Four new staff become Dignity Champions for Dignity Action Day 2021

Four new members of staff at Meddyg Care Home have become Dignity Champions as we mark Dignity Action Day for 2021.
Meddyg Care, which operates two care homes in Porthmadog and Criccieth, has a long-standing programme to support the event and the aims of charity behind it, Dignity in Care.

The charity works to promote access to dignity as a human right for all, which led it to developing ten principles known as Dignity Do’s.

Care assistant, Maria Cahill, 51, one of the new starters alongside Leah Jones, Ffion Shaw and Alwena Ellis, said: “Dignity is the most important thing. It’s vital for carers to remember people are individuals and they’re treated as such.
“This means they need to be able to make simple choices like what they wear, or where they want to be or when they want to have breakfast. In addition, even if an action is something procedural, it should still be carried out with conversation and in a nice relaxed manner, not officious.

“You might be really busy, but they don’t need to see that or for it to be pushed on them. It’s their home and it should be relaxed, and I think making choices is crucial, and they can make as many choices as they want to do.”
Dignity Action Day, which takes place on 1st February, is often an opportunity for events and fundraising activities for the charity behind it.

However, this year, Meddyg Care has chosen to mark the occasion by ensuring its newest group of starters are part of the scheme to uphold the principles alongside normal activities in the homes.
Area nurse manager Jo Cairns, who is responsible for the scheme at Meddyg Care, says the company has chosen to take a number of steps to benefit their residents beyond the initial requirements.

Jo said: “All our staff are given a supervision on dignity. This allows them to express what they have seen and or how they could do better. It also covers how they had achieved dignity for an individual, how they think this made the resident feel and how this made them feel: It is a personalised experience for both recipient and giver.
“We have recently introduced reflective practice, which will work well as an additional evaluation tool to use in the development of healthcare assistants.

“Finally, a notice board is on display in a prominent part of the homes – here is where all our ‘Dignity Champions’ are proudly placed. Our champions are given a ‘dignity badge’ to wear with pride.”
The specialist dementia care provider puts all of its new starters through an induction covering all aspects of dementia care, one of which is dignity in care.

Following induction, they complete a dignity audit to show managers how much they know about dignity in care and the 10 Dignity Do’s.

Jo herself signed up to the Dignity in Care principles from the National Dignity Council two years ago.
She continued: “Dignity runs hand in hand with what we do and aim to achieve with all new starters at Meddyg Care. It is the most important part of caring for someone that can only be measured by the smiles and thanks we receive from an individual.

“I believe that ‘respect’, ‘mindfulness’, ‘feeling of togetherness’, ‘providing comfort’, ‘creating opportunities’ ‘to have the freedom to express’ and ‘to be listened to’ are a just a few fundamentals of what I believe dignity should look and feel like to our clients.”

The 10 Dignity Do’s can be found on the Dignity in Care website, here.