Equality, Diversity, and Rights in Health and Social Care

Explain the concepts of equality, diversity and rights in relation to health and social care Health and social care practice should acknowledge, respect and accommodate this diversity. Promoting inclusion and equality, taking rights into account, is an important part of health and social care provision. A central issue for care worker and care originations is how best to respond to the needs of a diverse population, while also ensuring that every service user enjoys equality.

For example, services have to meet the particular needs of people of different genders, people who have differing ethnic and cultural background and people with a large range of abilities, disabilities, illnesses and impairments. Care workers need to appreciate the benefits of social and cultural diversity in order to provide appropriate care services in a fair and equal way. As we have see, residential care home care workers work with a socially and culturally diverse population of service users and colleagues.

Recognising how each individual’s social and cultural background affects their personal and care needs, and their communication preferences is an important part of care practice. Care plans, treatment approaches and care relationships should all recognise and accommodate these aspects of individual’s identity, so that the person feels valued and respected. A care worker’s values and beliefs affect the way they provide care for other. it is important to recognise and accept other people’s values and beliefs, and to avoid imposing your own.

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Remember that care values should be written into the policies and procedures used in the care setting where you work. Following them will ensure that you demonstrate good practice and high standards of profession conduct. Working in residential care home care workers in, they should actively promote the equality and rights of service users, of clients’ relatives and of their own work colleagues. Care workers do this by using the principles of the care value base in the care practice. These principles include:

1. Promoting anti-discriminatory practice
2. Promoting dignity, independence and safety
3. Respecting and acknowledging personal beliefs and individual identity
4. Maintaining confidentiality
5. Protecting vulnerable people from abuse and harm
6. Promoting effective communication and relationships
7. Providing individualised care.

Care workers who follow these principles for the everyday work the will promote an individual’s rights and choices, enabling the person to develop and experience a sense of wellbeing and control over their life.

Putting the patient or service user at the heart of service provision is the key to this. Four example of good practice in base for care value in residential care home to ensuring that care workers is promoting individual rights: 1. Anti – discriminatory practice is an approach to care work that explicit seeks to tackle unfair discrimination as a way of promoting the rights and equality of each person using care service. For example, regardless of their cultural background, every service users should have equal access to opportunities and resources in residential care home.

Unfair discrimination occurs when individuals or groups of people are treated differently, unequally and unfairly in comparison to others. For example, a care worker who refuse to take care for service user because of sexual orientation (gay). All users of care service should be treated fairly and equally. However, anti- discriminatory practice does not just mean treating everybody in the same way. It also means challenging and reducing any form of unfair discrimination that might be experienced by service users.

Care workers who take an anti-discriminatory approach are:

• sensitive to the ethnicity, social background and cultural needs of each individual service user
• Prepared to actively challenge and try to reduce the unfair discrimination experienced by some service users.
• This is important from a moral, legal and business perspective because as service user this will promote self-esteem; self respect and help them to fulfil their full potential.

As a carer you will build a good career and also you will make the legal and business perspective in the high standards.

Practical implication of confidentiality Confidentiality is a very important care value. It involves recording, storing and sharing information about people in an appropriate way.  Care worker have a professional and legal duty to maintain confidentiality at all times. Information must be handled carefully so that  an individual’s wishes and privacy are respected the organisation’s policies and procedures on confidentiality are followed.

When doing this they should ensure that:

• They only collect information that is actually required
• The information they collect is used only for the intended purpose
• The individual’s records are kept safe and secure All data protection guidelines are followed.
• Social worker has to maintain and promote confidentially by respecting any personal information acquired in the course of duty and also he/she don’t have to make the person’s information public.

As part of being anti- discriminatory, effective health and social care workers promote and protect individual’s rights in relative to care. The right to be respected, dignity and privacy.

For instance, use listening skills effectively, provide necessary communication aids, show patience and compassion, accept others’ choices, use a non-judgemental approach, and protect dignity and privacy. You can demonstrate your respect for dignity by language that you use and paying attention to detail during the process of personal care, by explaining procedures and obtaining consent , ensure the individuals has privacy when receiving personal care by closing curtains and doors as appropriate.

