Embedding human rights in adult social care: Leaders' Briefing (2017)

Introduction

The British Institute for Human Rights (BIHR) describes how the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) sets down the rights everyone in the UK has, be they British citizen or visitor, and how it places a duty on those with power (which includes police, the NHS, local authorities and councils) to ensure our human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.

BIHR provide a useful summary of human rights for members of the public in a two minute video which concludes that “Ultimately, human rights are about power and people.”

People accessing health and social care services also have the right to be treated with dignity and respect and the right to confidentiality according to the professional standards set out by the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC, 2016), the regulating body for sixteen such professions, and the British Association of Social Workers’ code of ethics (BASW, 2012).