Equality, Diversity and Rights in Health and Social Care
Legislation and Codes of Practice Relating to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Discrimination
Health and social care settings consist of original legislation codes of practices regarding equality, discrimination, diversity and inclusion. The critical legislation parts that concern health and social care include Regulation (sexual inclination) and Equality of Employment (religion or culture) Act 2003, Religious Hatred and Equality Act 2006, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Disability and Special Education Needs Act 2001, Regulations Employment Equality (age) 2006, Equal Pay Act 1970, Race Relations Act 1976, and Disability Discrimination Acts 2005 and 1995 (Kumra, Manfredi and Vickers 88). Not adhering to legislation and codes of practice regarding inclusion, discrimination, diversity and equality in the healthcare setting leads to consequences such as suspension and being fired.
On April 6th 2008, changes were made to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to incorporate three vital aspects that were integrated into the Equality Act 2010. The three crucial elements include re-defining sexual harassment; implementing liability on employers for sexual harassment by a third party and offering improved rights to expectant women at the workplace (Bowling 49). In the previous Sex Discrimination Act 1975, only the complainant could make a complaint against the violator on the grounds of the violation of her sexual dignity. However, the amendment widened the scope such that another concerned party other than the victim could make a complaint. Pending an act of sexual harassment of an employee by a third party such as a client or contractor, the employer would be liable for the consequences. The sex discrimination law enhances female employees’ rights by accounting for the period spent on compulsory maternity leave which is considered when calculating both contractual and non-contractual benefits (Steinberg et al. 122).
The amended Disability Discrimination Act 2005 was enacted on December 5th 2005 that addressed three main agendas namely protection rights for victims of HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis from the diagnosis date, declaring it unethical for a third party to make discriminatory advertisements for employment and training opportunities among other benefits and elimination of the requirement that cognitive a condition be clinically, and adequately diagnosed (Melnyk, Mazurek and Fineout-Overholt 23).
The Code of Practice for social and healthcare professionals is a list of requirements that regulate professional conduct standards displayed by practitioners in their everyday work schedules. The Code of Practice also reveals the roles of employers in the management of social and healthcare employees. The Code of Practice aims to outline the expected conduct of social and health care workers and to educate clients and the community on the standards of practice they should anticipate from such professionals (Thompson 222). Every health practitioner is required to obtain and maintain the confidence and trust of their patients and their caregivers, demonstrate accountability for the rigour of their work and be responsible for attaining knowledge and skills, preserve the rights and uphold the interest of patients and their caregivers, uphold the independence of patients while protecting them from harm, enhance the community’s trust and confidence in healthcare services, and ensure that their actions do not endanger their lives or those of others (Theodorakopoulos and Budhwar 178).
A social or health care professional has the roles of maintaining trustworthiness through communicating to clients’ in an open, effective and detailed manner, respecting clients’ confidentiality and accurately explaining the company’s policies on confidentiality and being dependable and reliable (Bywaters and McLeod 11). Furthermore, the professional is expected to strictly follow the company’s policies of accepting money and tokens from clients. They should also adhere to the company’s procedures about practices that keep one safe at work and protect other people from abuse or harm. It is also critical to assist clients and their caregivers to issue complaints in case of discrimination or harassment and to respond to such complaints effectively. Social and health care workers should follow the company’s risk evaluation policies and processes to assess whether the conduct of clients endangers themselves or others. It is the role of every social and health worker to maintain accurate and clean records as predominated by critical procedures of the company.
It is the role of every health practitioner to offer equal services to all patients and their caregivers and respect diversity by acknowledging every culture, religion or value (Theodorakopoulos and Budhwar 182). They should promote inclusion by treating every individual with respect and encouraging patient views and opinions. It is unlawful to discriminate against a client or their caregivers and other colleagues.
Societal beliefs, attitudes and values change-over-time hence, it the responsibility of the practitioner to consider culture and other generational influences to provide person-centred care. In offering person-centred care, it is crucial for the social or health care worker to take into account clients’ religious beliefs and spirituality, for instance, Muslim and Hindu women may opt to be offered care by a practitioner of the same sex. Practitioners should also not predispose a client’s social connections and strive to ensure that social networks and family stereotypes indicate diversity. Health and social care professionals should identify and continually improve the expertise, responsibilities and functions of conducting cultural evaluations to plan, promote and analyse care that is culturally sensitive hence eliminating prejudice and discrimination (Thompson 225).
