Human Rights and Patients’ Privacy in UK Hospitals

The European Convention on Human Rights has been incorporated into UK domestic law. It gives many rights to patients within the National Health Service (NHS). This article explores the concept of patients’ right to privacy. It stresses that privacy is a basic human right, and that its respect by hea...

Πλήρης περιγραφή

Αποθηκεύτηκε σε:  
Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Κύριος συγγραφέας: Woogara, Jay (Συγγραφέας)
Τύπος μέσου: Ηλεκτρονική πηγή Άρθρο
Γλώσσα:Αγγλικά
Έλεγχος διαθεσιμότητας: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Φόρτωση...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Έκδοση: Sage 2001
Στο/Στη: Nursing ethics
Έτος: 2001, Τόμος: 8, Τεύχος: 3, Σελίδες: 234-246
Άλλες λέξεις-κλειδιά:B National Health Service
B Privacy
B Human Rights Act 1998
B Litigation
B European Convention on Human Rights
Διαθέσιμο Online: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Περιγραφή
Σύνοψη:The European Convention on Human Rights has been incorporated into UK domestic law. It gives many rights to patients within the National Health Service (NHS). This article explores the concept of patients’ right to privacy. It stresses that privacy is a basic human right, and that its respect by health professionals is vital for a patient’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. I argue that health professionals can violate patients’ privacy in a variety of ways. For example: the right to enjoy their property; the right to protect their medical and personal information as confidential; the right to expect treatment with dignity during intimate care; and the right to control their personal space and territory. Some preliminary evidence indicates that many health care practitioners, including nurses, are presently unaware of the articles of the Convention and the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998. In order to prevent litigation for breaches of patients’ privacy, it is advocated that universities and other educational institutions, the Government and NHS trusts should help to produce a clear educational strategy and protocols so that students and practitioners are well informed in this field. Although 41 European countries are presently the signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the UK, it is important to stress that the principles discussed in this article are applicable world-wide.
ISSN:1477-0989
Περιλαμβάνει:Enthalten in: Nursing ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/096973300100800308