral palsy requiring home care services. It examines ethical concepts such as freedom, rights, responsibilities, and the use of power in care, highlighting violations of autonomy and justice in the current service provision. The study emphasizes the importance of effective communication, interpersonal skills like compassion and respect, and strategies to support Martha's dignity. It reflects on the duty of candor, professional responsibilities, and the need for healthcare providers to fulfill their roles effectively. The analysis underscores the significance of person-centered care and ethical practice in ensuring the well-being and respect of vulnerable patients.

Fostering
Dignity and
Respect

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Overview of case study............................................................................................................................3
What are the ethical concepts pertaining to freedom, rights, responsibilities and the use of power in
care which apply in the given situation and what kind of strategies could the staff employ to support as
well as respect the dignity of Martha Jayasekera?...................................................................................3
Consider how the staff can maintain effective communication and use their interpersonal skills
including compassion, dignity, and respect to deliver the best care possible to Martha Jayasekera.........6
An excellent understanding and full details of the principles of ethics and describing how they relate to
this case study and provide evidence of insightful assessment................................................................8
Reflection..................................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................11
References.................................................................................................................................................12

Introduction
Among all the necessary human needs dignity and respect is highly important. Each and
every person wishes to receive dignity and respect in order to live a better life. Without respect &
dignity, it is quite difficult to live a standard life. While living in the society, it is the basic
requirement of each and every person. They are likely to respect the privacy of each other
(Lohne and et. al., 2017). In the given scenario, Martha Jayasekera is a young woman who is
facing certain health related issues. She is suffering from cerebral palsy. She is likely to use
wheelchair to move from one place to other She is in need of support for daily activities like
washing, dressing, getting ready and more. In addition she is taking services of one home care
organization who deliver services and support her to go bed at 10 P.m. However, the care is
likely to reach at nearly 7 p.m to perform her basis duties. They have excuse that they do not
feel safe in the respective locality during late hours. It will cover the ethical concepts related to
freedom, rights & responsibilities and use of power in care. Further, the study will also cover
reflection in terms of assessing own contribution in learning, self-development and enhancement.
Overview of case study
In the given scenario, Martha Jayasekera is a young women who is living in her own flat.
She is suffering from cerebral palsy and uses wheelchair to complete daily activities. She needs
support for completing her daily tasks such as getting up from bed, washing, dressing and more.
Apart from this, she also works as a part time counselor to motivate the people who are facing
physical disabilities. In this regard, she is working in a local community centre. A home care
organization delivers services to the lady. They are required to offer support while she is moving
in bed nearly at 10 p.m. However, the service care organization is likely to provide the serviced
at 7 p.m. She has been done complaints several time. But, the staff members are likely to have
excuse that they do not feel safe in locality during late hours.
What are the ethical concepts pertaining to freedom, rights, responsibilities and the use of power
in care which apply in the given situation and what kind of strategies could the staff employ to
support as well as respect the dignity of Martha Jayasekera?
Ethical concepts are crucial to follow in order to maintain dignity and respect. By
following ethical principles, it is possible to offer proper care to the patients. In the hospitality

sector, there is requirement to follow ethical principles so that patients can receive a good care.
While providing care to the patients, it is crucial to follow basic ethical principles (Clark and
Ritter, 2018). For healthcare providers, it is important to follow the ethical concepts like
freedom, rights, responsibilities and more. In the given scenario, Martha Jayaskera is a disable
young woman who is in need of special care. She required special treatment to get up from the
bed and complete the daily activities. Further, she is taking support of care services to complete
the daily activities. In this situation, it is important to follow the necessary ethic concepts in an
efficient manner. For this purpose, the major ethical concepts are given below:
Freedom: According to this ethical concept, each and every person has freedom to get
enter into a contractual agreement with healthcare service providers. Here, the patients have
freedom to choose a particular doctor. No one can force them to take services from a particular
health care provider. In this situation, freedom is about selecting a proper health care system.
Following the respective concept is helpful in getting better health care treatment in an efficient
manner. This offers freedom to the individuals that they can select their own health system and
service providers (Pless, Maak and Harris, 2017). Basically, the main aim of this ethical concept
is to offer the best possible health related services to the patients so that they can deal with health
issues profoundly. This concept is about providing access to the patients of non-traditional
healthcare system. In addition to this, it also facilitates the supply of natural and nutrional food
that will allow the patients to maintain better health conditions efficiently. In context of the given
scenario, the lady need to have freedom to select one appropriate health care service provider.
For this purpose, she can make the comparison of different service providers in order to select an
appropriate service care organization for future betterment.
Rights: In healthcare setting ample of rights have been structured by the higher
authorities. Human rights in healthcare shows that everyone needs to control their own health &
body including having necessary access of information and serviced to minimize the
discrimination and violence. Human rights in healthcare is all about offering standardized
treatment to all patient which will cover the positive and negative aspects jn respect of health. It
basically shows the highest attainable standard of health (Schwab, 2019). In addition, it is the
right of each and every person to get personalized care & treatment so that they can enjoy a