Find out about individuals’ needs and preferences Enable individuals to express their identity and views aware of different forms of unfair discrimination that can occur in care settings 4 Protecting vulnerable people from abuse and harm Many people who use care service are at a vulnerable point in their life, and put a lot of trust in care workers a good of practice is important because this provide them with the protection, help and support they need. Some group of service users, including children, older people, disabled people and people with mental health problem are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by others.

Some groups some people who use services may also find it difficult to follow basic health and safety precaution that protect them from the danger of everyday life , as well as abuse or exploitation by memory problems, or because they are easily influenced by unscrupulous people. As a result, many people who need or who are receiving care face greater risk of experiencing harm or a form of abuse (e. g. physical, emotional or sexual abuse).

To safeguard individuals from danger and harm, care workers should:

• Be aware of any signs or indicators of abuse or exploitation
• Ensure that their own health and hygiene does not pose a threat to the health and safety of others and they manage their personal safety at work
• Follow the infection control,moving and handling, accident and waste disposal procedures set out in their employer’s health and safety policies
• Make use of any risk assessments that have been carried out minimise health and safety hazards * Respond appropriately to security risk in the workplace
• Report health and safety and security issues to relevant people. In conclusion in health and social care it is essential that there is an equal chance for everybody to use the services.

It is also vital for the people working within a health and social care service to treat everybody equally despite their age, gender, sexuality, background, disability and ethnicity. There is a wide range of terms which need to be understood and respected in, both, health and social care and in general. P2. Describe discriminatory practice in health and social care Care services that are based on equality of access and the fair and equal treatment of all service users are important feature of any positive care environment. Discriminatory practice may occur in health and social care settings with members of some groups being more vulnerable to this than others.

Unfair discrimination occurs when individuals or groups are treated unfairly, or less favourably, in comparison to others. Discriminatory practice in health and social care are :

• Avoidance - not going close to someone because they are different,
• Devaluing - failure to recognise achievement or unfair criticism,
• Verbal abuse - use of offensive or insulting language,
• Physical abuse - assaulting a person causing them physical harm,

Negative body language, neglect and poor care. Ignoring people , isolating people, failing to meet language needs and preferences, expressing prejudices showing preferences for particular people, bullying , infringing people’ rights , stereotyping people, using negative labels, busing or neglecting people. Unfair discrimination can be expressed and experienced in a number of different ways. Direct discrimination involves deliberately treating one person less favourably than another and can be an overt abuse of power. For example, unlawful direct discrimination would occur if a residential home isolating of service use because of HIV positive or because of race and beliefs. Unlawful discrimination isn’t always overt and direct. Indirect discrimination, overt the covert use of power, may also occur when a residential home sets a condition that, when applied equally, disadvantages some social groups because they are less able to satisfy it.

Direct Discrimination, this is when someone is treated less favourably than another because of certain attributes: Race, Colour, Gender, Sexuality, Age, Disability. For example, a company might not consider an applicant because the applicant is of a different race to all of the other workers in the company. Another an example of direct discrimination would be deciding not treats someone because of their ethnic background. for instance discrimination means when an individual is from different background or culture and follows his/her rules truly but are disliked by other people because of their different lifestyle and following and do not give his /her equal rights in their daily lives.

Indirect Discrimination this occurs when someone is treated in the same way as someone else but they have special needs that need to be considered. For example a disabled person may need access to a building however treating them in the same as able bodied people could prevent them from accessing the same facilities. This would therefore be discriminatory. P3 and M1 describe the potential effects of discriminatory practice on those who use health or social care service. The Affects of discrimination we all expect to be treated with respect and in the same way as everyone else. When people are discriminated against, in whatever way, this can have a serious affect on their lives. When people are not treated in an equal way this can have a serious affect on their lives.

The three potential effects of discriminatory practice of the two service users (practising Hindu) are: Infringement of rights, prejudice, stereotyping. n care setting such as a care home a person believe in. They could be of Muslim faith and they have a set of values that they believe in. They could get discriminated against because carer don’t believe or simply don’t understand the faith. They may discriminate against this person because they don’t provide time for them to pray or they don’t respect the way they dress or don’t provide the right food for that religion. (HIV positive) are: abusing or neglecting, ignoring or isolation, bullying.

