Equality and Diversity
In health and social care, equality and diversity are important aspects when caring for individuals,
this is because equality means that individuals should all have equal access to the services they need
in order to meet their personal needs whilst diversity defines a variety or a range of things (Pearson).
Therefore, each service user should be treated fairly no matter what their race, gender, disability,
religion or belief, sexual orientation and/or age may be, such as if an individual has a disability they
should still be entitled to having the right to be able to fulfil their future goals and desires by being
provided with the right support they need, such as being able to complete their education with the
correct support in order for them to be able to reach their dreams. There are laws in place for equal
rights, known as The Equality Act 2010 therefore if discrimination takes place this will be going
against the law and civil rights meaning that each health and social care setting should have policies
in place to ensure that every individual is treated equally. Promoting equality conveys importance as
every person should be treated with dignity and respect in addition to making sure that their needs
are met, which helps prevent discrimination as some individuals may discriminate patients
involuntarily, such as if the patient is vulnerable due to their age, health or disability. Being aware of
the potential barriers is crucial as it allows an opportunity to remove and prevent discrimination.
Diversity means a variety or a range of things (Pearson). It is important to value and respect the
differences between people such as their cultures and beliefs. In health and social care settings
diversity portrays importance as the professionals caring for individuals must consider every
patient’s individual matters in order to be able to meet their specific needs when creating their care
plans. Therefore, to promote diversity the professionals should follow the legislations, principles and
practices that are in place such as the equality and diversity policies provided in the organisation. By
promoting diversity each individual should be given access to any care and support they might need
despite their circumstances allowing individuals to feel valued, respected and treated with dignity
meaning that the attitudes around the environment will be filled with positive energy.
As Valerie is in the community hospital the professionals should be promoting equality and diversity
towards her, for example, as she is vegetarian the meals that they provide her should be suitable for
personal preferences and beliefs. As Valerie has just had surgery for her appendix and she is obese,
the dietician could provide support by helping her with a specific vegetarian diet as she recovers.
This would convey the promotion of equality and diversity as service users are allowed freedom of
choice, showing respect and accepting Valerie’s differences and taking her personal choices into
account whilst treating her health condition allows Valerie to feel valued. This portrays the
importance of equality and diversity as by accepting Valerie’s differences can help her to boost her
self-esteem and increase her self-confidence.
On the other hand, Aisha was admitted to the community hospital to help her recover from a bout of
pneumonia. The professionals should promote equality and diversity by respecting her disability and
providing her with an advocate to speak on her behalf. As Aisha has vascular dementia she may
forget about her beliefs however the professionals should acknowledge her diet and whether she
has any personal preferences such as a veganism or fish-free diet. Therefore, providing Aisha with an
advocate can ensure that she is listened to and that her views and interests are represented
(Laidlaw, S) when creating a care plan for her. This conveys the promotion of equality and diversity
as the service user has a neurological illness and may be suffering from memory loss however she
still has the right for choice and speech therefore respecting how she is feeling. This would mean
that Aisha is not experiencing discriminatory practice as she is being empowered by the
professionals to make the rights decisions with the help of an advocate.
,If both individuals were not promoted with equality and diversity, it could have a negative effect as a
result of discrimination. This could cause Valerie and Aisha to both feel stressed as they are alone
and both of these individuals are vulnerable therefore they are unable to fight against the
professionals if they are not doing their job properly. For example, Valerie has a hearing impairment
which had never been assessed or given support for her hearing meaning that her needs have been
neglected in the past, which has now affected her involvement in the activities or meetings she
undertakes with the professionals caring for her. As she has a hearing impairment and she is still
young, at the beginning of early adulthood, this could have led to her self-concept being quite low as
she has been unable to communicate properly. This could lead to the onset of depression as she has
had no support from the professionals, such as even being given hearing-aids to help her contribute
to conversations more than she can. On the other hand, if health professionals did not help to clean
and change Aisha due to her having incontinence this would mean that the professionals would not
be promoting equality and diversity, each service user should be respected with dignity no matter
what illness they may develop. Providing Aisha with products to help her incontinence, such as
adaptations to her bathroom like a handrail, or disposable pads or pants and bed and chair
protectors (Age, U.K) can help to support Aisha at home which promotes equality and diversity as
her care needs are taken care of.
Discrimination and the Importance of Anti-discriminatory practice
Discrimination is treating a person or a group of people differently from others (Pearson).
