Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
The Care Certificate Framework
For
Adult Social Care Workers
&
Healthcare Support Workers
Standard 7
Name of Learner:
Role:
Organisation:
Mentor:
Assessor:
Date started:
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Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
The Care Certificate Framework
Privacy and Dignity
Standard 7
Main areas:
 I will understand the principals that underpin privacy and dignity in care
 I will maintain the privacy and dignity of the individual(s) in my care
 I will support an individual’s right to make choices
 I will support individuals in making choices about their care
 I will understand how to support active participation
 I will support the individual in active participation in their own care
Links
Code of Conduct: Standard 2
Compassion in Practice (6 C’s)
Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment
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Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
Standard 7
This standard explores respect, privacy and dignity of individuals you support
and care for, enabling them to make choices and supporting them to actively
participate in their own care / support.
Privacy and dignity are two important values to consider when undertaking any care /
support with your clients.

Privacy for each individual, this has different levels of importance, some
like their own company, and some like to socialise, however individuals
have the right to be given the level of privacy, they wish for them to live
their lives, without undue interference from others.
Within residential establishments individuals share their home with others,
and this may be something they are not used to. Many people arrive and
depart on a daily basis and individuals may resent the intrusion. It is
important that privacy is respected and opportunities for privacy are
observed and created, for example: knocking on doors, areas to meet
visitors, make and take telephone calls, asking individuals permission to
turn on and off televisions, radios or open windows, respecting clients use
of their own rooms and being able to entertain visitors in their own room
without interruption from workers. Privacy must also be taken into account
when you are supporting them with their personal care needs, for example.
For individuals being supported or cared for in their own home,
acknowledge the privacy of the person’s own home by announcing your
arrival even if you have access to a key.
It is also important to remember, that you should not discuss individuals
with anyone, except if it is a specific meeting such as a review meeting /
case conference, and where it is the appropriate place for it to be
discussed. Information is shared on needs to know basis only.

Dignity and Respect. In a society where people are living longer, many
senior citizens dignity comes from being shown respect, for example: some
can remember things from years ago, and some can only remember what
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they did a few minutes ago, but it does not make them less of a individual,
respect is showing someone you value them and that they are important,
that you respect their feelings, beliefs and rights, that you see the whole
person, their past, their experiences and not just the condition they suffer
from.
Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) defines dignity as “a state,
quality or manner worthy of esteem or respect. Dignity in care, therefore,
means the kind of care, in any setting, which supports and promotes, and
does not undermine a person's self respect regardless of any difference.
Whilst dignity might be difficult to define, what is clear is that people know
when they have not been treated with dignity. Dignity and Respect are key
principles of the Human Rights Act.”
Be aware of the importance of preserving a person’s dignity, ask people
how they wish to be addressed; try not to rush and take time to listen; use
towels or clothing to cover when performing intimate care tasks and not
leaving them in a state of undress, closing the bathroom door when they
are in the toilet or bathroom for example.
You can show respect by addressing people in their preferred manner, or
waiting until they give you permission to call them by their first name, by
not using labelling to describe them to other people, or ascribing a term to
them like ‘love or dear’
As a care worker, you have a responsibility to ensure your working practices, show
people they are valued, that you treat others as you would wish to be treated, that
you value individuals’ contributions, planning and reviewing to all areas of their daily
life, and that you do not patronise people. When individuals’ rights are taken away
they become ‘disempowered’ resulting in low self esteem.
To therefore promote dignity and privacy, you will need to consider the following: 
Encourage individuals to express their needs and wishes, and to be as
self-managing as possible

If individuals are supported by an advocate, include them in reviews and
care planning, where this is in agreement with the clients

Listen to the wishes and feelings of individuals and act on them

Enable them to make choices (by whatever means are appropriate)
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Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex

Gain consent before undertaking any care / support

Knock on the door and wait for a reply (if they are able to reply) before
entering

Ensure curtains / doors etc closed before undertaking any care

Ensure if they need help to go to the toilet, for example that you do not
keep them waiting for too long

