Introduction
Best health and social care practice requires strictly considering ethical principles and values. Some of the ethical principles and values that are followed to ensure best practice include working in an anti-discriminatory manner, safe practice, protecting confidentiality, upholding care values and care standards, and upholding rights, responsibilities, and ethics, among others (Sousa, 2020). Apart from healthcare givers, it is also the responsibility of the government to promote good practice. As such, some laws and legislations protect the right of individuals to get quality and equitable treatment. To further elaborate on the ethical principles and values, several ethical theories are used to put the principles into perspective and to help solve ethical dilemmas in health and social care workplaces. Therefore, this paper discusses ethical principles and values by considering anti-discriminatory practices, rights and responsibilities, ethical theories, and care values and standards.
Diversity Factors Related to Service User Needs
Diversity is defined as various characteristics and beliefs that manifest within a group. Every health and social care service user has different or unique needs depending on many diversity factors. These factors are usually considered when aiming to achieve the right outcome for the services provided to each individual. This means these factors should not be used to discriminate or have particular preferences when offering services. Numerous studies have indicated seven primary diversity factors associated with service user needs. These include age, cultural diversity, gender, race, sexual preference, religious diversity, and mental or physical capacity, also known as disability (Jackson et al., 2019). Starting with age, age diversity refers to how old a person is.
In health care and social care settings, there is a high chance that people of different ages need the services offered. For instance, a child aged ten could need assistance, as well as an older person aged 60. In such cases, it is not uncommon to find discrimination based on age diversity. A study using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing found that patients aged 50 years and above reported to have experienced discrimination (Jackson et al., 2019). Out of the 7731 participants, 1943 reported through a questionnaire that they experienced deteriorating health after their younger counterparts were put first in healthcare services (Jackson et al., 2019). The Act of Parliament offers legislation known as the Equality Act of 2010 to protect individuals from discrimination and harassment (Robinson et al., 2021). This Act was implemented in 2010 and stated that it is unlawful to treat people unequally or unfairly based on age, gender, disability, race, religion, or sexual orientation. This means that patients are protected from discrimination regardless of diversity. Hence, complying with this legislation promotes good practice.
The second diversity factor is culture. This factor is associated with the norms that every individual acquires from their ethnicity and family background (Young & Guo, 2020). Society comprises different cultures that bring out different needs, interests, and beliefs. Health care and social settings consist of diverse cultures that should be respected accordingly. For example, people may have other culinary practices at a social event, such as a national festival. This is because people come from different cultures around the world. For instance, immigrants from Canada and China may be present in the U.K. (Young & Guo, 2020). Hence, accepting different cultural foods at social events is essential to promote the best social care practices.
The third factor is race, which is closely similar to culture because it relates to a person’s background. For example, one individual may have a Caucasian background, while another has an Asian background (Byrne et al., 2020). Both people should be treated equally in receiving services. This factor is also related to color, nationality, and ethnicity (Byrne et al., 2020). The Race Relations Act (RRA) of 2004 enforces the rule against discrimination based on cultural diversity and race (Byrne et al., 2020). It is, therefore, unlawful to segregate or victimize service users based on their culture, race, or nationality.
Regarding the diversity factor of disability, people with disabilities may often require special service needs. Disability means an individual’s mental or physical capacity is limited (Bagenstos, 2020). Certain sicknesses or accidents may cause this. For example, an individual who uses a wheelchair to move around and a person who is autistic are classified under persons with disability (Driessens et al., 2020). Such people should be serviced without discrimination, as provided by the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995, which was amended to the Equality Act of 2010. (Robinson et al., 2021). This Act ensures that measures are implemented to prohibit service providers from discriminating against disabled individuals.
Gender and sexual preference are diversity factors that can be put under one bracket. This is because they relate to the female and male aspects and which gender a person wants to have sexual relationships with (Spagnolo et al., 2020). For example, male workers sometimes prefer to serve only male hospital patients. Also, care may have a negative connotation about people who are homosexual and hesitate to offer care (Kcomt et al., 2020). Such actions are discriminatory and prohibited by the Equality Act of 2010 (Robinson et al., 2021). This ensures that both women and men do not face discrimination in receiving services.
Lastly, the diversity factor of religion is associated with spiritual beliefs. People believe in different gods, worship differently, and believe in various doctrines (Mitchell et al., 2020). However, religious diversity also includes people who do not believe in the existence of any god (Crisp & Dinham, 2019). Therefore, it is the right of every individual, regardless of their religious beliefs, to be treated with dignity and respect. This right is upheld by the Human Rights Act of 1998, which was repealed by the Bill of Rights Bill of 2022 (Arnell, 2022). As such, the right to diverse religious beliefs is protected.