Discrimination includes when someone is being prejudice – defined as an unreasonable feeling
against a person or group of people (Pearson). Individuals usually discriminate someone based on
the differences in their skin colour, sex, sexuality, culture, beliefs, ability, health and disabilities and
so on.
There are four different types of discrimination known as unfair discrimination, direct discrimination,
indirect discrimination and positive discrimination.
- Unfair discrimination is when a person is being treated unfairly compared with someone else
(Pearson). For example, a person may not be considered for a job despite having the same
qualifications as another individual but they may be ‘older’ or ‘younger’.
- Direct discrimination is when someone is being rude, hostile or offensive to someone
because they see them as different (Pearson). For example, when someone who is
overweight is being called names. This is usually easy to prove as it can be heard and
witnessed as a person who is discriminated against is usually being treated differently based
on certain reasons such as their age, gender reassignment, sex and sexual orientation,
disability and health, pregnancy and maternity, race or religion and beliefs. These are known
as the protected characteristics as the equality act 2010 protects people from these types of
discrimination (Equality and Human Rights Commission).
- Indirect discrimination is when there is a practice, policy or rule which applies to everyone in
the same way, but has a worse effect on some people compared to others (Citizens advice).
For example, a manager may appear supportive towards a member of staff however they
may be showing disrespect by dismissing their ideas in a jokey way.
- Positive discrimination is when a decision is made in a person’s favour because there is
something about them (Pearson). For example, an advertising agency may hire someone
based on their protected characteristics as they fit into the characteristics of the specific role
they are looking for someone to play.
, Preventing discrimination is crucial as it allows everyone to receive a service of care that has equal
quality, this allows them to meet the needs of the service users as the professionals should be
responding to their personal needs during healthcare activities to be able to recognise their needs
that vary due to their protected characteristics. An anti-discriminatory practice is able to promote
equal values such as a diverse and dignified culture therefore health professionals should
understand the importance of discrimination and how it can affect the service users. For example,
discrimination against service users can cause them to develop depression and anxiety, loss of their
self-concept, stress leading to mental illnesses, a fear to seek treatment as well as living in fear of
others, feeling unable to work, a withdrawal from social activities and losing a sense of who you are.
The Equality Act 2010 protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation (Equality
Human Rights) in order to make sure that each individual in society is protected and treated fairly.
This act replaces previous anti-discriminatory laws with a single act as its purpose is to make the law
easier to understand as well as strengthening protection in some situations (Gov.uk). Therefore, it is
against the law to discriminate individuals based on their protected characteristics which include;
race, sex, age, gender reassignment, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage or civil
partnership and pregnancy and maternity, creating a culture that is safer and less frightful for
individuals to live within. Within the Equality Act it outlaws two types of discrimination; direct
discrimination, such as when someone is being disadvantaged by the criteria that discriminates
against their protected characteristics in addition to harassment, such as when someone is being
subjected to unwanted behaviour which is found as offensive or makes someone feel intimidated or
humiliated, this can happen on its own or alongside other types of discrimination (Citizens Advice).
For example, if someone were to make a complaint about somebody who has been discriminative,
they may be subjected to being victimised, defined as when someone is being treated unfairly
because you made or supported a complaint to do with a protected characteristic (acas), under the
act this is seen as unlawful as the individual is being treated badly, an example of this includes if a
colleague were to make a sexual harassment claim about the boss and the witness who supports
that the claim happened then starts to be treated unfairly by that said boss (acas).
Health professionals can adapt care services to meet the specific needs of the service users they are
caring for, there are initiatives in place aimed at preventing discrimination which are;
- Access: where the environment can be adapted (Pearson) such as by expanding corridors
and making them wider in addition to installing ramps for a service user who is using a
wheelchair.
- Diet: meaning that there is a choice for those with medical conditions, religious
requirements or cultural preferences (Pearson) such as having halal options available for
Muslims.
- Support: having appropriate resources and information that are provided in a wide range of
formats and languages to reflect local cultures such as having advocates, translators,
interpreters and carers available to help other individuals (Pearson).
- The use of advocacy services: someone who is referred to as an advocate can speak on
behalf of someone else (Pearson), such as someone who has an illness such as dementia
whom may have confused and mumbled thoughts can have an advocate to speak on their
behalf.
Valerie may experience discrimination against her protected characteristics, such as the fact that she
is obese. Valerie has been bullied by local teenagers with these rude and offensive comments
