What is the care value base?

What is the care value base?
The care value base is a range of standards for health and social
care. It is designed to guide the practice of professionals working
in this area.
The overall aim of the standards is to improve clients' quality of
life, by ensuring that each person gets the care that is most
appropriate for them as an individual.
The care value base offers guidance, and sets standards, in three
main areas of health and social care:
Fostering (which means supporting and encouraging) equality
and diversity
Fostering people's rights and responsibilities
Maintaining confidentiality of information
Care value base explained
Care value base explained 1
Fostering equality and diversity
• This is recognising and supporting
people's individual needs. It involves:
• Giving everyone the same quality of care
and support, but not treating everyone in
the same way
• Respecting and supporting the diversity of
people's experiences, lifestyles and
backgrounds
Care value base explained 2
Fostering rights and
responsibilities
This means supporting a client's right to choose their
own lifestyle AND helping them to accept their
responsibilities.
So your client has the right to eat unhealthy food, but
you need to tell them about the health risks so they
can take responsibility for their choice.
Care value base explained 3
Confidentiality of information
This means that any information clients give you is private
and confidential, whether it is:
•Verbal
•Written
•Electronic (on a computer)
You need to be aware of what you say to other carers and
clients and also who has access to client files.
Question
Look at this person and
decide which of these
he's most likely to be:
Care Assistant
Doctor
Client
Don’t know
In fact, there's no way of
knowing what someone
does, or who they are, just
by looking at them, unless,
of course, they're wearing a
uniform.
Fostering equality and diversity
As a carer working with clients face
to face, you can do a lot to ensure
that a client's background or
circumstances do not affect the
quality of care they receive.
This doesn't mean treating
everyone the same. It means
treating each person as an
individual, taking into account their
beliefs, abilities, likes and dislikes.
This is known as client-centred
care.
By being open to the needs of
others, you yourself will develop a
broader understanding of the
world around you.
Things to avoid
Stereotyping
If you stereotype someone, you make assumptions about them based on
their age, sex, race, nationality or sexuality. For example:
Italians are good lovers
Women can't park cars
Men are only interested in one thing
Just what
you’d expect
from a man
You can’t
trust
foreigners
All gypsies
are thieves
Prejudice
This means liking or disliking
someone not because of who
they are, but because of how
you feel about their lifestyle or
background.
Carers have a responsibility to
ensure that prejudice doesn't
affect the quality of care given
to clients.
Discrimination
Discrimination is the
result of stereotyping and
prejudice.
It means providing worse
(or better) care to some
people because they are of
a particular group, like
Asian people, lesbians and
gays, older people and so
on.
Discrimination
There are as many different ways to discriminate against someone as there are
different types of people. Here are some of the most common:
Race Discrimination
• This means treating someone differently
because of the colour of their skin or
their racial background.
• For example, care workers may spend
time chatting to someone from their own
racial background, but ignore clients they
see as 'foreigners'
Sex Discrimination
• This means treating someone differently
because they are male or female.
• For example, medical staff may explain
things in more detail to a man than to a
woman
Age Discrimination
• This means being treated less favourably
because of your age.
• For example, someone may be refused
certain treatments or operations because
they are thought to be too old to make it
worthwhile.
Disability Discrimination
• Disability discrimination
• This means being treated less favourably
because of a disability.
• For example, wheelchair users may have
difficulty gaining access to a health centre
that does not have electric doors.
Fostering people's rights and
responsibilities
But a smoker also has a
responsibility to consider
people who don't want to be
in a smoky environment.
Therefore they have to
obey non-smoking
regulations at work, on
public transport or in
restaurants and cafes
Rights and responsibilities
go hand in hand.
So while you have the right
to your own beliefs and
lifestyle, you need to take
responsibility for them and
ensure your choices aren't
affecting someone else's
right to lead the life they
choose.
Take smoking. A
person has the right
to smoke, even
though it's generally
recognised that
smoking can damage
health.
Examples of Rights and
Responsibilities
• Rights and responsibilities are often laid down in legislation, codes
of practice and policy documents. As a carer, you need to make
sure that your clients are aware of their rights and responsibilities in
care settings.
•
•
•
•
Clients have a right to:
Not be discriminated against
Confidentiality
Their own beliefs and values
•
•
•
•
Clients have a responsibility to:
Not discriminate against others
Respect the confidentiality of others
Do no harm to others
Confidentiality
Maintaining confidentiality of information
is an important part of caring. You need
to think carefully before you talk about
your colleagues and clients, and ask
yourself whether this person really needs
to know what you're about to tell them.
It's just common sense really! You
wouldn't expect a tutor to discuss your
exam results with anyone but you, and
you should treat your client's personal
details in the same way.
But of course there are times when you
need to share confidential information,
for example when a client may be a
danger to themselves or others.
Aspects of confidentiality
Clients can expect
you not to discuss
their details with
anyone else without
their consent.
And they won't trust or
respect you if you do
Whenever possible, health and social care
professionals must respect their client's right to
keep certain information private.
For example, a 16-year-old has the right to
expect a professional not to tell her parents that
she has asked about birth control.
Data Protection
There are also legal
requirements to keep
personal records confidential.
The 1998 Data Protection
Act states that data has to be
secure, accurate and that it
can only be used for limited
purposes.
Maintaining confidentiality
Confidentiality affects everyone in health
and social care settings. So how can you
ensure you don't pass on confidential
information to anyone who isn't entitled to
it?
Maintaining confidentiality
Confidential information stored on a
computer can include personal details
and medical history. But using individual
passwords will allow only certain people
access t o your files.
Medical notes may be stored
in a filing cabinet. So you
need to check that all filing
cabinets can be locked and
that you know who has
access to the keys
Maintaining confidentiality
Don't talk about clients' and
colleagues' personal details
in public places. And think
about who else is in the room
before you talk about
confidential information over
the telephone.
Your work diary might contain
information on clients' progress,
recurring problems and future
appointments. Think about who has
access to your room and decide how to
keep the diary private.
Quiz
Client details may be stored in a _____, which should
be kept ____ at all times. A diary, file or care plan may
contain ________ information about clients, and access
needs to be _____ to those who need it. If you're
talking about a client or colleague on the telephone, then
make sure you're not ______. And try to avoid talking
about people in public places, because you never know
who may be _______ .
Overheard, locked, filing cabinet, restricted, listening,
confidential.
Summary
• The care value base was developed to improve clients'
quality of life by setting standards and guiding
professional practice in health and social care.
• Fostering equality and diversity means recognising
that each person has their own individual needs. It also
means working to meet those needs.
• Fostering rights and responsibilities recognises
people's rights, but also stresses that we all have
responsibilities towards others.
• The need to maintain confidentiality of client
information protect the client's right to have personal
information kept private.