People who belong to social groups that are the target of prejudice and stereotyping experience form of social stigma, they are marked out by prejudiced people as different, separate and reduced social worth. The effect of this can be marginalisation and social exclusion. People who are marginalized are denied full access to society’s resources and opportunities they live on the edge of society and unable to participate fully. Marginalisation will come in to context should anyone discover service use diagnosis of HIV, this will mean that service user is placed outside of social acceptance and won at feel that he belongs or even has a participation within society.

This kind of discrimination is likely to mean that service use is excluded from activities in which others take part in this will solely be because of service user sexuality and his diagnosis of HIV. Lack of effective access to education, employment and care services is experienced, for example, by many disabled and older people, by people with mental health problem, those who are homeless and by some members of black and minority ethnic groups especially those who are recent refuges and asylum seekers. These and other social groups often live poverty and lack both the economic resources and social influence to change their poor standard of living and circumstances. Health and social welfare service can be particularly important for such groups because poor living conditions eventually have negative effects on health and wellbeing.

The potential effects of this discrimination can go on to include Marginalisation, Disempowerment, Low self-esteem and self-identity and even negative behaviours including aggression and criminality. A service user, who has been bullied for different form, treated differently to others or felt that you weren’t given a fair chance to do something all this cans which lead to distress or even mental health issue. Infringement of rights is not respecting an individual’s rights and not letting them practise their culture. This can lead to individual feeling devalued and very sad, which will affect their health. Service user is discriminated against because of stereotyping, labelling and prejudice.

This is damaging because it strips away the person’s individuality and dignity and exposes them to insensitivity and unfair discrimination. For instance prejudice is sets of negative, critical or hostile ideas about a person or group of people. For example Prejudices can become fixed or very difficult to change. They are closely connected to stereotypes. When people act on their prejudices, they discriminate unfairly against people. An individual might show a lack of respect for others by using hostile language, not sitting by certain people, avoiding working with another individual , not touching another person etc. if is a service user this can affect a service user health and social care.

Form of discriminatory practice include physical abuse, neglect, avoidance and exclusion of certain service user, verbal abuse and devaluing or unjustified criticism in long period, a service users’ self- confidence and self- esteem can be damaged permanently. People can feel disempowered when they are devalued by unfair discrimination. Ad well as reducing people’s work, education and lifestyle opportunities, unfair discrimination can lead to depression, stress, emotional injury, feeling of not belonging , poor self- concept, physical injury, poor mental health and negative behaviours such as criminality and aggression and long-term health problems or death.

In conclusion to prevent discrimination from occurring, Non-discriminatory practices must be followed by organisations (and workers of) health and social care services. Organisations must promote equality and diversity at all times. Organisations must have a code of practice and policies which make sure discrimination cannot occur and that they are not breaking the law. Service providers must recognise and respond to the needs and requirements of the people who access their services. A new Equality Act came into force on 1 October 2010. The Equality Act brings together over 116 separate pieces of legislation into one single Act.

Combined, they make up a new Act that provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. The Act simplifies, strengthens and harmonises the current legislation to provide Britain with a new discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. There are two specific pieces of ligislation ,the Race Relattion Act (1976), The Age Discrimination Act (2006) What is Race Relation Act?

The Race Relations Act 1976 forms the legal foundation of protection from racial discrimination in the fields of employment, education, training, housing and the provision of goods, facilities and services.

Under this law, 'racial discrimination' means treating a person less favourably than others on racial grounds, meaning race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins. For instance, This law protects you against people's actions, not their opinions or beliefs. This means someone is breaking the law if they refuse to rent you a house because you're wearing a turban. But being privately prejudiced towards a particular racial group does not constitute breaking the law.  A new Equality Act came into force on 1 October 2010. The Equality Act brings together over 116 separate pieces of legislation into one single Act. Combined, they make up a new Act that provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all.

The Act simplifies, strengthens and harmonises the current legislation to provide Britain with a new discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. The nine main pieces of legislation that have merged are:

• the Equal Pay Act 1970
• the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
• the Race Relations Act 1976
• the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
• the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
• the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
• the Equality Act 2006, Part 2
• the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007

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