Law and Ethics in Care Setting

A guide to navigate the course

This lesson introduces the Code of Ethics for care workers, explaining its importance and guiding principles such as dignity, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. It covers confidentiality, transparency, professional boundaries, and reporting concerns to ensure safe, fair, and respectful care.

This explores how the pharmacy Code of Ethics applies to real-world situations. The discussion points and answers help learners examine each principle, considering how to uphold professional standards, protect patient safety, and make ethical decisions in complex scenarios.

This lesson examines common ethical dilemmas in care settings, such as informed consent, end-of-life decisions, confidentiality, and resource allocation and offers practical strategies for resolving them. Learners explore how to balance residents’ rights, professional duties, and legal requirements while upholding dignity, fairness, and integrity in care.

This lesson introduces the key UK laws and regulations governing medicines, including the Medicines Act 1968, Human Medicines Regulations 2012, and Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Learners will understand how these frameworks ensure medicine safety, quality, and legality, and the responsibilities care home staff have in handling, administering, and recording medicines in compliance with the law.

This lesson introduces the Mental Capacity Act 2005, focusing on how care home staff can assess capacity, make decisions in residents’ best interests, respect advance decisions and lasting powers of attorney, and comply with safeguards such as DoLS.

This lesson covers the Data Protection Act 2018 (incorporating UK GDPR) and its importance in care home settings. It explains the key principles of data protection, including lawfulness, fairness, transparency, and confidentiality, and highlights staff responsibilities for securely handling residents’ personal and medical information. The lesson also addresses consent, data sharing, and practical measures to protect resident data, ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards while safeguarding privacy in daily care practices.

This lesson outlines the main regulatory bodies overseeing UK care homes and their roles in ensuring resident safety, well-being, and rights. Learners will explore how the MHRA regulates medicines and devices, the CQC inspects and enforces quality standards, local authorities safeguard and support services, and NICE provides evidence-based care guidelines. By understanding these agencies’ responsibilities, care home staff can work in compliance with legal, ethical, and professional standards while delivering high-quality, person-centred care.

This lesson explains what medication errors are, the different types that can occur in care settings, and the serious risks they pose to residents. It highlights the importance of prompt reporting, outlines the steps to take when an error occurs, and provides practical examples to help care workers prevent mistakes. The goal is to improve medication safety, protect residents’ health, and ensure compliance with legal and professional standards.