Care and support them in a way that you would like to be cared for

Consider where you have conversations about clients / colleagues etc and
also where you complete / leave clients records
Where care or support is given to individuals, where dignity is not embedded in
practice, lack of respect for individuals may be evidenced, for example: being
addressed in a disrespectful manner, lack of privacy and being rushed to complete
tasks instead of being encouraged to be independent, made to feel a nuisance or in
the way, the medical model of care instead of the social model of care, not being
listened to or consulted on for decisions and choice.
The Dignity Challenge acts as a call to care providers to meet the 10 principles of
care in their services to people. In recognising that the concept of "dignity" is
interpreted subjectively, the Dignity Challenge attempts to create an understandable
and tangible way of explaining what 'Dignity' looks like in the context of treating
people with the respect in a care setting.
The 10 points of the dignity challenge state that high quality care services that
respect people's dignity should:
1) Have a zero tolerance of all forms of abuse.
2) Support people with the same respect you would want for yourself or a
member of your family.
3) Treat each person as an individual by offering a personalised service.
4) Enable people to maintain the maximum possible level of independence,
choice and control.
5) Listen and support people to express their needs and wants.
6) Respect people's right to privacy.
7) Ensure people feel able to complain without fear of retribution.
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8) Engage with family members and carers as care partners.
9) Assist people to maintain confidence and a positive self-esteem.
10) Act to alleviate people's loneliness and isolation.
Personal information disclosed to you during the course of your work is to be treated
as confidential and should only be disclosed with the consent of the person
concerned unless an emergency makes it impossible to obtain their consent. You
may only disclose information to those with direct need for information (such as
health care professionals, care managers and your manager). Relatives, neighbours
and family friends are not necessarily entitled to receive confidential information.
Sharing information from individual’s care / health records must be on a “needs to
know” basis only, so for example you may need to discuss with the GP about a
health complaint, but if they started to ask re their financial situation, then this would
be totally inappropriate and should not be shared with them. Depending on the
environment you work in will dictate to some degree what might need to be shared.
Take for example you are in a hospital, and are looking at discharge, then it may be
very appropriate for the doctor to be asking about the home that the client lives in, to
establish whether discharge back there is appropriate or not.
However, there may be times, when it will be necessary to breach client
confidentiality, and these could include if: 
It can be justified to protect the client or another from a significant risk or
harm.

