What does The Right to Respect and Non-discrimination ensure?

• A. Patients are charged differently based on protected attributes
• B. Patients are treated with respect and without discrimination based on protected attributes
• C. Patients must declare political beliefs
• D. Patients can be refused service for who they are

Answer: (B)

This principle focuses on treating every patient with dignity and ensuring equal access to care, no matter their protected characteristics. It means health workers must respect patients, avoid bias, and provide care without discrimination because of attributes like race, religion, gender, age, disability, nationality, or politics. It also supports safeguarding privacy and informed consent, and responding to each patient’s needs fairly.

Charging patients differently based on protected attributes would breach this standard, as would requiring someone to declare political beliefs or denying service simply because of who they are.