Dignity in care

Group of Residents and Staff in the Nursing Servery Celebrating Dignity Action Day 2012

Maintaining dignity is an important part of care delivery, and something we see as fundamental to how we work with our residents day-to-day.

Christine Carlton from Nursing Care is our Dignity Champion. She represents us at the local Dignity in Care forum, acting as the link between Blind Veterans UK and other local organisations. The purpose of the forum is to communicate issues around dignity and share ideas about best practice.

The Dignity in Care campaign was launched in 2009 to highlight the issue nationally, and create a care system which doesn't tolerate abuse or disrespect. The government leads the campaign in partnership with organisations that provide and commission care, to protect the interests of people who use care services.

What is Dignity in Care?

The Dignity in Care campaign centres on the 10 point Dignity Challenge, which highlights that care services can respect people's dignity can be recognised by meeting the following criteria:

Have a zero tolerance of all forms of abuse
Treat people with the same respect you would want for yourself or a member of your family
Treat each person as an individual by offering a personalised service
Enable people to maintain the maximum possible level of independence, choice and control
Listen and support people to express their needs and wants
Respect people's right to privacy
Ensure people feel able to complain without fear of retribution
Engage with family members and carers as care partners
Assist people to maintain confidence and a positive self-esteem
Act to alleviate people's loneliness and isolation

To find out more, email Christine on christine.carlton@blindveterans.org.uk More information about Dignity in Care can be found on the Dignity in Care website at http://www.dignityincare.org.uk/

"It might well be that the difference people make individually is a mere ripple on the surface of our care system, but each of those ripples added together create a wave, a social movement, and if this makes life better for some - then it has to be worthwhile."

Sir Michael Parkinson, Dignity Champion

National Dignity Action Day

On 25th February 2011 for the second year we joined in with National Dignity Action Day. To raise awareness, we held day and evening activities at our Brighton centre. We also ran a poster campaign to highlight and share amongst staff from all departments the importance of dignified care. We're looking forward to planning another action day to coincide with National Dignity Action Day on 1st February 2012.