What Is Dignity in Care? Meaning, Examples and What CQC Regulation 10 Requires
What dignity and respect mean in practice, the examples inspectors notice, and what Regulation 10 requires providers to do.
Dignity in care means treating people with respect at all times, protecting their privacy, supporting their independence and treating everyone as an equal. It is a legal requirement: Regulation 10 says service users must be treated with dignity and respect, including ensuring privacy, supporting autonomy, independence and involvement in the community, and having due regard to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
Dignity is easy to state and easy to miss. It shows up in small things: how someone is addressed, whether a door is closed during personal care, whether a person is left in wet clothing. This guide explains what CQC expects, gives examples of good and poor practice and shows how to evidence it.
Key takeaways
- Regulation 10 requires that service users are treated with dignity and respect at all times.
- Privacy applies at all times, including when a person is asleep, unconscious or lacks capacity.
- Staff must respect people’s preferences, including how they wish to be addressed and who provides intimate care.
- Leaving people in undignified situations counts as a failure and can also be neglect.
- Dignity is evidenced by observation and what people say, not by policies alone.
In this guide
What Dignity in Care Means
CQC’s fundamental standards say you must be treated with dignity and respect at all times, including having privacy when you need and want it, being treated as an equal and being given support to remain independent and involved in your community (CQC). It goes beyond politeness: it is about respecting a person’s identity, choices and worth.
What Regulation 10 Requires
CQC’s guidance on Regulation 10 says staff must treat people in a caring and compassionate way and communicate respectfully, using the most suitable means. It adds that staff must respect people’s personal preferences, lifestyle and care choices, address people the way they prefer and make every reasonable effort to respect preferences about who delivers intimate personal care. Privacy must be maintained at all times, including when a person is asleep, unconscious or lacks capacity, and discussions about care should take place where they cannot be overheard (CQC: Regulation 10). Providers must also have due regard to protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.
Examples
| Good practice | Poor practice |
|---|---|
| Knocking and waiting before entering a room | Walking in without knocking |
| Closing doors and curtains during personal care | Leaving someone exposed |
| Asking how the person prefers to be addressed | Calling adults “dear” or “sweetheart” by default |
| Offering a choice of who provides intimate care where possible | Allocating without asking |
| Discussing care in private | Handing over details in a corridor or lounge |
| Supporting independence, such as helping someone to wash rather than doing it for them | Doing tasks people could do themselves to save time |
| Prompt help with continence needs | Leaving people waiting in soiled clothes |
CQC guidance also says people must not be neglected or left in undignified situations, as described in the Regulation 13 safeguarding guidance. See what safeguarding adults means.
How to Evidence Dignity
- Observation: spot checks and audits of interactions, not just records. See how to carry out an audit.
- Supervision and competency: discuss dignity in supervisions and observe personal care. See competency assessments.
- Feedback: residents, families and staff feedback, with “you said, we did”.
- Complaints and concerns: analyse for dignity themes. See handling complaints.
- Care plans: privacy, preferences and cultural needs recorded. See person-centred care.
Evidence dignity across audits, feedback and supervision
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is dignity in care?
Treating people with respect at all times, protecting their privacy, supporting their independence and treating everyone as an equal.
What does CQC Regulation 10 require?
That service users are treated with dignity and respect, including ensuring privacy, supporting autonomy, independence and involvement in the community, and having due regard to protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.
What are examples of dignity in a care home?
Knocking before entering, closing doors during personal care, using a person’s preferred name, offering choice about who provides intimate care and discussing care privately.
Is dignity the same as person-centred care?
They are closely linked but separate standards. Dignity and respect is Regulation 10. Person-centred care is Regulation 9. See the fundamental standards.
Does privacy apply if a person lacks capacity?
Yes. CQC guidance says privacy must be maintained at all times, including when a person is asleep, unconscious or lacks capacity.
Can undignified care be a safeguarding issue?
It can. CQC guidance says people must not be neglected or left in undignified situations, and serious or repeated cases may need to be treated as safeguarding concerns.
Sources: CQC: Regulation 10, Dignity and respect · CQC: The fundamental standards of care