Concepts of Equality, Diversity and Rights in Health and Social Care Essay

Within this assignment, I have been addressed as a manager of a residential care home and I have the responsibility to provide a set of materials (leaflets, booklets, PowerPoint slides, posters) that can be used for information and training purposes) for my training staff. I have chosen to do this by writing a detailed leaflet in the style of an assignment so information can be thorough and clear. Rights Within the category of health and social care, the rights that we’re entitled to are significantly important. From time to time, or even regularly individuals will have to use sectors that relate to health and social care such as going to the doctors, hospital or a dentist. These public health services are mandatory for individuals and the public to use as individuals with long term health conditions or disabilities rely on the care they provide. Among public health services there are also social care services which have a responsibility to provide support for individuals with mental health problems, supporting the elderly and also the disabled within their homes. Other services include receiving appropriate care in day centres, residential and nursing homes and giving children who don’t live with their parents the care they’re entitled to. From this, it is concluded that whenever an individual is provided to have to use the health care service, experience medical treatment or social care – they have the right not to be discriminated against in terms of gender, race, gender identity, religion, disability of sexual orientation. Not only are these rights mandatory, individuals are also fully supported and protected by the written rights under the European Convention on Human Rights which have relevance within health and social care as their rights include: The right to life, the right not to be subjected to torture or to inhumane degrading treatment or punishment, the right to liberty and security of person and also the right to respect for private and family life. Choice Across the UK, it is becoming more common that an individual is obtaining more control from being able to choose the care and treatment they are receiving. The full aim from this change of choice is to be able to entitle an individual to become fully aware of the treatment and support that is available to them and advice on which would be best to choose. An example of this could being able to choose the hospital and individual receives their care in or if they require care at home they should be given a cash budget to be able to suit their needs and money limits. Overall, choice is imposed within health and social care as it’s to ensure that individuals have access to the best and right support, having access to a range of health and social care services locally and nationally, being equal partners with their doctor or carer in their decisions about their health and social care, and also being entitled to what their choices are and to make this clear within all health and soci al care circumstances. Equality During 2010 the equality act was introduced, mandatory for protecting individual’s rights and promoting the significance and importance of equality of opportunity for every single individual. Whether these opportunities would be minor or major in value, the equality act would play a significant role in allowing these opportunities to commence. Examples of opportunities may include having the right to attend a public event, or having the right to use public services. Furthermore, equality is an important role which also links back to the role of discrimination as people can be discriminated against due to their age, race, disability, and gender and so on, the equality act of 2010 stops this from occurring within health and social care settings and it signifies that each individual should all be treated equally. Diversity Diversity is a more complex word for ‘difference.’ However, diversity is about acknowledging the differences between individuals themselves, and also group differences. Individual differences include factors such as differing within race, age, gender, social status, disability, weight and so on. A person within a health and social care setting as a worker may experience misuse of diversity due to a difference they may have to another individual. For example, if a nurse refuses to treat a patient who may be suffering from a common but life threatening issue such as a heart attack, but is also a disabled individual, this current nurse would be misusing the legislation of diversity awareness, and would also most likely be on the way to becoming unemployed. In terms of acts that are significant to the roles of diversity happening in health and social care settings, the sex discrimination act of 1975 is a prime example of how men and women are treated equally even though thei r genders differ.