The legislation and policies listed in the previous section can affect the day to day experience of individuals with mental health needs in a number of different ways. To begin with, the Human Rights Act 1998 protects the rights of those with mental health needs and ensures that they must be treated fairly and with respect. This means that they will have a better experience interacting with other people from day to day.
The Care Act 2014 makes sure that individuals with mental health needs are provided care and support and have a range of services available that meet their needs. This means you should provide care that is person-centred and meets their needs. The General Data Protection Regulation 2016 ensures that personal data about individuals is kept confidential, which includes information about their health or condition. This means that you should keep information about an individual and their condition confidential unless they say otherwise.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives individuals the right to make their own decisions and says that you must not assume an individual is not capable unless an assessment is done which proves otherwise. It also ensures that the care and treatment of individuals who lack mental capacity is the least restrictive of their rights and freedoms as it can possibly be. This means that individuals with a condition will have more freedom to do what they want in their day to day life.
This legislation aims to affect the day to day experiences of individuals with mental health needs in a positive way. As such, you should follow them as closely as possible to ensure that the individuals you care for have a high standard of care irregardless of any conditions they may have.