The ethics of using cameras in care homes
Using cameras for surveillance is an in-thing at many places including business areas, office blocks and even at private homes. Healthcare facilities also have cameras for surveying other areas such as entry and exit points or corridors, but they are rarely in use in patient areas unless in exceptional cases.
Using cameras in care homes is a suggestion that some people see as a controversy, but a look from a different perspective shows that there are ways to use this technology productively.
Cause of Concerns about Using Cameras in Care Homes
A variance on opinions on the use suitability of using cameras at care homes has been existing for long and escalated after a resolution by delegates during a royal college of nursing conventions in 2015. Only 20% were supporting the ideas, but all others backed a resolution opposing the use of covert video, audio surveillance, and recording at care homes.
The concerns arose about the way cameras at care facilities may intrude on the privacy of residents and staff. Many who followed the proceeding felt that there is a way forward on ethics of using cameras in care homes. It is essential to reconsider the attitude by focusing less on the ability survey and more on the way to utilize them as data gathering tools.
Despite the concerns, there is a high level of support from the public about using cameras in care homes. Most respondents to surveys on the issue support installation of visible cameras and care homes. A high number of relatives to residents at care facilities favor a scheme for visible cameras. The concern about the protection of vulnerable people in care homes is still very high especially when reports of abuse become more regular.
Healthcare Staff Views on the Ethics of Using Cameras in Care Homes
Many healthcare professionals still feel that using camera technology whether it is in plain site (overt) or hidden (covert) is going beyond the limits of privacy. Many will dismiss their concerns by concluding that there is no reason to object a camera installation unless you have something to hide.
However, their concern is that much work is still underway in addressing the core issues of concerning data protection especially about who can access the cameras. Privacy and obtaining consent from somebody with failing fractures are the other two relating issues.
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Nurses, in general, have a few concerns about the technology. Part of modern health care is to enable monitoring of health from different contexts and use it within the safeguarding framework. Some nurses might hesitate at the idea of installing cameras in care homes, but none denies that observation is part of the duties as one of the responsibilities to monitor residents.
A range of technologies might assist with such observations such as movement monitors or bed, incontinence and seizure sensors. Patient observation is at the core of nursing with ethical justification. The ethical touchstones of caring according to a social theoretist Joan Tronto will include attentiveness( hence the need for observation) and responsiveness. Cameras have potential for helping such considerations and facilitating accurate responses.
Ways to Protect Privacy While Using Cameras in Care Homes
- Use of cameras can be efficient without compromising privacy by doing the following:
- Care homes should provide or be willing to facilitate the use of surveillance technologies within private areas or resident rooms
- Location of surveillance technologies should be chosen after careful consideration to determine the points where they are visible, or someone will know they are present
- Informing staff about their responsibilities concerning the use of surveillance camera
- Restricting access to surveillance data to only the persons or agencies with authority in defined circumstances
- Acknowledging the resident at the place where cameras gather images, audio and video footage as their owner and holding or using it for his/her benefit.
- Getting approval of the appropriate regulatory agencies when using cameras at positions where they are likely to intrude on privacy excessively.
