Response to Consultation: Introducing Fundamental Standards: Consultation on proposals to change CQC registration regulations
The Commission believes the proposed Fundamental Standards have the potential to lever better protection and promotion of equality and human rights for health and social care service users.
We note that the draft Regulations make reference to the human rights principles of dignity, respect, privacy and autonomy of service users. However, in the Commission’s analysis, the draft regulations would better protect the human rights of service users if they made explicit reference to the relevance of the Human Rights Act 1998 to health and social care services. Doing so would highlight to providers, their staff and service users that health and social care provision should protect the human rights of service users.
Our engagement with the social care sector, particularly through our home care inquiry and relevant follow up work, suggests that providers and their staff being aware that poor standards of care provision can contravene service users’ human rights can motivate them to reflect on their practice and improve it. By looking through a human rights lens at the experiences of service users, providers and staff can not only ensure basic fundamental standards are met but achieve excellence in provision and outcomes for service users.
Last Updated: 23 May 2014