healthy lifestyle. In the given scenario, there is requirement to follow the duties in an appropriate
way. Here, the health care workers need to fulfill their duties of care in an efficient manner.
Duty of Candour under the Care Act 2014: It is a legislation wherein NHS bodies need
to have a contractual duty of candour under the NHS standard contract and adult social care
within a well-structure environment. Majorly, three types of duties are followed while fulfilling
the duty of candour (Bentwich, Dickman and Oberman, 2017). These professional duties are
pertaining to tell the patients when required, apologize to patients whenever appropriate, offer
appropriate remedy or support if possible. Following such duties is helpful in order to provide
better and effective care to the patients.
Responsibilities: In healthcare setting, it is the duty of service providers to fulfill the
assigned roles and responsibilities in significant manner. For this purpose, they need to complete
the duty of care. In this regard, it is important to enhance the skills and abilities so that the best
possible care can be offer to the patients. In healthcare setting , duty of care is professional and
legal obligation to safeguard others while offering care. Through the service, it is important to
address the health related requirements of patients (Clark and Kenski, 2017). In context of the
given scenario, it is the responsibility of social worker of healthcare organization to provide the
best possible care to the lady. She is disable and need help in daily activities. Therefore, she is
taking services of the respective healthcare organization. Here, they are responsible to fulfill
their duties & responsibilities by offering timely and effective services.
Use of power: Power is highly important in physical & social sciences. In this context,
power has been determined as a crucial component to influence others. Healthcare workers such
as physician, doctors, nurse have power to affect the health of patients. Basically, the power can
be understood as the ability to influence others. In addition, it is related to getting the things done
in a particular way, using the resources efficiently and use the resources as per requirement
(Calloway-Thomas, Arasaratnam-Smith and Deardorff, 2017). In context of the given scenario,
the healthcare service providers are required to utilize the power efficiently. They have efficient
and capable employees who are likely to utilize their skills in terms of offering the best possible
treatment to the lady. By utilizing the power, it is possible to give timely and effective treatment
to the patient.

Strategies can be implemented by staff: In the given scenario, the staff members are
required to follow significant strategies with an aim to offer better treatment to the female
patient. In this regard, the necessary strategies are mentioned below:
 The staff members are required to offer dignity and support to the female. They need to
offer timely services to the lady in order to take care of her health in a better and effective
way.
 It is suggested that they need to set the time period in such a way that they can provide
timely services to the lady. For this purpose, they need to make use of their power
efficiently. This will help in making improvement in the health condition of the female
patient while following the ethical principles appropriately.
Consider how the staff can maintain effective communication and use their interpersonal skills
including compassion, dignity, and respect to deliver the best care possible to Martha Jayasekera.
Effective communication is essential in order to attain the pre-defined goals successfully.
Here, communication is helpful in maintaining proper flow of information among the
individuals. In healthcare setting, the healthcare workers and patients are required to maintain
proper communication for the success of healthcare services (Younas and Maddigan, 2019). To
provide the best possible care to Martha Jayasekera, it is imperative to have effective
interpersonal skills like compassion, dignity, respect and more. If the healthcare workers offer
the best services, it is possible to maintain better relationship with patients. In addition to this,
maintaining proper communication will allow the healthcare workers to take care of patient in a
better way.
Effective communication: Communication is way of exchanging information with each-
other. Without maintaining proper communication, it is quite difficult to reach at meaningful
conclusion. Having necessary interpersonal skills like communication, dignity and more are
important to provide a better care to the female patient. In addition to this, there is requirement to
have person centered approach so that it will be possible to maintain better and effective relation
with patient.
Communication written, verbal and non-verbal: There are ample of ways to maintain
communication. Written communication is highly preferable as it can be used for reference in

the future period of time (Becker, Wright and Schmit, 2017). In the given context, the healthcare
workers are required to maintain necessary communication with patients through written
methods. Apart from this, they can also maintain verbal communication while exchanging
thoughts with each other.
Interpersonal skills: Interpersonal skills makes a person enable to put a better
impression on others. If healthcare workers have necessary interpersonal skills, they can easily
understand the issues and problems faced by the patients. In context of the given scenario, the
healthcare workers need to have necessary interpersonal skills as it will help them in providing
effective experience to the patient.
How has Autonomy been violated: Autonomy is important to provide better care to the
patient. They need to have choice to select their healthcare service provider. In addition, they can
raise their voice if they want any improvement in the health related care. In the given scenario,
the patient is a young disable lady (Hicks, 2018). She requires proper care for her daily activities.
For this purpose, she is also taking help of a healthcare organization. However, the respective
healthcare organization is not offering timely services after making the complaint. In this way,
there is great hamper to the principle of autonomy.
How has Justice been violated: In the present scenario, justice is being violated in terms
of delaying in service. The disable lady is likely to go to the bed at 10 p.m. but the workers of
health care organization finished their duties at 7 p.m. Hence, they are not there when the patient
require them. After making complaint of several times, the healthcare workers are not paying
attention. Therefore, the justice is being violated that will hamper the quality of healthcare
services .
How has Beneficence been violated: Beneficence is about offering quality services to
the individuals. While offering services, it is crucial to follow the necessary ethical principles. It
is a quality or state of doing well. In the given scenario, the quality of services that are being
offered by the healthcare organizations are not up to the mark. They are not offering proper care
to the disable lady. She is a disable person hence need to get proper care for routine activities.
But, the beneficence is getting violated in terms of lack of proper care and treatment.

