[Human dignity and geriatric long-term care].

Dignity is one of the most sophisticated and complex terms of moral philosophy. Respecting and preserving the dignity of people who are in non-transient need of health care is a normative postulation, derived from the assignment that society gives to the health care sector. If an individual's dignity is to be upheld, health-care personnel need to have the right attitude and kind of understanding. Upholding the dignity of people who do not gain respect as a matter of course, however, implies a mandate for society as a whole, and not just for the health care profession.