Equality, Diversity and Rights

Promotion of Anti-discriminatory practice.
The promotion of ant- discriminatory practice within health and social care believe that everyone have a duty and responsibility to counter discrimination. They believe in people’s right to respect in relation to their age, disability, ethnicity, gender, health, religious beliefs and sexuality. (http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/healthandsocialcare/fostering/anti-discriminatorypractice.aspx , 2015)
There are three main national initiatives which cover anti discriminatory practices they are; conventions, legislations and regulations. Each of these initiatives stem from a set of legislations, regulations and a code of conduct and each of them are very important to society as they ensure that each individual is treated equally. (https://prezi.com/3e79exus9rkj/copy-of-national-initiatives-and-anti-discriminatory-practice/ , 2014)
The national initiatives that are in place have influenced individuals in the health care profession to decrease the amount of discrimination that takes place, so as a member of staff that works in the health care profession you must follow the policies and procedures that have been set to ensure a standard of care is met for each individual.
Legislations
A legislation is a law which has been created by a governing body in order to regulate or declare a term of events. (http://www.londoneventstoolkit.co.uk/legislation/what-is-legislation/ , no date) In the UK parliament is responsible for approving any new legislations and it is the government’s job to introduce the plans for the new legislation or any changes to the existing one. (http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/legislation/ , no date)
Legislations also help to promote anti- discriminatory practices as their policies and procedures must be followed by health and social care professionals. If these legislations were not followed properly or ignored it could lead to the health care professional losing their job.
Legislations have many different policies which must be followed, within the work place there are many different policies that have to be followed, such as the ‘Data protection policy and the purpose of this policy is to protect personal information that is kept on a file or on a computer. Another policy that must be followed in the work place, is the confidential waste police and the purpose of this police is to provide guidance and formalise a process by which waste. (http://www.conwy.gov.uk/upload/public/attachments/550/policy_conwaste_review_version_31_29_oct_2012.pdf , no date) Each of these polices are followed by all health and social care professionals and all patients in their care, these policies and procedures set guidelines for how work in the work place must be carried out to ensure the work is effective. It also set guidelines as to how the professionals should treat their patient in a certain situation or give advice as to how the situation should be handled.
Within a residential care home, staff would promote anti-discriminatory practice by providing a much more relaxed environment for both staff and patients to ensure stress levels are low, this will ensure that patients and staff are calm and show respect towards one another as no one would be stressed and losing their temper. The residential care home could also create a friendly environment for the staff and patients to ensure they are in a positive working atmosphere which would create a more positive work vibe.
Code of Practice and charters
Codes of practices are a set of written rules which explains how people working in a particular profession should behave. (http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/code-of-practice , no date) In health and social care settings there are written guidelines for all professionals to follow, which are beneficial for both staff and service users. The codes of practices highlight what service users should expect when receiving care from a health care professional and they also highlight how the health care professional should act and behave in front of the service user.
Codes of practice help promote anti-discriminatory practice as they promote equal opportunities for both staff and service users. They also set rules, rights and responsibilities for professionals to follow in their job to ensure both service users and staff are not discriminated against and to ensure all staff behave in a professional manner.
A charter is a set of guidelines that Inform service users of their rights within the health care setting. The Health Charter was designed to support social care providers to improve the health and well-being of people with learning disabilities to improving their quality of life. (http://www.vodg.org.uk/health-charter/health-charter-home.html, no date)
Regulations
Regulations are a set of rules that are devised from a piece legislation, the regulation provide a specific guide as to how the law should be interpreted and applied. Regulations have the same legal effect as laws but they can also provide direction in areas such as: forms that must be filled out to create a business. (http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/executive_council/promo/smart_regulations/what_are_regulations.html, no date) Regulations are enforced by an executive branch of government and not a legislative body but despite this, regulations within the work place do have the same legal effect as the laws.
Regulations also promote ant-discriminatory practices as they also promote equal opportunities for both staff and service users but they do this by setting regulations that have the same legal effect as the law. They do this by setting regulations to ensure any member of staff or service user are not discriminated against because of their raise, gender, health, religious beliefs and sexuality.
Equality Act
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society, it was introduced in October 2010 and it covers a wide range of legislations like the Disability Act 1975. The act aims to protect individual’s legal right, so they do not get discriminated against and to ensure they are respected.
The Equality Act 2010 was created to replace previous anti-discrimination laws with one single Act, to make the law easier to understand and follow. The Act highlights all the different ways that it is unlawful to treat someone. The act was also created to cover a wide range of discrimination and ensure they if anyone is being discriminated against for something like their age or gender, the issues is dealt with appropriately and that the individual defended and receives the right support. (https://www.gov.uk/equality-act-2010-guidance , no date)
