Person-Centred Care, Dignity & Privacy

This self-paced online course is for frontline adult care workers and agency staff. It explores person-centred daily support, preferences, consent, privacy, reasonable adjustments, professional boundaries and the reporting of changing needs. Eight modules use fictional care situations, guided reading and reflection to develop informed everyday judgement.

England is the core legal and provider context. Workers elsewhere in the UK must use the applicable national requirements. This awareness course supports knowledge and does not replace practical training, competent assessment or employer authorisation.

What you need

✓ An internet-enabled device and a suitable place to study.
✓ Everyday English comprehension, with appropriate learning adjustments where required.
✓ Relevant employer induction and access to local plans, policies and escalation contacts.

Module 1 - Person-Centred Care in Daily Practice

Person-centred care starts with the person’s assessed needs, preferences, strengths and goals. Ask what matters to them and involve them in decisions about support. A care plan guides staff, but daily practice should remain responsive to a relevant change or expressed preference. Explain genuine constraints and discuss alternatives rather than promising that every request can be fulfilled. Provider duties under CQC Regulation 9 support appropriate personalised care; this course focuses on the frontline worker’s contribution and reporting responsibilities. Do not replace assessment with assumptions about a group or diagnosis.

Fictional care example: A morning routine suits staff but conflicts with the person’s preference. Discuss the preference and workable alternatives, raising any needed care-plan review.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Explain person-centred daily support.

Module 2 - Preferences, Identity and Communication

Use the person’s preferred name and communication method and respect identity, relationships and cultural preferences. Give information in an understandable form and check understanding without speaking over the person. Hearing, language or communication difficulties do not automatically mean lack of capacity. Use authorised interpretation or communication support where needed, rather than assuming a family member must always speak for the person. Small daily choices can preserve control and dignity. Record relevant preferences so colleagues support the person consistently.

Fictional care example: A person with hearing difficulty is being left out of a care discussion. Adapt communication and involve the person directly using appropriate support.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Adapt support to identity and preferences.

Module 3 - Choice, Consent and Participation

Explain the proposed support and options, seek agreement and allow time for the person to decide. A refusal or a choice others consider unwise does not itself establish lack of capacity. Capacity is decision-specific and should be considered through the appropriate competent process when needed. Staff must not assume that a relative’s preference overrides the person’s valid decision. Seek advice if consent, risk or authority is unclear. This course does not confer authority to force care or impose a restriction simply because it seems convenient or protective.

Fictional care example: A person declines personal care and a relative says to continue. Respect the refusal and seek appropriate advice rather than assuming the relative can override it.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Support informed choices within role.

Module 4 - Privacy During Personal Care

Privacy matters during personal care, conversations, rest and record handling, including when a person is asleep or cannot communicate. Explain before entering or assisting, close doors or curtains appropriately and expose only what is needed for the task. Seek the person’s preferences about who assists and how support is given. Do not apply hospital accommodation rules as a blanket care-home requirement. Monitoring technology needs the provider’s appropriate consent, rights and privacy arrangements; a worker must not install or approve surveillance on their own.

Fictional care example: A bedroom door is left open during personal care because the person cannot speak. Protect privacy and use the person’s communication and preference arrangements.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Protect personal and information privacy.

Module 5 - Dignity, Equality and Reasonable Adjustments

Dignity includes respectful language, independence and equal access to appropriate support. Reasonable adjustments address the individual’s barriers rather than imposing a standard solution. Ask about communication, sensory, mobility or cultural needs and use the agreed arrangements. A stronger light, a louder voice or a particular activity is not automatically suitable for everyone. Report when an adjustment is ineffective or the person’s needs change. Avoid stereotyping based on disability, age, religion or identity and explain choices without infantilising the person.

Fictional care example: A written explanation is inaccessible to a person who uses another format. Arrange appropriate accessible communication and check understanding through the agreed support.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Recognise respectful adjustments.

Module 6 - Relationships and Professional Boundaries

Support important relationships and social participation in ways the person wants and the plan allows. Professional boundaries protect trust: use authorised communication, avoid personal loans or financial arrangements and follow the employer’s gifts policy. A small gift is not governed by a universal statutory ban, but workers must identify conflicts and seek guidance. Financial support tasks may be legitimate only within an authorised role and safeguards. Do not use private friendships, personal contact or access to money to bypass the provider’s procedures.

Fictional care example: A person offers a worker money as a private loan. Decline the private arrangement and follow the professional-boundary and reporting procedure.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Maintain supportive professional relationships.

Module 7 - Concerns, Records and Care-Plan Changes

Daily observations and the person’s words can show that the care plan needs review. Record support, preferences, refusals, changes and the response accurately and promptly. A new concern about pain or ability may require clinical advice before continuing a task; a gentle approach is not a substitute for assessing an unsafe change. Use the authorised process for care-plan amendments, within the worker’s competence. Do not erase the record of what happened or change a plan without the required authority. Clear handover identifies who will follow up.

Fictional care example: A person reports new hip pain before a planned transfer. Pause the activity and obtain appropriate clinical or care-plan advice before further movement.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Report unmet needs and document concerns.

Module 8 - Scenario Decisions and Reflection

When choice and safety appear to conflict, begin with the person’s wishes, the actual risk and the current lawful plan. Consider options that preserve independence and seek competent advice where the arrangement is unclear. A locked door, diagnosis or general concern does not give the worker automatic authority to prevent someone leaving. Explain, offer appropriate support and avoid physical obstruction or pressure unsupported by a lawful authorised process. Reflect on how the person participated, how dignity was protected and whether the decision and follow-up were recorded.

Fictional care example: A person wants to leave, but the worker is unsure whether a planned restriction is lawful and current. Offer respectful support and seek competent advice without assuming authority to prevent departure.

By the end of this Module, learners will be able to:

✓ Justify a dignity-preserving response.

Final Assessment

Complete the separate 15-question single-answer knowledge assessment after the eight teaching modules. Pass with at least 12 correct answers out of 15, or 80%.