Jennifer Pedler

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Ethics and Values – Unit 23

In this Assessment, I am going to produce a training pack on ethical issues in social work for use by student social workers.

I will provide practical help for new social workers to help them understand and deal with ethical issues and dilemmas which they will face.

There are many ethical issues which are important to social work, but I feel that these are all covered by the care value base. The care value base Was devised by the care sector consortium in 1992, this was so that the workers in health and social care had a common set of values and principles which they would all adhere to. It is important because for the first time the social care sector had a clear set of guidelines from which ethical judgements could be made. The care value base is divided into 5 elements -

The care value base covers

  • Equality and Diversity
  • Rights and responsibilities
  • Confidentiality
  • Promoting anti Discrimination
  • Effective communication

Equality and Diversity

Carers must value diversity themselves before they can effectively care for the different races, religions and differently abled people they will come across in their caring profession. Diversity is where there are many different kinds of people living in a community together. This means that in a set environment there will be black, Asian, gay, straight, differently abled people living together in a community. Discriminatory prejustice must be able to be recognised by the carer, for example, if a woman is being discriminated against in a care home, or treated differently in a hospital setting, the carer must be able to recognise that this behaviour is happening, and inform a higher power, or go through the complaints procedure, this would be because of legal rights of the client,(which are the right to equal service and the right to treatment which is equal to others) or it could also be against the organisations policies.

This is important to the individual as it affects self esteem, because if for example a service user is being treated differently because of the colour of his skin, then it could lead to him having a feeling of low self worth and low self esteem. It could also effect the opportunities for the service user, this is because for example, a service user could not be able to receive the same treatment as the other service users and so would not have the same opportunities. Also, if a service user is being discriminated against, they will not be empowered. This could lead to low autonomy as they would not be able to do much for themselves.

Rights and Responsibilities

Carers must understand that the service users have the right to choose their own beliefs and lifestyle. For example they have the right to choose what they wear and what they choose to do in the day. The carer has a responsibity to enable the client do what they choose to do. The carer will therefore be empowering the client. This is where the client is given the power to make their own decisions and allowing them to do as they wish. The carer must understand they don’t have the right to damage the quality of a client’s life, they must also ensure that other clients do not harm other clients, and that other carers must hold theses beliefs also. Carers must respect the human rights of all clients; this is because of the Human Rights Act. This act makes sure that all humans have rights which must be upheld, for example, the right to receive equal treatment under the NHS, and it is the carer’s responsibility to make sure that the rights are upheld when the client is their responsibility.

Confidentiality

Clients must be able to trust their carers, they must be able to know that any information they tell their carer will treat this as confidential. This means that the carer should keep any information secret and private. Also that any official records are distributed on a “need to know” basis. Carers should understand that clients may be at risk, and have their self esteem damaged if the information exchanged as confidential is told to others.  There are also legal requirements regarding personal records, this is told under the Data Protection Act of 1998.  This means that service users have a right to keep private information confidential, but it also means that they have a responsibly in relation to the rights of other service users.  The confidentiality must be kept within certain borderlines, and can be broken when other service user’s rights come into conflict

Promote anti discriminatory practice

Carers have a duty to promote anti discriminatory practice in their professional lives. This means that if a carer sees discriminatory practice going on, they must be the “whistle blower” this means that they have the right to confidentially tell a senior person what is going on. Also acting as an advocate is a way to empower a service user. And advocate is a person who speaks for another person. This could be in a legal sense where a person needs legal representation, or it could be on a day to day basis where a carer needs to provide service users needs. This empowers the service user, as it is giving the service user autonomy, where the service user can get about their day to day life and can do things for themselves. When a service user has a learning difficulty, or a disease which makes it difficult to communicate, an advocate is needed to speak for them. For example, if a service user was not receiving adequate care, a carer could speak for them if they weren’t able to put forward a case for themselves, for example if they were blind or deaf. A care worker can do this on a day to day basis as he or she gets to know a service user, and what kind of things she likes and wants. A carer should also be able to challenge discrimination if it occurs.  This means that if an individual sees discrimination going on, they can speak out without worrying about discrimination happening to her. For example, the carer could blow the whistle if they saw unfair practice against a client because he is gay, or because he was black. Even though discrimination can occur in many shapes and forms, some may not be intentional, but a service user may still feel that they are discriminated against, and need to take action.

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Effective Communication

Clients need to be supported by their carers using effective communication.  For example, Braille would be appropriate to use with a blind service user, also the carer should be able to speak the same language as the client. This would aid effective communication.  Also the carer taking positive body language would help the client understand. The carer needs to speak clearly and use effective language, for example if the carer was talking to a small child, long words would not be effective, and if the carer was talking to an elderly lady who was hard of ...

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