# 4.1 Human rights in social service provision

The HRA 1998 can be seen as an attempt to improve accountability by setting clear requirements for decision-making by public authorities. It has wide implications for the provision of social services: for example, it could be argued that closure of a care home and the transfer of residents to alternative accommodation may endanger their lives, particularly if they are old and frail. Such action could place the local authority in breach of the rights contained in the ECHR.

The following activity considers the importance of human rights in the context of working with older people.

## Activity 6 Older people’s human rights

Allow 30 minutes for this activity

Follow the link to Age UK’s web page Human Rights (open the link in a new tab ir window so that you can easily navigate your way back to the course). Study the web page and fill in the words that are missing from the summary below.

### Discussion

Age UK sees the right to life, the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, the right to liberty, the right to respect for private and family life, and the right not to be discriminated against as being of particular importance for older people.

Among the reasons they give for the importance of the right to life is that people should not be refused life-saving medical treatment because of their age and that they should not have a ‘do not resuscitate’ order placed on their file without their or, if they cannot express their own view, their family’s consent.

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) (SCIE, 2015) set out a procedure for care homes and hospitals to obtain authorisation to deprive someone of their liberty. Without that authorisation the deprivation of liberty will be unlawful. In Scotland an assessment is required as to whether guardianship might be needed if an adult is to be placed in a care home where there is deprivation of liberty. These safeguards are intended to stop individuals from being deprived of their liberty unless it is in their best interests to protect them from harm and there is no other less restrictive alternative.

Age UK gives a number of reasons why Article 14 is important, including that it means that a person should not be refused medical treatment simply because of their age and that if a person does not speak English they should be provided with an interpreter, so that they can make choices about their health or social care.

OpenLearn - Introducing social care and social work
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