What principles of care do you follow? As a care professional, you might have come across some key values during your training, principles stated by legislation or your care organisation, that you try to adhere to in your day-to-day work.
The principles of care are generally values that ensure you provide great care for your clients. Keeping them in mind can help you make the right decisions when you’re working, so that your service users feel safe and comfortable.
There are a variety of different principles of care, including the six principles of the Care Act 2014, the principles of person-centred care, and other values that your care organisation might also want their team to embody.
In this article, we’ll look at the principles of the Care Act 2014, as well as other principles of care, including principles of person-centred care.
Table of Contents
Why do we need principles of care?
As care providers, principles of care are values that can help you deliver high-quality support to your clients. They can help you keep your clients’ best interests at heart.
Being a care worker can be difficult. You probably often feel rushed and tired. Your clients may not always be able to communicate their wishes, and some might display challenging or aggressive behaviours.
They may refuse vital medication or aspects of care. Family members might try to involve you in their conflicts, or colleagues might encourage you to make choices that feel wrong.
Remembering some crucial principles and values can help you make the right decision for your clients in those difficult moments. You can ask yourself: “Am I embodying respect, empowerment, transparency, and other key principles of care?”
When an entire organisation’s culture is centred around the right principles, this ensures that clients receive high-quality, person-centred care, and are protected from harm.
What are the 6 principles of the Care Act 2014?
The Care Act 2014 is a piece of legislation that explains the legal requirements for supporting vulnerable adults.
It lays out six key safeguarding principles to protect vulnerable adults from abuse or neglect – and these are often what people mean when they talk about the principles of care.
The six principles of the Care Act 2014 are:
- Empowerment
- Protection
- Prevention
- Proportionality
- Partnership
- Accountability
These six principles cover the main aspects of safeguarding in social care, whether you support vulnerable adults or children. Understanding these principles can help you protect service users from abuse or neglect, and ensure that you treat them with respect.
Let’s look at the 6 principles of the Care Act in more detail.
Support great care. Support great lives.
Good care is built on clear communication. PASS helps you keep everyone aligned with accurate notes, shared visibility, and instant updates on what matters most.
Record what you see, spot changes early, and make decisions based on real evidence. Families stay informed. Teams stay connected. People get the care they deserve.
Book a tour today to see how PASS helps you plan, deliver, and prove great care every day.
Principles of the Care Act 2014: Empowerment
Empowerment means allowing and encouraging clients to make their own decisions, where possible.
Many clients feel as though they have no control over their lives. Some may be dealing with sudden changes to their health and living situations, and find it hard to adjust to this. Others, especially those who have lived in residential care for a long time, may have never been given the opportunity to make their own choices.
Clients should be encouraged to make small choices every day, if possible – for example, about what food to eat or clothes to wear. However, service users should also be empowered to make decisions about bigger areas, such as their health, care, and living situation.
Care workers should support clients by making sure that they have appropriate and accessible information, so they can make informed decisions.
Empowerment in health and social care can give clients better health outcomes. Clients who are empowered to speak up are also more likely to report greater levels of satisfaction with their care.
Principles of the Care Act 2014: Protection
Protection in social care refers to keeping clients safe from harm.
As a care worker, if you suspect that a client is being abused or neglected, you have a responsibility to take action.
Many of your clients will be very vulnerable. They may be unable to speak up if they are experiencing abuse. Some clients might not be aware that they are being harmed.
Everyone working for a care organisation has a responsibility to protect service users. Whether you’re a care worker, nurse, activity support worker or receptionist, if you regularly see clients, you might notice changes in their behaviour that could indicate abuse or neglect.
All members of staff should know the organisation’s policies and procedures around reporting possible abuse.
If you provide domiciliary care and don’t often see colleagues to ask for support, it can be difficult to know whether your worries are warranted. Home care software can help you keep note of areas of concern, so that you know whether you need to report the problem.
If you notice signs of abuse, take action immediately. In an emergency, call the police or ambulance service.
Principles of the Care Act 2014: Prevention
Prevention, as a principle of care, means taking action before harm occurs, and ensuring that clients do not get hurt.
When people experience abuse, the effects can be long-lasting. It’s better to stop abuse or neglect before it happens.
Make information about abuse available to your clients and their family members, in formats that are accessible to them.
If you’re a care manager or supervisor, ensure that your staff team are up to date on their safeguarding training, and that they know the signs of abuse to look for. PASS care management software can help you keep track of your team’s training schedules.