If there is suspected abuse

It is required by law or by the order of the court.
To maintain confidentiality, you need to consider where and when you discuss clients
– i.e. not when you are on the train going home or in the pub in the evening or in a
public place. Within a residential care setting (e.g. care home, nursing home,
hospice, hospital), it is also important what you do with the client’s records, so that
they are not left in a public place for all to read, you will need to check your own
individual organisations policy on the management of this.
Within the client’s own home, do not leave their documentation in a place where an
unauthorised person could gain access to it and also if you need to talk to the office
or other health professional, consideration needs to be taken as to where you make
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Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
that phone call. Likewise, if you are in the client’s garden with them, be aware of
neighbours, who may be able to hear that conversation.
If you have any concerns re confidentiality, and whether you should pass information
on or not, this should be discussed with your line manager who will advise you as to
the best course of action. You will also have a policy and procedure relating to this
within your workplace, which would be helpful for you to read.
To ensure that the clients self – esteem is maintained, it is important for them to
make choices, where ever they are able to and be as fully involved in any decision as
possible. This can range from what to eat or wear, when to have personal care,
where they want to live in the future, activities they want to participate in or what their
wishes are for their end of life care.
To enable the clients to make decisions, it is important that we give them the
information and support that they need to do this. For some clients, they will very
easily be able to make decisions, but for others they may struggle for any number of
reasons, including having reduced or fluctuating capacity, lack of confidence and self
esteem in their own ability to make these decisions or inability to express
themselves. It is therefore part of your role to enable that person to make their
decisions where possible and within this acknowledge that for some people they will
be able to answer your questions and others we may need to do more visually – for
example, if you are asking them what to wear, it may be that you show them some
options. If someone is having difficulty expressing what they want, ask them to write
it down, or nod / use thumbs up / down to the appropriate answer. The key to this is
getting to know your clients and their needs and adapting your skills / techniques to
meet their needs. Each person is unique and are shaped not only by their
background but also their life history.
There is also the option of using a risk assessment approach to support clients to
make decisions, and through this you can ensure that you support them to remain
safe and prevent accidents from occurring and it empowers them to be in control of
their own life. Taking risks, is part of everyday life and is something that you do every
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day; it is just that you don’t document it. For clients, we need to formally record risk
assessments within their support / care plan.
The Health and Safety Executive looks at the 5-step approach to risk assessment: 1) Identify the hazard
2) Decide on who may be harmed and how
3) Evaluate the risks and decide on the precautions
4) Record your findings and implement them
5) Review and update your risk assessment
Clients will have risk assessments in their notes, and it is important that you check
these and read them before you support them with their care, as that way you have a
better understanding of that persons needs. If you find, that they don’t correlate with
that person, or the individual is telling you something different, it is important that you
either update the risk assessment (if you are in a position to do this) or if not you
advise someone who can do this.
As an individual, you can support the client to make that decision, but their decision
should not be influenced by your own choices or decisions. For example, if you are
supporting the client to go out, it is important that they choose where to go and are
not influenced on this by your preference to go to a certain place. This could also
apply if you were supporting a person to go to bed and they wanted to know what
time was convenient to you as they felt as if they should “fit in with your schedule”.
However, sometimes, people may have made “well-meaning” decisions for
individuals and they may not be happy with these decisions, so you may either need
to support them to address the decision that was made or support them to complain
(this will depend on the individual situation). It is important that you don’t ignore it, as
you are their advocate to support them with this.
One of the important tasks of your role is how you empower individuals to make
choices and have as much control of their life as possible. It is important to empower
those you care for and support, so that decisions are not taken for them, and control
over their life reduced, for example ensuring that those you care for or support are
able to access a range of information and resources so that informed choice and
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Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
decisions can be made, such as how they wish services to be provided, what level of
support they would like, as well as when and how it will be delivered.
During your day to day interaction with individuals you can evidence this by
encouraging them to make their own decisions, no matter how small, and
acknowledging their preferences. You can encourage the learning of new skills and
the promotion of a positive self image. It is important that you support individuals to
know and understand their rights, and when appropriate, how to raise a concern or
make a complaint. You need to ensure you take their concerns seriously, can
respond to them appropriately and address where your role and remit permit, and
when you are unable to do so, ensure they are passed onto the appropriate person.
All individuals, including ourselves, wish to have control over their own lives that
enable them, their families and carers to maintain and improve their overall well
being, and the clients are no exception to this.
Active participation recognises a person’s rights to participate in the activities and
relationships of everyday life as independently as possible. The person is regarded
as the active partner in their own care and support rather than as a passive recipient
of care services. To effectively support active participation for any individual, there
needs to be partnership working with them in a non-judgemental way, but at the
same time be supportive and promote the best levels of independence and choice.
However, some individuals may need assistive technology to communicate choices,
meet sensory needs and carry out a task or to increase safety e.g. speaking, hearing,
seeing, and moving around. Assistive technology is a term used for devices or
systems, such as speech boards, pressure mats, vibrating alarms, flashing lights,
pendent alarms, telephone devices, detectors, or specialist computer programmes
such as widget, all assist individuals to maintain independence. Take for example a
client, who has communication difficulties, it would be too easy for some people to
say that they can’t communicate and make decisions for them. However, part of your
role might be to look at alternative methods of communication, so that they can then
communicate their decisions and wishes and that could be through the use of
assistive technology.
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It is important to make personalised services happen and to support this, Skills for
Care and Skills for Health have developed the ‘Common Core Principles to Support
Self Care’ (used in partnership working with health and social care professionals) and
these are:

Enable individuals are able to make informed choices to manage their self
care needs

Communicate effectively to enable individuals to assess their needs, and
develop and gain confidence to self care

Support and enable individuals to access appropriate information to
manage their self care needs

Support and enable individuals to develop skills in self care

Support and enable individuals to use technology to support self care

Advise individuals how to access support networks and participate in the
planning, development and evaluation of services

