Use The Dignity Challenge and The Tests Within It

The Dignity Challenge - acts as a call to arms to care providers to meet the 10 principles of care in their services to people. In recognising that the concept of "dignity" is interpreted subjectively, but the Dignity Challenge attempts to create an understandable and tangible way of explaining what 'Dignity' looks like in the context of treating people with the respect in a care setting.

The Ten Points of The Dignity Challenge

High quality care services that respect people's dignity should:

1. have a zero tolerance of all forms of abuse.
2. support people with the same respect you would want for yourself or a member of your family.
3. treat each person as an individual by offering a personalised service.
4. enable people to maintain the maximum possible level of independence, choice and control.
5. listen and support people to express their needs and wants.
6. respect people's right to privacy.
7. ensure people feel able to complain without fear of retribution.
8. engage with family members and carers as care partners.
9. assist people to maintain confidence and a positive self-esteem.
10. act to alleviate people's loneliness and isolation.

The Dignity Challenge is backed up by Dignity Tests that organisations can use to measure how well their services meet up to the Challenge.

Who are we challenging?

• It is a challenge to service providers to ensure their services respect dignity.
• It is a challenge to commissioners to ensure they commission only services that respect dignity
• It is a challenge to the public to test how their local services measure up and to tackle rather than tolerate services that don't respect dignity.

• SCIE Dignity in Care Practice Guide - The Dignity Challenge
  Find out more about the Dignity Challenge and the dignity tests through this link to the SCIE Practice Guide on Dignity in Care. Identified under each of the 10 Challenge statement are "dignity tests"...
• Examples from organisations using the Dignity Challenge
  This document contains examples of how health and social care organisations are using the Dignity Challenge in their local areas to improve dignity in care.
• Dignity Challenge Audit Tool - Mental Health Settings
  Leeds Older People's Strategic Partnership have developed the dignity audit tool for use in mental health settings. The tool provides performance indicators, evidence and actions for each of the 10 Dignity...
• Dignity Challenge Poem
  Vicki Lines, Senior Staff Nurse submitted this poem to the Nursing Times The 'Dignity Challenge' is highlighted in this verse, To enable you, on cardiac Wards, to become a better nurse. Sign up...