Principles of the Care Act 2014: Proportionality
Proportionality in social care means that you should take the least intrusive action possible.
Where possible, involve your client in decision-making. Service users should be confident that you will only get involved if necessary, and won’t limit their freedom and independence.
When you are involved in safeguarding cases, ask yourself: “Am I taking the right level of action, based on the risks and harm that I have observed?”
If you suspect that someone is being abused, you should always be careful when addressing the issue – remember that your actions could put them in further danger.
Principles of the Care Act 2014: Partnership
Partnership in safeguarding means that you should work with other organisations for the benefit of your client. Communities should work together to keep vulnerable people safe from harm.
In many cases, your client will see multiple healthcare professionals. For example, they might regularly see a district nurse, GP, or occupational therapist. You should work with them to make sure that your client is safe and well.
Although you will regularly work in partnership with other professionals, you must remember to respect your clients’ privacy. Don’t share details about your client unnecessarily, especially information about their health or other sensitive data.
Principles of the Care Act 2014: Accountability
Accountability means that everyone involved in a client’s care has a responsibility to keep them safe.
Does everyone involved with service users know what to do if they suspect abuse? Everyone who works with clients should know the signs of abuse, and be trained in safeguarding.
Remember, safeguarding isn’t only the responsibility of carers. Activity support workers, receptionists, chefs, fitness instructors, drivers, and others who work in your care organisation also have a role to play in ensuring that your clients are safe from harm.
Your safeguarding procedures should be transparent, and you should keep records of the actions you take.
What are the 4 principles of care?
You may also hear people talk about the four principles of care. These are principles around a specific type of support: person-centred care.
The four principles of care, as defined by the Health Foundation, can help care providers make sure that clients get support that is tailored to their needs and wishes.
What are the 4 principles of person-centred care?
- Dignity, compassion, and respect, which ensure that clients’ needs and wishes are heard and followed.
- Co-ordinated care, which may include working in partnership with other healthcare professionals.
- Personalised care, which includes respecting your clients’ individuality, understanding their rights, and encouraging them to make their own choices.
- Participation, which supports clients to be empowered and take an active part in their own care, encouraging them to be as independent as possible, and live a fulfilling life.
Some organisations might talk about the seven principles of person-centred care instead. These values cover the same areas as the Health Foundation’s four principles – they are just phrased differently.
What are the 7 principles of care?
- Individuality
- Choice
- Rights
- Independence
- Privacy
- Dignity and respect
- Partnership
Find out more about person-centred care and why it’s important for your clients.
Other principles of care
Depending on the situation, you may be expected to adhere to other key principles of care.
For example, NHS Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews, which help support people with learning disabilities and autistic people, should follow the PERSONAL set of principles. These are:
- Person centred and family centred
- Evidence-based
- Rights-led
- Seeing the whole person
- Open, independent, and challenging
- Nothing about us without us
- Action focused
- Living life in the community
Taken together, these ensure that the review panels respect the individual being discussed, and prioritise their independence.
If you work for a care organisation, they may also have their own principles of care, or values that they expect all staff to embody. In addition to the principles we’ve already discussed, these could include:
- Communication and transparency: This could include being honest with clients, families and colleagues, communicating clearly, ensuring that people are kept updated about processes, and making it easy to find information about the organisation and its policies and procedures.
- Adaptability and having a “yes” mindset: This could mean being prepared to agree to most suggestions made by clients, even if they aren’t always easy to achieve. Whether your service users want to go on day trips or simply change their call time, you should attempt to say yes. Asking for local volunteers could help you facilitate trips more easily, for example. Care planning software might help you rearrange call times, and make it simpler to schedule carers in future.
- Inclusion: This could include running events that are accessible for all clients, making sure that translators or interpreters are available if necessary, and involving service users and their families in decisions about the organisation and its direction.
You may be able to find out more about your organisation’s values and principles in your employee handbook, at carer training sessions, or by talking to your line manager.
Conclusion: principles of care
As a care provider, you’ll adhere to various key principles and values in your work. You will make sure that you communicate clearly with clients, empower them to make their own decisions, and ensure that you provide a personalised care service for them.
The principles of care that you follow will come from a variety of sources, including legislation, such as the Care Act 2014, well-known evidence-based guidance, and your organisation’s own values.
As you provide care for your clients, remember these values and principles, and take the time to ask yourself if you are embodying them throughout your work day. Doing this will ensure that you deliver high-quality, personalised care.
