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Ethical Dilemmas In Health And Social Care Essay

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Social workers take on key responsibilities that should ultimately serve their clients' best interests, however, as in any human services profession, social workers may face a number of ethical dilemmas relating to religious, personal or even cultural views. For example, there are certain religious or moral values that a social worker may hold regarding abortion. They may then be faced with ethical conflict when trying to assist a client who gets pregnant and wishes to have an abortion when they don't believe in abortion. Another example could be a service user who tells the social worker in confidence that they have stopped taking their medication in order to pursue a herbal remedy path as its more in line with their beliefs. Conflict …show more content…

Professional conflict in distribution of increasingly scarce resources can also occur. Where any conflict occurs, it is vital to involve the service user in discussion of what their needs are rather than making judgement. Never abuse power, instead take practical and logical steps to make ethical decisions. It is important for Social Workers, or any professional, working in a mental health setting, to be conscious of differences in values, beliefs and morals and the values of the service user should be placed at the centre of policy and practice. This practice can be guided by the following three values-based principles outlined by Mental Health England : • Recognition that not everyone holds the same values and beliefs. • Raising awareness of the values involved in different contexts, the roles they place and their impact on mental health practice. • Respecting the diversity of values ensuring that the service users and communities are the focal point and key determinant in all actions undertaken by mental health

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