Top tips from Tanis

Published: 17 August 2011

The RCN’s Adviser for HCA and AP members gives advice on caring for people with dignity and respect

The Principles of Nursing Practice were launched by the RCN last year and have been adopted by many employers as a way of stating their commitment to excellent nursing care and as a tool for improving quality. They are equally relevant to people in mental health settings, the community, the criminal justice system or wherever you can possibly imagine.

Before the Principles were written there was no document that really explained what nursing staff actually do. This is not about lists of tasks that nurses, HCAs, APs and their colleagues perform – it is about the values and principles within which they work in order to provide the best possible care in any health care setting.

The Principles make clear exactly what quality nursing care looks like and were developed in collaboration with patients, service users and patient organisations. This is the first time there’s been a shared understanding of nursing and that’s the unique selling point of the Principles. They can be used by nursing staff, colleagues, patients, or the families or carers of patients.

In our HCA/AP e-newsletter we will take a look at each of the Principles in turn, and ask how they can be demonstrated by HCAs and APs in the workplace.

Principle A focuses on dignity, equality and diversity, and humanity

Nurses and nursing staff treat everyone in their care with dignity and humanity – they understand their individual needs, show compassion and sensitivity, and provide care in a way that respects all people equally.

I’m sure you all strive to provide care with dignity and humanity. In fact, the issue of supporting and preserving the dignity of patients is often seen as the most fundamental aspect of care.

But how do you make sure you treat all individuals equally and with compassion and sensitivity? Take any aspect of care, from assisting a patient to dress to catheterisation, from helping them decide what to have for lunch to explaining how to arrange their next appointment. You could say that it is quite simple really – a matter of thoughtfulness and manners.
So why can it be so challenging at times to provide care in a dignified, humane and compassionate way? What are the factors that prevent us applying the Principles when we know what is right and what is wrong? Is it about staffing levels, about pressure of time or issues around the availability of the necessary equipment? And what do we do when we can see that our patient care is suffering?

I would ask you to use the Principles to challenge situations in which you see care being delivered that does not meet these fundamental needs of patients. In their article, Jackson and Irwin (2011) refer to the Human Rights Act 1988 and the Equality Act 2010. These acts form a framework that protects individuals from all forms of discrimination and promotes equity and fairness in the provision of all public services. Jackson and Irwin use the example of "providing accessible water and food as a right to life" (Article 2), and “providing culturally appropriate food” (Article 9) as highlighted in the Human Rights Act 1988.

On the subject of dignity, the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s code of professional conduct tells us that we must "make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity".

The RCN also produced a diversity toolkit to support every member of the nursing team and give them confidence in diversity, equality and human rights issues in health care. You could become a diversity champion and act as a leader where you work for diversity and equality. See Tanis' example of how to use this Principle in practice.

References

Jackson A, Irwin W (2011) Dignity, humanity and equality: Principle of Nursing Practice A. Nursing Standard. 25, 28, 35-37. Date of acceptance: January 20 2011.