A new 'human rights in healthcare' website has been launched to showcase good practice.
The website, which has been developed by Mersey Care NHS Trust, is part of a major project to show how a human rights based approach can be put into practice in healthcare.
The Trust has adopted the approach in working with people with learning disabilities. Rather than focusing just on the professional assessment of their needs, staff aim to promote a shared sense of entitlement, encourage personal responsibility and uphold respect for the rights of others, while accounting for equality and diversity.
The Human Rights Act came into effect in 2000 and all public authorities, including NHS organisations, have a positive obligation to respect and promote peoples' human rights. For the past five years, the Department of Health, the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) and four NHS Trusts have been working together to develop examples of how a human rights based approach can be put into practice in healthcare.
You can see the website at www.humanrightsinhealthcare.nhs.uk and more information is available from Lindsey Dyer, Director, Service Users and Carers, Mersey Care NHS Trust. Tel: 0151 285 2321. E mail: Lindsey.dyer@merseycare.nhs.uk
