Sabrina
Task 1 Unit 5
-P1
It is really essential in a health and social care setting to promote equality and diversity.
Equality is reached when every individual is treated fairly and equally to everyone else,
regardless of their age, gender, religion, race, disability or sexual orientation. Therefore
every individual should have equal opportunities regardless of their ability.
Whilst diversity is understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our
individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs or
other ideologies.
Both these factors are really important and benefitial because they prevent discrimination in
all areas, including bullying, harassment or victimazation.
Furthermore avoiding discrimination is essetial to provide a high quality care service and
encourage the mental and physical well being of the clients.
There are different ways of promoting equality and diversity, for example by allowing access
to all people with different needs to the health and social care environment (for example the
use of large corridors for people in wheelchairs) and by supporting them and providing them
with resources and information such as interpreters and translators. This way being a
foreigner, for example, won’t be a barrier to access health care.
Nusrat Patel has learning disabilities, as she can’t speak for herself she’s provided with an
advocate to speak on her behalf. This is another example that promotes equality and
diversity as she is not getting discriminated against or treated unequally because of her
disability to speak for herself.
This will cause her to be less stressed as her views and opinions are vocalised, and will
boost her confidence and improve her quality of care as professionals will be able to monitor
improvements.
Also having signs and counters will help her get her way around the hospital or any other
health care setting, promoting equality and allowing her to move independently.
Counters and signs can also be useful for Brenda Grey, which often forgets to take her
medications, as she might one day find herself at the GP or at the hospital and forget the
reason she was there in the first place or how to move around that environment. So having
counters might be beneficial, as she could go there and ask for help.
This can help Brenda feelless stressed and more independent.
There are so many more ways to promote diversity and equality, for example every health
and social care setting should provide access to a different range of meals and foods in
order to allow patients the choice to chose what to eat and follow cultural or religious
restrictions, for example muslim clients might not be able to have meals that contain pork or
alcohol, as it is not allowed by their religion.
Martin Smithers used to be in carpentry classes but he had to stop because the lessons
were worsening his skin condition, however he joined the reading club for companionship.
He expressed his anxiety as he is not a good reader and he has been allowed access to
large print novels with ‘easy reading’ text.
This could have made Martin feel welcomed and not discriminated against because he has
different needs, and it might help with his skin condition as he became less stressed.
, Sabrina
In conclution prevent discrimination and promoting diversity will benefit clients and help them
gain self esteem, confidence, independence, distressed and involved in social activities and
in their own care.
In order to minimise loss of self-esteem, of independence, confidence and stress,
professionals must try to meet a service users needs. Service users have different and
sometimes complex needs, in order to meet them and provide high quality care,
professionals should get to know their clients and must be able to recognize the preferences
of clients and give them the opportunity to make their own choices.
-M1 & D1
Discriminating against an individual, whether it’s because of their age, race, gender, sexual
orientation, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, religion, belief, marriage, civil
partnership or disability it’s against the law.
The Equality Act (2010) protects and prevents disrimination, but there are other ways in
which individuals, in health and social care settings can prevent it.
For example :
1. In a health and social care environment access should be provided to everyone,
regardless of their disabilities, for example by providing, large corridors, wide
automatically opening doors, wheelchairs, hearing loops, no obstacles, counters and
signs.
2. Some service users might follow religions in which some types of foods are
prohibited or cultures in which certain types of foods are required,so to prevent
disrimination everyone should be able to choose in a health and social care
environment a range of different meals and diets, for example halal meals for
muslims.
3. There are people from different backgrounds, that might speak different languages
and everyone should be guaranteed access to information. That’s why a healthcare
setting should provide information in a wide range of resources and languages to
reflect local cultures, with the availability of advocates, translators, interpreters and
carers to help.
4. Advocacy to prevent discrimination against anyone that can’t speak for themselves,
for example people with learning disabilities, a health and social care enviroment
should provide and advocate, which is someone that can speak on their behalf and
represent them and their wishes.
It is important that we prevent discrimination from happening against service users in health
and social care settings, because they are vulnerable and it can have a crucial effect on their
wellbeing.
For example discriminating against a service users because of their background, like their
origins and their culture can get them to become marginalised, like being isolated from
celebrations and lower their self-esteem, making them feel upset, like they wouldn't fit it and
that they don’t have the right to be respected, which can lead to them being depressed and
this would deteriorate their mental and physical situation.
If a person with disabilities such as Nusrat Patel, who has learning disabilities, was to get
discriminated against, by getting treated less favourably or unfairly by carers, because of her
condition, she may end up feeling disempowered, losing her independence and self-worth.
This can lead to her failing at motivating to help herself, causing consequently the failure of
, Sabrina
adequate treatment, and a possible increase on epilepsy seizures, which will deteriorate her
medical condition, in the worst case leading to her death.
Another example of conseqences of discrimination is if a carer is not treating a service user
appropriately because the person is at an old age and more likely to pass away, they will
feel very unemportant and weak, the service user will feel like they are not worth and will
neglet themselves, leading to mental deterioration and lessened life expectancy.
Stereotyping is also a way of discriminating.
A carer can, for example stereotype females by thinking and treating them like they are all
weak. That will lead female service users to lower their self-esteem, and blame themselves,
not putting in as much effort as they could, thinking that they lack abilities.
Brenda Grey has expressed her anxiety in having a male psychiatric nurse, because she
has been abused before by a male relative, but due to unavailability they couldn't provide for
her a female psychiatric nurse. If the male psychiatric nurse was to discriminate against
Brenda as a weak sensitive woman it would have negative consequences on her wellbeing.
This type of discriminaton can also lead to anxiety making the service users, in this case
Brenda emotionally damaged as she could be concerned that she could be the reason for
the stereotype in the first place, and consequently having mental impacts on the service
user.
Martin Smithers is in a bad financial situation in which he can’t afford to pay his bills. If
because of his social status he wasn’t guaranteed access to the GP and other health and
social care services, that would be discriminating against him. This will cause him to become
stressed, deteriorating his skin condition, and lose self-esteem, which will affect him
physically and mentally.
Instead preventing discrimination will actually have really good effects on service users with
different needs such as Nusrat Patel, 19 year old with learning disabilities. Being supported
with advocates and resources that will help her understand, will make her feel empowered,
motivated and independent to help herselves, which will positively impact her mental well
being and consequently her treatment, as her mental wellbeing l also plays an important role
in her physical wellbeing; by becoming distressed she will experience a decreased number
of seizures.
Believing each individual is equal to the other, and that they all have certain rights which are
being respected, will make the service users like Martin Smithers gain self-esteem,
self-worth and respect for themselves, feeling important and listened to, and even if
financially in a critical situation, equal to everyone else, consequently improving his mental
and physical wellbeing..
Preventing discrimination against religions and beliefs will allow the patients to follow their
moral beliefs, values and culture, this will make them feel independed and free to make
their own choices, which will have a positive impact on service users’ well being.
Preventing discrimination by involving every individual, making sure nobody is left out will
help getting the service users involved in activities and most likely to participate actively
and extending their relationships with different people. This will positively impact the
service users both physically and mentally.
Preventing discrimination helps service users to be in a mental state that is favourable for
their health. This will contribute to the physical and mental wellbeing of service users like
Brenda Grey, who have mental health illnesses,helping them feel equal to everyone else,
