Health and Social Care induction Booklet

Welcome to your new role in Social Care. It is one in which you will make a difference to the lives of the people you work with. You will be looking after vulnerable people, who may need help physically and/or emotionally. To help you do this there is a set of values and principles that you must adhere to. The principles and values –

Individuality
Everyone is different the way we live, the way we have our tea or coffee, when we choose to eat or drink. What we would like to be called. Check these details with the people you care for and stick to them. Rights

We all have rights and just because we can no longer look after our selves this does not mean all our rights disappear, the right to go to bed when we want. The right to decide what to wear and which room we want to sit in. Choice

If you were unable to choose anything for yourself ask yourself would you be happy if these choices were taken away from you! The answer I‘m sure is no! Then why would the people you are caring for be any different.

Privacy
If everyone just walked into your house without asking would you be happy, NO. Knock on the door before entering a room; make sure the door is closed when carrying out personal hygiene. Protect the private information of the people you care for as if it was yours.

Independence
Allow the people you care for to do things for themselves, you are there to support them to be independent

Dignity
To treat someone with dignity is to treat them as being of importance, in a way that is considerate of their diversity, as valued individuals. When dignity is present people feel in control, valued, confident, comfortable and able to make decisions for themselves.

Respect
Respect involves valuing the people you care for, acknowledging their value. This will express itself in certain behaviours for example extending common courtesies, expressing concern for others and their well-being, taking their feelings and experiences seriously.

The Guidance and standards that is relevant to your role – Human Rights Act
There are 16 basic rights in the Human Rights Act. Each one is called an Article. They are all taken from the European Convention on Human Rights. They affect everybody. They are also about your rights in everyday life. What you can say and do. Your beliefs. The right to life

Freedom from being tortured or killed
The right to marry and a family life
The right to liberty and security
Freedom of expression
Protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Protects the rights of all children to an education, to be healthy, to a childhood, to be treated fairly and to be heard. These included the ‘Right to life
The right to family life
It forbids capital punishment

General Social Care Council Code of Practice
Provides a clear guide, for those who work, in health and social care. Setting out the standards of practice, responsibilities and conduct for employees and their employers to follow. Employee should-

Protect the rights of the service user
Respect the rights of the service user
Promote the independence of the service user
Establish and maintain
Be accountable and take responsibility for your actions

Employers should-
Ensure that the people they employ are suitable and understand their role and responsibility Provide appropriate training and development for their employees to strengthen their skills Have policies and procedures in place to cover any dangerous or discriminatory behaviour

Nursing and Midwifery Council code of Practice
You must make the care of the person you care for your primary concern. You have a duty of care always to them. You are personally accountable for your actions or inactions in your work life always.

Valuing and Respecting Service Users
Values guide the way we live our lives and the decisions we make. A value is defined as something that we hold dear, those characters or behaviours which we consider to be of importance. Everyone has the right to be valued and respected for their own individuality. We should take the service user’s feelings, needs, thoughts, ideas, wishes and preferences into consideration. It means taking all of these seriously and giving them worth and value. Giving someone respect seems similar to valuing them and their thoughts, feelings, etc. It also includes acknowledging them, listening to them, being truthful with them, and accepting their individuality and differences.

Treat others how you would want yourself or a relative to be treated.

Valuing Adults
Listen to the service user, ask them what they want and how they want to do it, then help them to achieve it.

Do not automatically do things for the service user; allow them to do things for themselves and aide when required

Be flexible allow service user to decide when they want to do things such as
eating, going to bed, getting up.

Valuing children
Acknowledge them
When you communicate with a child come down to their level

Treat them as equals
Encourage them to do things for themselves

Be patient
The importance of a person-centred approach is to ensure the service user is thought of first before anyone else. Also it makes sure that the knowledge that a service user has about what they want and need, then provides information about what is the best thing to do. As a carer you should focus on the wants, wishes and needs of the service user. If you are having a bad day this is nothing to do with the service user, they do not need to be bothered by your problems, they are your focus while you are with them

Respect

Needs
Wants

Wishes
Listen

Confidentiality
Confidentiality is identified in Article 8 (Right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention of Human Rights which states: 1: Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2: There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.’ We all have an expectation that private information will not be used or disclosed without our knowledge or consent. Service users’ right to privacy and the staff’s duty of confidentiality apply regardless of the form in which information is held or communicated, for example electronic, paper, photographic. When you keep information confidential you build up a trust with the service user who then feels valued as a person