Privacy And Dignity In Health Care

Exploring the meaning and uses of both privacy and dignity in healthcare, this article sets out to find what separates the two or combines them together and asks the question ‘do the two words have such different meanings?’. HealthCare professionals are set the daily task of ensuring not only people’s health is treated and maintained but to ensure the general well-being of patients is taken into account. Privacy is one of many fundamental human rights set out in in legislation and underpins human values such as dignity and freedom (Gov UK, 2015).

Privacy Article 8 of the human rights act (1998) states that privacy in its many forms is the underpinning of freedom from unauthorised intrusion. In which context privacy is measured

Privacy is commonly reflected upon these concepts and widely described as a precondition for privacy; Personal space is a dimension of which is difficult to measure due to people’s personal requirements and feelings, it is an invisible surrounding of the human body, almost a force field dividing a “protection” from one person to another (Leino-Kilpi et al., 2001). Healthcare providers must gain consent for entering into a personal space by touching a client, for example a midwife palpating a female’s abdomen must always ask for consent before doing so, otherwise she would be committing an act of assault (Halvorsen et al.,

Privacy and dignity are key aspects to good practice and work hand in hand with confidentially and consent (Scie, 2010). In England and Wales, the Health and Social Care Act has led to Patient Information Advisory Group, meaning patients now have the right to be informed of their care choices and make informed choice in their best interest, therefore maintaining their privacy and dignity at all times in the course of the care offered in hospital or out (Chalmers, 2003). However, confidentiality has been seen as an indispensable element in healthcare for many years and privacy was to some extent overlooked, being compared to the rights of others or societal groups. This then started leading to confusion and dispute in regards to consent over medical data and information within healthcare settings, between professionals without the patient’s consent (Chalmers, 2003). The Data Protection Act 1998 states ‘disclosure or information sharing of a patient's personal health information to another professional group or third party e.g. social services must be considered very carefully and should only be done with the expressed consent of the patient.’ Therefor meaning all patients must be informed the information will only be