Your rights

Often our first encounter with care homes will be when we or someone we support needs to move into one.  It can be an emotional time and difficult to know what to expect.  The service that you receive, as a resident, and the way you should be treated is set out in legislation. You, or your representative, can use your legal rights to ensure you receive good care. 

Note that much of this information is for England. If you need support for issues in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, please contact our helpline.

 

  • Moving to a care home should be about enabling your autonomy. A provider must not only respect your right to your autonomy but support it. This can take many forms including:

    • Being spoken to and treated with respect and involved in your care

    • Supporting your choices and autonomy, including your right to make unwise decisions

    • Supporting your involvement in your community

    • Seeking your consent for your care and treatment

    • If you are assessed as lacking capacity to make a decision, the provider must seek the consent of your representative or Attorney for Health and Welfare before changing or making care decisions, must ensure decisions are in your best interests, and are the least restrictive option

    • Where you are unable to understand the consequences of your choices, you are supported to accept care that you need to keep you safe and your dignity intact

    Your autonomy is protected by these laws:

    Any restrictions on your right to autonomy must be necessary, such as to protect you from harm, and must be proportionate to that risk. The provider must carry out an assessment, in consultation with you and your representatives, before imposing any restrictions and demonstrate how any restrictions respect your rights as far as possible.

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    A father enjoyed going to the pub with his son but was prevented from doing so after moving into the care home. After reminding the provider of their duties, his trips to the pub with his son were supported.

  • This is your care. Your wishes, likes and dislikes are central to your care planning. It is essential that you and/or your representative are involved in and agree with your care plan, and it is regularly reviewed with you. This should not just be a record about what you cannot do, but what you wish to achieve and the help you need to do this.

    This should be properly documented to ensure your care is up to date and meeting your needs and, if you wish, shared with you and/or your representative:

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    After speaking to the Care Rights UK helpline about concerns over her mother, Florence’s, increasing incontinence, Sarah arranged to review the care plan with the care manager. They agreed Florence should be checked by staff more regularly to avoid be left in soiled clothing, and showered if she was.

  • You must be treated with dignity and respect. This means being treated as a person, not an object. You must never be treated in an inhuman or degrading way – there can be no excuse or justification for causing you serious harm. The provider has a duty to act where they know (or should know) your dignity is at risk. This means care providers must protect you from serious harm, including abuse and neglect, including from other residents.

    Your dignity is protected by these laws:

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    A son became concerned about his father’s care after noticing he was not always getting his medication or appropriate diet, was becoming depressed and had a poor quality of life. The Care Rights UK helpline supported the son to secure a review of his father’s needs and he was moved to a more appropriate setting.

  • You have a right not to be discriminated against, including because of your age, disability, race, gender, religion/belief or sexuality. Fairness and equality should not be confused with treating everyone the same. It may be appropriate and necessary to treat you differently because you are in a different situation to others. For instance, you may need support to ensure that your large family are able to visit you in a safe space that is private, because you enjoy seeing them together. Or you need support to wear and keep safe disability aids, such as glasses, hearing aids, or your dentures, so you are able to see and engage in activities, communicate or eat.

    Your right to be free from discrimination is protected by these laws:

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    A resident was left unable to hear when the loss of their hearing aids went unreported and not acted upon by staff until raised by a relative. The delay undermined their ability to make care choices, socialise and their ability to continue to use hearing aids.

  • You should be supported to develop and maintain your relationships. Whether this is in the community, in the care home, or contact using technology such as mobiles and videos. Any restrictions must be necessary, such as to protect from infection, and must be proportionate to that risk. The provider must carry out an assessment, in consultation with you and your representatives, before imposing any restrictions and demonstrate how any restrictions respect your rights as far as possible.

    If you are being placed in a care home, then ensuring that you are able maintain relationships is important, this includes ensuring that the care home location does not isolate you from those important to you.

    Your right to family life is protected by these laws:

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    Mr Baker was discharged from hospital into a different care home miles from his wife, without consultation with her.

    Care Rights UK supported Mr and Mrs Baker to successfully challenge the placement moving him back to his original home.

  • If you have capacity to make the decision about moving into care, you should have a choice of whether to move. You should be free to come and go as you please.

    If you have been assessed as lacking capacity to make this decision, then the correct legal process must be followed. Moving into a care home must be in your best interests, and the least restrictive option for you. You and/or your representative must be included in the decision process.

    Your liberty is protected by these laws:

    • Right to liberty (Article 5 of the Human Rights Act 1998)

    • Safeguards to ensure a deprivation of your liberty is lawful (called Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, or ‘DOLS’,) under the Mental Capacity Act 2005

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    Joanne was unable to leave the care home as her daughter was told that the wheelchair she relied on was for use in the care home only. After contacting the Care Rights UK helpline, her daughter requested that the home make a referral to the Wheelchair Service. As a result, Joanne received her own wheelchair.

  • Care providers have a legal duty to respect and protect your right to privacy and should take measures to do so. These include:

    • Privacy when speaking to or seeing family and friends

    • Having your room door closed, and people requesting your consent before entering

    • Ensuring your personal care is carried out sensitively and in private and you are not left unnecessarily exposed

    • Not sharing private information about you unless required as part of your care

    • Not reading or opening your correspondence unless authorised to do so

    Your privacy is protected by these laws:

    Any restrictions on your right to privacy must be necessary, such as to protect you from harm, and must be proportionate to that risk. The provider must carry out an assessment, in consultation with you and your representatives, before imposing any restrictions and demonstrate how any restrictions respect your rights as far as possible.

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    Mrs Butler rang the Care Rights UK Helpline, after finding her visits to her mother, Mrs Oak, in hospital, were sometimes being supervised by staff. After seeking advice, she reminded staff of her mother’s right to privacy when seeing family members, and the supervision was stopped.

  • You have a right to be cared for in a way that is safe. This does not mean that you cannot take risks but that you should not be put at risk through poor care decisions or neglect.

    The provider must be proactive as your needs change, ensuring that your care is reviewed with you and your representative and ensure you have the support of any relevant professionals. The provider has a duty to act where they know (or should know) your safety is at risk.

    Your safety is protected by these laws:

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    Sidney became concerned about the care of his mother, Beth, after finding her in pain from a rash around her legs, because she had been sitting for extended time in soiled clothing. After speaking to the Care Rights UK helpline, he contacted the care home manager to arrange an urgent GP visit and review her care. Sidney agreed with the manager that they would alert the local safeguarding team.

    A higher level of support was agreed, and Beth recovered from her rash.

  • Central to your care should be supporting your wellbeing. Care should not be a list of tasks that you need help with, but a means of supporting you to sustain a quality of life.

    The provider must be proactive as your needs change, ensuring that your care is reviewed with you and your representative and ensure you have the support of any relevant professional, such as an Occupational Therapist, or Speech and Language Therapist.

    Your wellbeing is protected by these laws:

    Any restrictions on your right to wellbeing must be necessary, such as to protect you from harm, and must be proportionate to that risk. The provider must carry out an assessment, in consultation with you and your representatives, before imposing any restrictions and demonstrate how any restrictions respect your rights as far as possible.

    Example from anonymous helpline client:

    A resident was found by a relative to have missing teeth and others in a bad state of repair which staff had not noticed. Only then did the care provider arrange for her to see a dentist. The care home reimbursed the resident the cost of the extensive dental work in compensation for the failure to meet her needs.

This content last checked and updated: May 2023

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