Assignment 303 Principles of diversity equality and inclusion in adult social care settings

Assignment 303 - Principles of diversity, equality and inclusion in adult social care settings
Task B

A) The equality act is a legislation that is in place to ensure that people are given equal rights and opportunities regardless of their age, gender, disability, reace, religion or belief and sexual orientation. This legislation promotes diversity, equality and inclusion by making it a requirement that they are commonly practiced and incorporated into the health and social care setting making it illegal to discriminate against a person / or persons for any reason.
Diversity is all about difference, and its value is the quality and variety that different people bring to society. Examples of how people differ from one another, it can be through appearance, ability, race, gender, culture, talent and beliefs.
Equality is about everybody being equal to one another, but not necessarily treating them all the same. Because everyone’s needs are different you as a support worker have to look at the individuals needs, and assess what you can do to improve their quality of life, whilst keeping them safe and still promoting independence.
Inclusion is about involving everyone in society, making sure all have opportunities to work or take part in social activities even though they may have a disability. E.g. mental health problems.
Discrimination is stopping someone from their right to speak up and voice themselves properly or not let them do an activity, this can happen to either a certain group of people or it can just be one person. Nonetheless its a very cruel way to get to somebody. Also this leads to more serious matters such as a major loss of self esteem and this can reduce their ability to develop and maintain a sense of identity.

The main acts incorporated into the equality act 2010 are:
The care quality commission
The disability discrimination act 2005
Human rights act 1998
The equal pay act 1970
The sex discrimination act 1999
The race relations act 2003
B) If these codes of practice and legislations where not to be followed, the consequences can be diverse. They can affect just one individual or can affect an entire team of social care workers. By not following the codes of practice and the legislation you could cause a service user to feel discriminated against which would have negative effects such as making them feel isolated or un-heard and could lead to more problems that would affect the people around them as well as the individual. By not using inclusive practice you may find that the service user might be put in a situation in which they are not happy which could make them act out in a way that could affect their future and how other team members interact with them. For example by failing to us an inclusive practice with a service user by taking them to a public park, without first consulting or discussing this with the service user they could miss out on important information such as the service user being afraid of dogs, this could then lead to a serious incident that could ultimately lead to the service user loosing trust in yourself and the care provider.

C) A successful and reliable health care sector requires the promotion of diversity and equality throughout its setup. The fundamental need for this is the ability of the health care workers to promote an unwavering sense of fairness and indiscrimination for all persons involved; patients, employees, and colleagues. Inclusion refers to providing the opportunity to everyone to avail all available resources, services and facilities. Acceptance is one of the vital traits of any person who is working in the health care sector. Workers who realize the need for understanding, comprehending and respecting the needs of all patients, regardless of their diverse nature and background will be the most effective ones. Valuing the beliefs of others and keeping a wide ranging and accepting perception will aid considerably in the promotion of impartiality and equality. A community which is based on the fair rights of humanity realizes that consciousness, self esteem, culture and physical and mental health are interrelated. In order to provide a balance in society the health care sector must be free of all prejudice and discriminatory practices. The most important factor in developing inclusive practices is to provide the necessary training to all health care and support workers. A good care worker will be ingrained with the value of accepting, accommodating and respecting the diversity of all patients /clients, thus providing an enriched level of care. All the people in a community are to be provided with a uniform level of facilities and opportunities. This can only be achieved when the care providers are equipped with the right tools; namely equality and inclusion.
D) To promote diversity there are a few things you can do. Treat people as individuals respecting their beliefs and views even when they are different from your own. Seek to treat your work colleagues and service users with dignity and respect at all times. Take into account your colleagues’ and service users’ religious, cultural and social needs. Seniors and Managers should ask new staff during their service induction if they have any cultural, spiritual or special needs which need to be taken into account when timetabling shifts, leave and so forth. Challenge questionable attitudes and behaviour if you feel someone is behaving inappropriately. Lastly you must report harassment of any kind, towards anyone, to a supervisor, manager, or even higher if needs be.