Today is the second day of Care Home Week, and is the day where we will be highlighting the important role that human rights play in care homes across Scotland.
In many ways, Scotland is leading the way in terms of human rights in social care. Not least given the introduction of the new Health & Social Care Standards: My Support, My Life in April 2018. These Health and Social Care Standards set out what we should expect when accessing health, social care or social work services in Scotland. They seek to provide better outcomes for everyone; to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and that the basic human rights we are all entitled to are upheld.
The Standards are underpinned by five principles; dignity and respect, compassion, being included, responsive care and support and wellbeing.
The Standards are based on five headline outcomes:
• I experience high quality care and support that is right for me.
• I am fully involved in all decisions about my care and support.
• I have confidence in the people who support and care for me.
• I have confidence in the organisation providing my care and support.
• I experience a high quality environment if the organisation provides the premises.
Care home services for adults are the first services to be inspected against these new Standards.
Scottish Care has also done a lot of work around human rights in the last year, including the publication of a range of Care Cameos:
Human Rights & Social Care is written by Judith Robertson, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, and is based on the speech she delivered at Scottish Care’s inaugural evening lecture.
Human Rights & Dementia is authored by Anna Buchanan. Director of the People Affected by Dementia Programme of the Life Changes Trust and considers how human rights law can be practically applied to improve the lives and support of those living with dementia and their families. Scottish Care has been working closely with Anna and her team and we are looking forward to announcing some exciting news around human rights, dementia and care homes in the coming weeks.
Let’s Talk about… Sexuality features contributions from a range of experts in the fields of sexual health, dementia and human rights to examine how we ensure that sexuality is recognised as a fundamental right and component of someone’s identity, regardless of age, diagnosis or care circumstances.
It is essential that we keep the conversation around human rights going and Scottish Care remains committed to celebrating, promoting and upholding human rights during Care Home Week and far beyond it.
Do you have a resource to share, a story to tell or a question to ask around human rights and care homes? Get in touch this week!
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