The Equality Act is used widely within all work places, especially in a health and social care environment. The Equality Act has many strengths and weaknesses, one strength is that within the work place the equality act has provided equal opportunity for both men and women and by doing this men and women are seen as equals when it comes to pay and job titles. A weakness is that the equality Act is not branded very well so many people are not aware of what it protects them from or what rights it gives them and the act also doesn’t stop discrimination from taking place.
In my opinion I think that before the Equality Act 2010 was made people were allowed to discriminate people in the work place for things like their gender or races and would get away with it until the Equality Act came into force. The down side to the Equality Act is that it was only introduced in 2010 but discrimination has been going on for years before that so people were getting away with it. I think that the Equality Act should have been introduced a long time ago so that people in the work place or in the public were protected from discrimination about their gender or religious beliefs. The act also has positives because before the act came into force women were seen as second class citizens in the work place and were only allowed to have certain jobs and were paid a less wage than a man but since the Equality Act it is now illegal to treat women like second class citizens in the work place and women are now seen as equals to men.
How is anti-discriminatory practice promoted?
Within health and social care anti-discriminatory practices are promoted in a number of different ways. There are environments possess legislations, conventions, codes of practices, policies and procedures and national initiatives in place that must be obeyed , by all staff and service users in who are giving and receiving care. The promotion of anti-discriminatory practice helps the work environment by making it a more calm and friendly setting for both staff and service users.
By following policies and procedures when promoting anti-discriminatory practice in the work place there are a number of benefits for both staff and service users to gain like it ensures the care that the service user receives is a very high standard and they also ensure that the care the service user is receiving is performed in the correct manor. Another benefit is that both staff and services users are not discriminated against and are treated as equals despite their differences. Also by following policies and procedures when promoting anti-discriminatory practice it ensures that no one’s rights are being discriminated against and that everyone is treated as an individual. As with all health and social care settings it’s important that they put their own values and beliefs aside and act professional, in order to respect any service users values and beliefs, for example if a patient went into hospital and was a Jehovah witness but they needed a blood transfusion or they may die. It is the health care professional’s job to put their own views aside and respect the patient’s religious beliefs. It is also important that health care professional’s respect and cater for any specific dietary requirements, for example if they were a Muslim, only eats meat that has been prepared in a certain way the health care setting should supply a meal that is suitable for their needs.
If professionals weren’t respecting an individual’s values and beliefs then it could lead them to feel ignored, devalued and they could also start to feel as If they do not matter. This experience could affect their health and well-being in the future as they may refuse to seek medical help next time they are unwell as they may feel that they will be treated unfairly and made to feel their views and beliefs don’t matter.
Case Study 1 Rose is an elderly lady who has recently moved into a residential care home. Rose has been a vegetarian since a child and never eats any foods with meat in but the residential care home does not cater for rose’s needs as they find it easier to give everyone the same meal which most of the time has meat in. when rose tells a member of staff that she is a vegetarian and asked for a meal with no meat in, they ignore her and place the non-vegetarian meal in front of her.
It is obvious that Rose is being discriminated against due to her beliefs, Rose is restricted to what she can eats because she has a special dietary requirement and the residential care staff have chosen to ignore rose’s special requirement and give her a meal that she cannot eat. The may cause Rose to feel unimportant and isolated. She may also start to feel like her beliefs and views don’t matter and that she is being a burden on staff by asking them for a vegetarian meal. To overcome this the staff should ask all residents including Rose, what they like and dislike when it comes to food and the staff should also take all the residents beliefs and opinions into consideration when creating meals for them. If the residential care home made these changes it would ensure Rose and another residents are not discriminated against because of what they believe in.
Case Study 2
While working her shift in the hospital, Kate is asked to assist a doctor whilst treating a male patient. The male patient is an elderly gentlemen who is not comfortable with Kate being present in the room but instead of telling her this he acts in an inappropriate manor and talks down to Kate. He also tells Kate that she shouldn’t be a nurse because she is a woman.
It is obvious that Kate us being discriminated against because of her gender. This could affect Kate in many different ways as it could make her feel worthless, devalued and could also affect her confidence. This could also make Kate feel as if she cannot do her job as good as the male nurses and make her feel insecure. One way to overcome this act of discrimination towards Kate, would be to ask the patient if he is comfortable with a female nurse or would he prefer a male to ensure that the patient’s views are respected and to ensure that no discrimination takes place.
References
* http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/healthandsocialcare/fostering/anti-discriminatorypractice.aspx (2015) (Accessed: 10/5/15) * https://prezi.com/3e79exus9rkj/copy-of-national-initiatives-and-anti-discriminatory-practice/ (2014) (Accessed: 10/5/15) * http://www.londoneventstoolkit.co.uk/legislation/what-is-legislation/ (no date) (Accessed: 10/5/15) * (http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/legislation/ (no date) (Accessed: 10/5/15)

* http://www.conwy.gov.uk/upload/public/attachments/550/policy_conwaste_review_version_31_29_oct_2012.pdf (no date) (Accessed: 10/5/15)

* http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/code-of-practice (no date) (Accessed: 10/5/15)

* http://www.vodg.org.uk/health-charter/health-charter-home.html (no date) (Accessed: 10/5/15) * http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/executive_council/promo/smart_regulations/what_are_regulations.html (no date) (Accessed: 10/5/15) * https://www.gov.uk/equality-act-2010-guidance (no date) (Accessed: 10/5/15)