How has non-maleficence been violated: Non-maleficence refers to the obligation of
healthcare service providers to offer the best possible care to the patient. It includes sever moral
rules such as not to kill them, do not cause pain and suffering to them and more (Mazerolle and
et. al., 2017). In context of the given scenario, the patient is a young disable lady. She requires
proper care for her daily activities. For this purpose, she is also taking help of a healthcare
organization. However, the respective healthcare organization is not offering timely services
after making the complaint. In this way, they are not taking proper care of patient.
What is a Duty of candour and how might it apply: Duty of candour refers to stay
honest with patients. They are required to give honest information to the patients. When anything
goes wrong, it is the duty of candour to explain each and every thing to the patient so that they
can get proper idea regarding their health condition. In context of the give scenario, the health
care workers need to give honest reason to the patient of not providing the appropriate
treatment. This can be done by facilitating proper communication between patient and
healthcare workers.
What are the issues around privacy: Maintaining privacy is highly important in health
care setting. By maintaining privacy the healthcare workers can easily provide the better and
effective care to the patients. In the given context, there might be certain issues related to privacy
that can hamper the personal data & information of patients.
An excellent understanding and full details of the principles of ethics and describing how they
relate to this case study and provide evidence of insightful assessment
Beneficence: Beneficence is about offering quality services to the individuals. While
offering services, it is crucial to follow the necessary ethical principles (Majeski and et. al.,
2017). It is a quality or state of doing good. In the given scenario, the qualities of services that
are being offered by the healthcare organizations are not up to the mark. They are required to
make necessary improvements in services to get better results.
Nonmaleficene: refers to the obligation of healthcare service providers to offer the best
possible care to the patient. It includes sever moral rules such as not to kill them, do not cause
pain and suffering to them and more. In context of the given scenario, the patient is a young
disable lady. She requires proper care for her daily activities. For this purpose, she is also taking

help of a healthcare organization. Here, the healthcare organization need to provide proper care
to the patient.
Autonomy: Autonomy is important to provide better care to the patient. They need to
have choice to select their healthcare service provider. In addition, they can raise their voice if
they want any improvement in the health related care. In the given scenario, the patient is a
young disable lady. She requires proper care for her daily activities. For this purpose, she is also
taking help of a healthcare organization. In this context, she needs to have right to get proper
healthcare services.
Conclusion: From the above scenario, it is analyzed that Jayasekera is a young women who is
living in her own flat. She is suffering from cerebral palsy and uses wheelchair to complete daily
activities. A home care organization delivers services to the lady. There is discussion regarding
ethical principles in terms of use of power, autonomy and more. It is analyzed that the staff
member are also required to maintain proper communication and have necessary interpersonal
skills for providing better care to the patient.

Reflection
The above report is based on fostering dignity and respect. After completion of the
project, I got to know about the significance of respect & dignity in healthcare setting. In
addition, I came across with ethical principles that are followed in the healthcare setting. Several
principles such as use of power, autonomy, freedom and more are followed by the healthcare
professionals. While undertaking the project, I improved my knowledge regarding these
concepts. As a result, I am able to adjust my performance in the best possible way. Additionally,
I learned that Effective communication is essential in order to attain the pre-defined goals
successfully. Here, communication is helpful in maintaining proper flow of information among
the individuals. In healthcare setting, the healthcare workers and patients are required to maintain
proper communication for the success of healthcare services. Communication is way of
exchanging information with each-other. Without maintaining proper communication, it is quite
difficult to reach at meaningful conclusion. Having necessary interpersonal skills like
communication, dignity and more are important to provide a better care to the female patient.
This knowledge will make me enable to grow and enrich in the career in an efficient manner.
After undertaking the project, my knowledge has been enhanced that will help in self
development and growth. Here, I got knowledge of different ethical principles in healthcare
setting. In addition, I learned regarding the concept of autonomy, justice in healthcare setting.
Through this knowledge, I can ensure my self development and enhancement in an efficient
manner.

Conclusion
It is analyzed from the above-mentioned information that Each and every person wishes
to receive dignity and respect in order to live a better life. Without respect & dignity, it is quite
difficult to live a standard life. Through the above-mentioned data, it is monitored that
Jayasekera is a young women who is living in her own flat. She is suffering from cerebral palsy
and uses wheelchair to complete daily activities. Further, it is found that the staff member are
also required to maintain proper communication and have necessary interpersonal skills for
providing better care to the patient.

References
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