Warning: health ‘choices’ can kill
| Date | 01 February 2003 |
| Pages | 30-34 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200300005 |
| Published date | 01 February 2003 |
| Author | Margaret Flynn,Kirsty Keywood,Sara Fovargue |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
30 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 5 Issue 1 • February 2003
Introduction
March 2001 heralded the presentation to parliament by the
secretary of state for health of the White Paper Valuing People:
A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century. A
cradle-to-grave strategy, it is shaped by the principles of Legal
and Civil Rights, Independence, Choice and Inclusion. Along
with ‘person-centred approaches’, these abstract nouns can be
expected to gain ground in services for people with learning
disabilities over the coming years. Tony Blair’s foreword
affirms the title and the tasks of tackling ‘prejudice and
discrimination … if we are to achieve our goal of a modern
society in which everyone is valued and has the chance to play
their full part’.
Such far-reaching ambitions are made tangible in the White
Paper’s less ambitious proposals, the array of formats in which
it is available and the associated materials looking at the
experiences, concerns and aspirations of people with learning
disabilities, their families and minority ethnic communities, all
of which speak of the expectation of a wide readership,
reaching far beyond the commissioners and providers of
services for people with learning disabilities.
Definitions
The following definitions of ‘key principles’ are abstracted
from the White Paper (pp23-24). It should be noted that the
definition of ‘choice’ is reproduced in full.
Warning: health ‘choices’
can kill Margaret Flynn
Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry of
Disability, St George’s Hospital Medical School
and Department of Mental Health and Learning
Disability, Sheffield University
Kirsty Keywood
Lecturer, School of Law, University of
Manchester
Sara Fovargue
Lecturer, School of Law, University of Lancaster
key words
choices
duty of care rights
decision making
vulnerable adults
abstract
The White Paper
Valuing
People: A New Strategy for
Learning Disability for the 21st
Century
, is shaped by the principles
of Legal and Civil Rights,
Independence, Choice and Inclusion.
These principles are laudable, but
this paper argues that in matters of
health that are not within the
experiences of adults with learning
disabilities, a duty of care should
override the elusive mantra of
‘choice’.
Practice
overview
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