Theories Associated with Ethical Service Provision and Care Delivery
Ethical service provision and care delivery are achieved by practicing ethical considerations and standards. Ethical considerations and ideals come from a branch of philosophy called ethics, which defines ethical considerations as principles that guide moral action (Amer, 2010). Ethics focuses on moral actions as the basis of providing care. However, there are conflicting views on moral action; some believe an action could be wrong but still bear a positive outcome, while others believe an action should be proper and bring a positive result. These moral actions are looked at from a theoretical perspective. The theories associated with moral action in ethical principles include deontology, utilitarianism, and rights.
The first theory, which is deontology, focuses on duty and obligation. The theory of deontology states that moral action in ethics requires individuals to make decisions based on their responsibilities and obligations (Prabhumoye et al., 2020). In other words, the right thing to do regarding ethics is to follow the duties and responsibilities that one is allocated to or believes in. For example, a service provider may think that being to work early is the right action (Roderick & Pollock, 2022). They, therefore, must always keep time when reporting to work. This way, they expect to achieve positive healthcare outcomes. One legislation that upholds the deontology theory is the NHS and Community Care Act, which gives social workers the duty to provide home-based care.
The second theory is utilitarianism, based on considering the consequences of the actions one takes. The theory states that every action taken should have a positive outcome and benefit many people (Häyry, 2021). As such, people should make decisions that they believe have the greatest good and cover the broadest range of people. For example, one may destroy a house to save the lives of victims of a fire outbreak.
The third theory is the theory of rights, which states that the requests implemented by the government or society are considered ethically correct (Amer, 2019). This means individuals should endorse these rights and prioritize them over their beliefs. For instance, the rights provided by legislation Acts such as the Human Rights Act ensure ethical care delivery by prohibiting discrimination and protecting the right to life.
However, all three theories are pretty contrasting. While deontology suggests that individuals should follow duties, utilitarianism indicates that they should follow their ethical beliefs, and the theory of rights implies that they should follow rights. Following one’s moral beliefs may sometimes not be logical, but following duties and freedoms have been proven analytical in most cases (Amer, 2019). Most importantly, a moral action is usually taken if these ethical theories are followed. An honest good should be achieved, which is the ultimate goal of ethics.
Legislation Associated with Equitable and Non-Discriminatory Practice
In health and social care settings, ethical principles are upheld by legislation. Equitable and non-discriminatory practice is a fundamental ethical health and social care principle. Fair practice means every individual can access services regardless of diversity factors, while non-discriminatory practice means providing care without segregating or denying benefits to any individual (Thompson, 2020). The legislation that enforces equitable and non-discriminatory practice includes the Equality Act, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Race Relations Act, the Bill of Rights Bill, and the NHS and Community Care Act.
Looking deeper into the legislation, RRA forbids unfair discrimination against individuals based on race, culture, or ethnical background (Byrne et al., 2020). EHRC holds fair and non-discriminatory laws that govern human rights. These include protecting human rights against racial, religious, age, and cultural discrimination (Thompson, 2020). Equality Act offers protection against discrimination based on gender, sexual preferences, disabilities, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, race, and age. Hence, it protects individuals from discrimination by service providers (Bagenstos, 2020). Lastly, the NHS and Community Care Act promotes equitable care by enforcing a need-based approach and prioritizing user needs (Roderick & Pollock, 2022). Hence, all these legislations ensure equitable and non-discriminatory practice.
Care Values and Standards and Good Practice
Care values and standards are the keys to good practice. Care values and standards are defined as the principles guiding service providers in differentiating what is good from wrong (Driessens et al., 2020). They also provide a framework for understanding what is important at a particular time. The leading indicators of good practice are quality care and positive outcomes. Therefore, care values and standards underpin good practice by promoting quality care and positive results. Examples of care values and standards include data protection, confidentiality, and safe practice.
For protection and confidentiality, service providers are not supposed to disclose any information given to them by users. Such information should be protected through passwords or safe locks. The Data Protection Act promotes this standard by stating that any personal information obtained in confidence should not be disclosed without the service user’s consent (Karasneh et al., 2019). This standard ensures quality care by providing that personal data is only accessible to authorized personnel. Safe practice is a care value that prevents undue risks and promotes safe working environments (Agius et al., 2021). This promotes good practice by ensuring services are provided with minimal risks. Risks may include hazardous situations or objects that may cause physical harm. For example, a specific hospital regularly discards expired medicines to avoid the risk of bacterial growth due to chemical composition changes. Hence, service providers should analyze their work environments to eliminate any risks. The legislation that enforces safe practices is the Work Health and Safety Amendment Act of 2021 (Agius et al., 2021). It promotes safe practices by requiring that workplaces should provide safe environments.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ethical principles and values are a significant part of health and social care. This is because they help to achieve good practice despite diversity factors that may lead to discrimination. Ethical principles and values can be examined from the theoretical perspective by considering deontology, utilitarianism, and rights theories. To further enforce ethics, the law provides legislation that ensures ethical principles and values are adhered to, as discussed.
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