HLT54115 Diploma Of Nursing

Critical General Principles of Care

Healthcare practitioners ought to follow effective clinical practices in taking care of patients and families under their clinical care. They are supposed to abide by the principles that accord patients and their families the most optimal healthcare outcomes. In general healthcare practice, there are many principles that healthcare practitioners can exploit to advance the best kind of care to patients. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [2018], there are seven general principles of care that healthcare practitioners can employ to advance optimal patient-centered care services to their patients. Two HLT54115 Diploma of NursingHLT54115 Diploma of Nursingindicated that people are their own best carers and therefore incorporating them in care can go a long way in improving standards of care. Moreover, healthcare practitioners are also in a position to extend their patients holistic, quality and compassionate patient care.

In addition to patient-centered principle to patient care, general healthcare and social care practice is supposed to be informed by human rights principles in which case healthcare practitioners are called upon to respect, uphold and protect the human rights of patients under their care. Healthcare practitioners ought to advance care in ways that not only respect the dignity of their patients but also that respects the patient’s independence in making informed decisions about their care (Faden, Beauchamp, & Kass, 2014). With respect to dignity, healthcare practitioners are supposed to accord respect to patients’ beliefs, cultural orientation and should in all instances desist from discriminating against patients on the bases of their sex, races, religion, and sociocultural background among other discriminating factors. With regard to patients’ independence, healthcare practitioners are supposed to make sure patients understand suggested treatment procedures and their effects as well as respecting their confidentiality. This principle, therefore, advances a legal perspective into the healthcare profession by alerting healthcare practitioners that they may be held liable for negligence in case of professional misconduct.

General Care Plan

On Monday last week, I was scheduled to provide holistic health and psychosocial care to Mr. Hughes who is 65 years of age and lives with his grandson Mike at his home. Mr. Hughes was expectant of me that morning and therefore he was awake, bathed and dressed with the help of his grandson when I arrived. Mr. Hughes is dementia-stricken. I warmly greeted him, briefly assessed his health situation and assisted him with his medication and breakfast. His grandson briefed me of his adherence to medication, the medications’ side effects, and any progress that he had made over the week including his abilities in most of his activities of daily living. I was happy to hear that Mr. Hughes had now started to show signs of being more communicative and interactive especially with his friends when they visit him at his home. I therefore emphasized of the same and encouraged Mike to remain supportive, communicative and empathetic to Mr. Hughes most of the time. As I left, suggested that Mr. Hughes need to visit entertaining yet relaxing places to help him further calm down and attain comfort needed to see him gradually recover.

Main Provisions of U.K.s Equality and Diversity legislation

The Equality Act 2010 amalgamated the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to provide a comprehensive legislation that protects U.K’s citizenry from all manner of the workplace and wider society discrimination. The act advances the varied ways that are unlawful to treat people [Legislation.gov.uk, 2018a].  The act provides a fundamental framework for protection against both direct and indirect discrimination, victimization and harassment in the access of public services including access to healthcare. The act has strict provisions protecting people with disabilities from being discriminated upon based on their disability condition from various dimensions. With regard to work relations, the act has instituted strict provisions regarding gender; age; different people’s backgrounds, tribes and races, belief, values, and cultural orientation.

The provisions are geared towards advancing a society in which there is equality and diversity with regard to all social dimensions. The Public sector Equality Duty provides that all public bodies across the United Kingdom ought to consider all individuals regardless of their orientations when undertaking their everyday work. This includes efforts of shaping policy, delivering services as well as in matters relating to all their staff. It requires public entities to give utmost respect to the requirement of advancing equality of opportunity, eliminating discrimination and fostering efficient associations between individuals in the conduct of their activities and duties [Legislation.gov.uk, 2018a].

How the Mental Capacity Act (2005) Protects the Service User

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 advances a statutory framework meant to capacitate and protect vulnerable people unable to make critical decisions concerning their health and wellbeing as well as financial interest on their own. The act has provisions that strictly dictate who is supposed to make critical decisions in the event of mental incapacitation; in which situations and how exactly the person is supposed to approach such decisions. To this end, the act endeavors to enable individuals to plan ahead of time for moments in which they may lose their capacity to make critical decisions impacting their lives.

Unless proven otherwise, an adult is presumed to have the capacity to make independent decisions. Even in the event that one is presumed to be incapacitated to this end, the act provides that such people must be supported to make their own independent decisions before a conclusion can be reached to render them as fully incapacitated. If in case one is rendered to be completely incapable to make independent decisions, the appointed decision-maker through the lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) must make decisions that are in the best interest of the mentally ill person and the decision must be least restrictive of their primary freedoms and rights [Legislation.gov.uk.,2018b]

References

American Academy of Family Physicians. (2008). Joint principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home. Delaware Medical Journal, 80(1), 21.

Ferrante, J. M., Balasubramanian, B. A., Hudson, S. V., & Crabtree, B. F. (2010). Principles of the patient-centered medical home and preventive services delivery. The Annals of Family Medicine, 8(2), 108-116.

Faden, R. R., Beauchamp, T. L., & Kass, N. E. (2014). Informed consent, comparative effectiveness, and learning health care. N Engl J Med, 370(8), 766-768.

Legislation.gov.uk. (2018a) Equality Act 2010 Accessed from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/pdfs/ukpga_20100015_en.pdf

Legislation.gov.uk. (2018b) Mental Capacity Act 2005.Accessed from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents

World Health Organization (2018). General Principles of Care mhGAP Intervention Guide for  mental, neurological and substance use disorders in non-specialized health settings Accessed from https://www.paho.org/mhgap/en/general_principal.html