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Legislation protecting people in care
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act brings the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law, which means that all public authorities must respect and protect your rights. This enables courts in the UK to hear cases about alleged breaches of human rights.
This act helps protect the most vulnerable in our communities, including people receiving care and support.
If you know your rights, you can shape the decisions made about your care so these rights can be protected. It also means that those responsible for providing care services should respect these rights. If they don’t respect them, they can be held to account.
Some rights, such as the right to liberty and the right to private and family life, are limited or qualified, meaning they can be restricted in certain circumstances.
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 has ensured that care home residents in privately run care homes, both private and not-for-profit, whose fees are funded by the state, or where the contract is arranged by the state, now have the protection of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Read the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland’s Human Rights in Scotland
The information was last updated on: 20th April 2023