1.4. Explain professional codes of conduct in relation to ethics within health and social care

This guide will help you answer 1.4. Explain professional codes of conduct in relation to ethics within health and social care.

Professional codes of conduct are formal guidelines that outline the behaviours expected of health and social care workers. These codes are designed to uphold ethical practice and ensure people receive high-quality and respectful care. Each profession, such as nursing, social work, or caregiving, has its own specific framework for conduct, but they all rest on ethical principles that are common across the sector.

This guide will cover the key areas where codes of conduct interconnect with ethical responsibilities.

Respecting Dignity

Respecting an individual’s dignity is central to ethical practice. Every person has the right to feel valued and respected, regardless of their circumstances, background, or needs. This principle appears in codes of conduct across all roles in health and social care.

Workers show respect for dignity by:

• Addressing individuals by their preferred name or title
• Listening to and respecting their wishes
• Ensuring privacy during personal care tasks, e.g., bathing or dressing
• Supporting individuals to make their own decisions

By following these behaviours, health and social care practitioners preserve the self-esteem and worth of the individuals they support.

Maintaining Confidentiality

Confidentiality plays an essential role in establishing and maintaining trust between caregivers and individuals. Professional codes direct health and social care workers to protect sensitive personal data relating to health, finances, or family circumstances.

Confidentiality is upheld by:

• Storing records securely (e.g., using locked cabinets or encrypted systems)
• Sharing sensitive information only when essential, or on a need-to-know basis
• Following the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018

While confidentiality is important, there are times when it can be broken ethically – for example, if information is required to protect someone from harm. Such decisions should always comply with organisational policies and legal guidelines.

Promoting Inclusion and Equality

Every health and social care worker is expected to treat people fairly and avoid discrimination. Codes of conduct require individuals to actively value diversity and to challenge inequality wherever it arises.

This involves:

• Understanding protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, such as age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, and sexual orientation
• Ensuring care plans consider the different cultural, physical, and emotional needs of people
• Avoiding language, attitudes, or behaviours that exclude or degrade others

Ethically, this reflects the belief that all people should be treated with equal care and respect, regardless of personal characteristics or status.

Obtaining Informed Consent

Healthcare and social care decisions often affect people’s lives significantly. Ethics-based codes of conduct emphasise the importance of informed consent. This means gaining clear agreement from individuals before starting treatments, interventions, or services.

For consent to be valid, it must be:

• Voluntary – provided without pressure or coercion
• Informed – given when all risks, benefits, and options have been explained
• Specific – directed to a particular action or decision

Where someone lacks the capacity to give informed consent – for example, due to dementia or severe learning disabilities – carers must follow the guidelines in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This ensures decisions are made in the individual’s best interest, with input from family, advocates, or multidisciplinary teams.

Acting with Integrity

Integrity is about being honest, transparent, and accountable. Workers in health and social care need to approach their role without self-interest and always prioritise the needs of those they serve. Codes strongly discourage dishonesty, fraud, or working beyond one’s level of competence.

Examples of acting with integrity:

• Reporting mistakes promptly to supervisors, e.g., medication errors
• Refusing inappropriate gifts or favours from clients or their families
• Being honest about professional limits and seeking guidance when required

This principle not only builds public trust but also demonstrates ethical responsibility to colleagues and service users.

Supporting Empowerment

Empowering individuals involves encouraging independence and helping people take control over their care and daily lives. In health and social care, codes of conduct promote empowerment as a way of ensuring ethical treatment and respect for autonomy.

Practitioners empower people by:

• Providing information in accessible formats so individuals can make informed choices
• Respecting their right to make ‘risky’ decisions, where appropriate
• Avoiding actions or attitudes that undermine a person’s confidence

For example, instead of deciding what an elderly person should eat for dinner, offering them a choice of meals empowers them to maintain control over this aspect of their life.

Being Accountable

Accountability means taking responsibility for one’s actions and decisions. Health and social care workers are expected to adhere to organisational policies, professional codes, and legal standards at all times. When things go wrong, accountability involves acknowledging the issue and working to correct it transparently.

Key elements of accountability include:

• Keeping accurate and up-to-date records
• Following health and safety standards to minimise harm and risk
• Reflecting on and improving one’s practice through training or supervision

Accountability reinforces ethical behaviour, as it assures clients that practitioners are acting in their best interests.

Duty of Candour

The duty of candour refers to being open and honest when things go wrong, especially where an individual has been harmed. This ethical principle is embedded in professional codes.

It includes:

• Informing the individual and their family if mistakes occur
• Explaining what happened and offering a sincere apology
• Taking steps to prevent future errors

This practice fosters transparency and strengthens trust within the care relationship. It’s also legally required under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding means protecting vulnerable individuals from harm, abuse, or neglect. Ethics-based codes of conduct hold each worker responsible for identifying and reporting risks to safety, whether in a care home, hospital, or community setting.

Examples of safeguarding actions include:

• Reporting suspicions or evidence of abuse to a supervisor or safeguarding officer
• Following established protocols for responding to incidents
• Regularly reviewing care plans to keep services effective and safe

By acting swiftly and appropriately, practitioners fulfil their ethical obligations to protect those in their care.

Avoiding Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest occur when personal or financial interests could influence professional decisions. Professional codes of conduct guide practitioners to declare and avoid such situations.

For instance:

• Avoiding favouritism towards friends or family receiving care
• Refusing any financial incentives that could compromise decision-making
• Disclosing relationships that could result in unfair treatment

This ensures decisions are unbiased, fair, and ethically sound for all involved.

Upholding Professional Boundaries

Professional boundaries refer to the limits within which a care relationship should operate. Breaching these boundaries – for example, by forming inappropriate friendships or romantic relationships – violates both ethical expectations and codes of conduct.

Health and social care workers maintain boundaries by:

• Staying focused on the individual’s needs, not their own
• Avoiding private or personal relationships with service users
• Keeping personal lives separate from professional responsibilities

These behaviours protect people from harm and ensure the worker’s role remains centred on delivering appropriate support.

Conclusion

Professional codes of conduct in health and social care are deeply connected to ethics. They provide a framework through which practitioners can uphold moral principles like respect, fairness, accountability, and honesty. By following these codes, workers deliver care that is safe, compassionate, and empowering while maintaining the trust and confidence of those they support.

Phrased another way, the everyday actions of health and social care practitioners, guided by clear codes, make a direct difference to the lives and dignity of people in their care.