The Role of Health and Social Care Workers in Meeting Individual Needs through Inclusive Practice
All social and healthcare professionals must advocate for equality of opportunities and maintain positivity towards diversity in the healthcare organisation (Kumra, Manfredi and Vickers 93). It is the role of such practitioners to educate themselves on the different experiences, knowledge, interests and skills that patients have which may impact their perception and opinion. Healthcare workers should plan effectively to meet the needs of patients with special needs such as those with disabilities and terminal illnesses.
The culture at the healthcare organisation should be one that requires every practitioner to ensure that their colleagues are offered equal opportunities and treated with respect while acknowledging diversity in the workplace. The attitude of health and social workers should be one that discourages isolation, exclusion and discrimination hence providing the best opportunities for everyone (Steinberg et al. 129). Such is done by relating with patients to evaluate their individual needs to understand how to offer specialised care that is patient-centred and sensitive.
It is the responsibility of the social and health worker to ensure every colleague is offered support in a manner that indicates their individual needs. The two principal laws that address inclusive practice are the Act of Equality 2010 and the 1998 Human Rights Act, which advocate for diversity hence make it unlawful to discriminate against anyone due to various factors such as sex, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, race, religion, marriage and ability (Theodorakopoulos and Budhwar 187).
The six main factors that affect inclusion and inclusive practice in healthcare organisations include support for career balance, the presence of harassment and discrimination, the efficiency of organisational management and mentorship opportunities, perceptions of exclusion and inclusion initiatives, civility and recognition and the interrelation of hierarchy (Bowling 54). As a result of negative factors such as shortage of staff, inadequate resources, lack of capital and insufficient training that influence inclusive practice, the detrimental effects are anxiety, loss of hope and stress which affect the performance and well-being of both workers and their patients.
The Strength of inclusive practice to meet individual needs is everyone in the healthcare organisation feels equally valued and relevant. Secondly, every individual is offered equal opportunities regardless of their state of disability, race or gender (Melnyk, Mazurek and Fineout-Overholt 27). Thirdly, inclusive practice ensures that all client needs are considered foremost in any circumstance and the caregivers offer undivided attention.
The first weakness of inclusive practice is that some clients may demand extra attention from the practitioners due to their condition which may isolate other patients. To correct the problem, it would be ideal for the health or social worker to have an assistant to ensure equal distribution of patient care. Another weakness is the failure to put the needs of clients first which may cause harm to patients to client dissatisfaction. Additionally, failure to consider client values, beliefs and their religion is deemed to be disrespectful (Kumra, Manfredi and Vickers 98). Finally, funding may be inadequate to cater for the crucial needs of some clients, for example, hiring assistant nurses to care for the terminally ill and disabled patients.
An essential similarity between the strengths and weaknesses is the factor of capital or funding to ensure the equal treatment of all clients in receiving undivided attention. Resources and expenditure are critical aspects of providing inclusive practice in health and social care. If they are properly allocated, they can contribute towards the eradication of discrimination hence promoting diversity, equality and inclusion, for example, the usage of capital to purchase more hospital infrastructure to ensure nurse are not overworked or hiring more nurses to offer effective inclusive care.
Conclusion
As described, the primary legislation categories relating to equality, diversity, inclusion and discrimination include Employment Equality (religion or culture) and Regulation (sexual inclination) Act 2003, Equality and Religious Hatred Act 2006, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Employment Equality (age) Regulations 2006, Equal Pay Act 1970, Disability and Special Education Needs Act 2001, Race Relations Act 1976, and Disability Discrimination Acts 2005 and 1995, which help to ensure that hospital codes of practice are adhered to by health and social practitioners. Health and social workers have key responsibilities of meeting individual needs through inclusive practice by advocating for equal opportunities and maintaining positivity towards diversity in the healthcare organization, educating themselves on the different experiences, knowledge, interests and skills that patients have which may influence their perception and planning how to meet the needs of patients with special needs such as those with disabilities and terminal illnesses.
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