Support and enable risk managements and risk taking to maximise
independence and choice.
It is important within both social care and health, that you show respect for other
people’s beliefs, values and attitudes, even when you don’t agree with them. Your
role is to support that person live their life as they want and not as you feel that they
should and to support them to maintain their overall well-being and this includes
physical well being, emotional and spiritual well-being.
If you have concerns regarding supporting an individual in active participation in their
own care either from your own practice or that of a colleague, it is important that you
do report it, to an appropriate person.
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Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
Standard 7
Workbook
Privacy and Dignity
Standard 7
Main areas:
 I will understand the principals that underpin privacy and dignity in care
 I will maintain the privacy and dignity of the individual(s) in my care
 I will support an individual’s right to make choices
 I will support individuals in making choices about their care
 I will understand how to support active participation
 I will support the individual in active participation in their own care
Links
Code of Conduct: Standard 2
Compassion in Practice (6 C’s)
Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment
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Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
Standard 7.1 – Understand the principles that underpin privacy and dignity in
care
7.1a Describe what is meant by privacy and dignity
Privacy is:
Dignity is:
7.1b Which of the following situations could compromise an individual’s privacy and
dignity (tick all that apply)
a) Entering the client’s bedroom without knocking on the door
b) Keeping the bathroom door open whilst they are using the facilities
c) Talking to your colleague in your own native tongue in front of the client
d) Opening the clients post and reading it to them, at their request
e) Discussing the client whilst out with a friend
f)
Ensuring whilst washing the client that only the parts of the body that you are
washing are exposed at that time
7.1c Describe how to maintain privacy and dignity in the work setting
To maintain privacy, I would:
To maintain dignity, I would:
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Standard 7.2 – Maintain the privacy and dignity of the individual(s) in your care
7.2c Explain why it is important not to disclose anything about the individual that they
may wish to be kept private, unless it is appropriate to do so.
Standard 7.3 – Support an individual’s right to make choices
7.3a Describe 2 ways of helping individuals to make informed choices
1.
2.
7.3b Explain how risk assessment processes can be used to support the right of
individuals to make their own decisions
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7.3c Explain why personal views must not influence an individual’s own choices or
decisions
7.3d Describe why there may be times when you need to support an individual to
question or challenge decisions made about them by others
Standard 7.4 – Support individuals in making choices about their care
7.4c Reflect on how your own personal views could influence an individual’s own
choices or decisions
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Standard 7.5 – Understand how to support active participation
7.5a Describe the importance of how valuing people contributes to active
participation
7.5b Explain how to enable individuals to make informed choices about their lives
7.5c List 3 ways you can support active participation with clients
1.
2.
3.
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7.5d Describe the importance of enabling individuals to develop skills in self-care and
to maintain their network of friends within the community
Standard 7.6 – Support the individual in active participation in their own care
7.6b Reflect on how your own personal views could restrict the individual’s ability to
actively participate in their care
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Standard 7
Observation
Privacy and Dignity
Standard 7
Main areas:
 I will understand the principals that underpin privacy and dignity in care
 I will maintain the privacy and dignity of the individual(s) in my care
 I will support an individual’s right to make choices
 I will support individuals in making choices about their care
 I will understand how to support active participation
 I will support the individual in active participation in their own care
Links
Code of Conduct: Standard 2
Compassion in Practice (6 C’s)
Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment
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Standard
7.2a Demonstrate
that their actions
maintain the
privacy of the
individual.
This could include
- using appropriate
volume to discuss
care and support
- discussing the
individuals care
and support in a
place where others
cannot overhear
7.2b Demonstrate
that the privacy
and dignity of the
individual is
maintained at all
times being in line
with the person’s
individual needs
and preferences
when providing
personal care.
7.2d Report any
concerns they
have to the
relevant person.
This could include:
- Senior member
of staff
- Carer
- Family member
Observation
Signature &
Date of
observation
Observation / simulation (please indicate)
7.4a Demonstrate
how to support
individuals to make
informed choices
7.4b Check risk
assessment
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processes are
used to support
the right of
individuals to make
their own decisions
7.4d Report any
concerns they
have to the
relevant person.
This could include:
- Senior member
of staff
- Carer
- Family member
Observation / simulation (please indicate)
7.6a Demonstrate
that they can
support the active
participation of
individuals in their
care
7.6c Report any
concerns they
have to the
relevant person.
This could include:
- Senior member
of staff
- Carer
- Family member
Observation / simulation (please indicate)
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Standard 7
Outcome
To meet this standard
Assessment
7.1
Understand
the
principles
that
underpin
privacy and
dignity in
care
7.1a Describe what is
meant by privacy and
dignity
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
The assessment must
be observed in the
workplace as part of the
normal work duties
7.1b List situations where
an individual’s privacy and
dignity could be
compromised
7.1c Describe how to
maintain privacy and dignity
in the work setting
7.2 Maintain
the privacy
and dignity
of the
individual(s)
in your care
7.2a Demonstrate that their
actions maintain the privacy
of the individual.
This could include:
- Using appropriate volume
to discuss the care and
support of an individual
- Discussing the individuals
care and support in a place
where others cannot
overhear
7.2b Demonstrate that the
privacy and dignity of the
individual is maintained at
all times being in line with
the person’s individual
needs and preferences
when providing personal
care.
This could include:
 Making sure doors,
screens or curtains are
in the correct position
 Getting permission
before entering
someone’s personal
space
 Knocking before
entering the room
 Ensuring any clothing,
hospital gowns etc. are
positioned correctly
 The individual is
positioned appropriately
e.g. the individual is not
exposing any part of
their body they would
The assessment must
be observed in the
workplace as part of the
normal work duties
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Evidence
Date
signed off
Surrey Skills Academy with support from Health Education Kent Surrey Sussex
not want others to be
able to see
7.3 Support
an
individual’s
right to
make
choices
7.4 Support
individuals
7.2c Explain why it is
important not to disclose
anything about the
individual that they may
wish to be kept private,
unless it is appropriate to do
so. This could include:
 Health condition
 Sexual orientation
 Personal history
 Social circumstances
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
7.2d Report any concerns
they have to the relevant
person.
This could include:
 Senior member of staff
 Carer
 Family member
The assessment must
be observed in the
workplace as part of the
normal work duties.
The opportunity to
demonstrate this during
the induction period
may not arise.
Therefore the use of
simulation / role play
using scenarios is
permitted
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
7.3a Describe ways of
helping individuals to make
informed choices
7.3b Explain how risk
assessment processes can
be used to support the right
of individuals to make their
own decisions
7.3c Explain why personal
views must not influence an
individual’s own choices or
decisions
7.3d Describe why there
may be times when they
need to support an
individual to question or
challenge decisions made
about them by others
7.4a Demonstrate how to
support individuals to make
The assessment must
be observed in the
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in making
choices
about their
care
7.5
Understand
how to
support
active
participation
informed choices
7.4b Check risk assessment
processes are used to
support the right of
individuals to make their
own decisions
7.4c Reflect on how their
own personal views could
influence an individual’s
own choices or decisions
7.4d Report any concerns I
have to the relevant person.
This could include:
 Senior member of staff
 Carer
 Family member
7.5a Describe the
importance of how valuing
people contributes to active
participation
7.5b Explain how to enable
individuals to make
informed choices about
their lives
7.5c List other ways they
can support active
participation
7.6 Support
the
individual in
active
participation
in their own
care
7.5d Describe the
importance of enabling
individuals to develop skills
in self-care and to maintain
their own network of friends
within their community
7.6a Demonstrate that they
can support the active
participation of individuals in
their care
7.6b Reflect on how their
own personal views could
restrict the individual’s
ability to actively participate
in their care
7.6c Report any concerns to
the relevant person. This
could include:
workplace as part of the
normal work duties
The assessment must
be observed in the
workplace as part of the
normal work duties
The assessment should
be undertaken as a
reflection exercise
The assessment must
be observed in the
workplace as part of the
normal work duties.
The opportunity to
demonstrate this during
the induction period
may not arise.
Therefore the use of
simulation / role play
using scenarios is
permitted
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
Assessed by any of the
following methods:
- 1:1 discussion
- Group work
- Written
The assessment must
be observed in the
workplace as part of the
normal work duties
The assessment should
be undertaken as a
reflection exercise
The assessment must
be observed in the
workplace as part of the
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


Senior member of staff
Carer
Family member
normal work duties.
The opportunity to
demonstrate this during
the induction period
may not arise.
Therefore the use of
simulation / role play
using scenarios is
permitted
I am satisfied with the evidence of learning that it meets all the required standards.
Assessor’s Name:
Assessor’s Position:
Signature:
Date:
Learner’s Signature:
Date:
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