Unit 5: Providing Support for Individuals in the Community
Date: 24/01/2023
Content:
Page 2 - 12: Task One [A.P1 + A.M1 + A.D1]
Page 13 - 31: Task Two [A.P2 + A.M1 + A.M2 + A.D1]
Page 32 - 42: Task Three [B.P3 + B.M3 + B.D2]
Page 43 - 50: Task Four [C.P4 + C.M4]
Page 51: Task Five [C.P5 + C.D2]
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Task One: Promoting Anti-Discriminatory Practice
A.P1: Explain the importance of promoting equality and diversity for individuals with
different needs
A.M1: Analyse the impact of preventing discrimination for individuals with different needs
A.D1: Evaluate the success of promoting anti-discriminatory practice for specific
individuals with different needs
Reference: (Billingham, 2016)
Equality:
Equality is an important idea in society meaning that every human being has the same
opportunity. (EHRC, 2018) Equality can be used to treat service users’ needs by
implementing policies with certain groups (the
protected characteristics) in mind; for example, the
Equality Act 2010 is a perfect example as it was
implemented with the thought that some people are
not treated equally in society or in health and social
care settings. (StoriiCare, 2020) It is important to
promote equality, especially in health and social care
settings, as it ensures that the service users feel safe
and secure enough to entrust their care to service
providers.
Diversity:
Another important concept in our lives is diversity.
According to the Oxford dictionary, diversity is the practice of “including people from a
range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientation,
etc.” For example, a workplace is diverse if there are people of different religions, culture,
sexual orientation, etc. A service user’s needs can be met using diversity such as when the
professional is creating a care plan for that individual. It is considering their beliefs when
organising their diet as they could follow a Kosher or Halal diet, or taking note of their
religion when deciding their schedule to ensure they have time to pray. This is important in
order to allow the service user to feel respected and dignified, and show that differences are
celebrated rather than shunned. (Buckinghamshire Council, 2023)
Equality and Diversity: Patrick
It is seen that the adviser has not treated James and Patrick differently due to their same sex
relationship which would show clear application of the Equality Act 2010. The care provided
to Patrick has looked at his sexual orientation and he was “advised a source of free condoms”
in order to combat the spread of HIV. The importance of equality and diversity in meeting
Patrick’s needs is to ensure his rights are respected as a person, such as the right to
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confidentiality. For Patrick, confidentiality helps him to open up and seek help with James,
rather than staying quiet and risking the health of others rather than just himself. If he had not
been shown equality and diversity, Patrick and James could be refused service, leading to
anxiety and the feeling of being disrespected. To report it to another professional higher in
the hierarchy of the setting would be stressful and possibly traumatic to Patrick as the one
complained against could bully Patrick. While this is illegal, Patrick may choose not to take
further action for fear of further discrimination. (Shah, 2012)
Equality and Diversity: Brenda
Brenda’s advocate has shown that they respect her right to equality and diversity as they
communicated with Brenda in order to build a positive relationship without letting her
condition, age or gender change the advocates views, showing that they have worked with a
diverse amount of people. The advocate also agreed to be present during all meetings for
revisions of the care plan, showing that Brenda has been allowed the same opportunities as
other people. The importance of treating Brenda kindly with equality and diversity in mind is
to ensure that she, as an older woman, can feel safe in the care of her team and feel that she
can express her concern if there are any. All patients have the right to feel dignified and
respected as “regulation providers must make sure that they provide care and treatment in a
way that ensures people’s dignity and treats them with respect at all times.” (CQC, 2023)
However, if the service had not promoted equality and diversity for Brenda, it would allow
for a report to the CQC in order to correct this. This would impact the guilty professionals
involved as they would be penalised for their misconduct. On the other hand, Brenda would
feel as though her qualities have been disrespected, impacting her already-negative mental
health. This could lead to depression and the possibility of Brenda not contacting any services
when she is in need of help. (Toersen, 2022)
Equality and Diversity: Maria
An essential professional to her case is the social worker. She has shown clearly that diversity
and equality is important through the arrangements made. The social worker had arranged a
volunteer interpreter to accommodate Maria's mother, Mrs Motanelli as she can only speak
italian. In terms of diversity, you’ll find that there is some evidence regarding the satisfaction
of ethnic service users when reviewing social care services. Some reasons may lie with the
culture in which these groups live in where parents are ensuring that they are not ‘put into a
care home and forgotten about.’ (Greenwood, et al. 2014) The same can be shown for Maria
in her reluctance to allow others to care for her mother. She is anxious over leaving her
mother in the service’s hands as she wishes to care for Mrs Montanelli herself. The way in
which the social worker accommodated this by having regular visits shows that the care is
diverse and equal with the same opportunities being offered to all. Diversity and equality is
essential in caring for Maria’s needs as her situation and background show different methods
to others. Diversity and equality ensure that she is still offered the same opportunities as those
others despite her wish to do things differently. On the other hand, if her needs were not
accommodated for, the consequences could be substantial as Maria risks losing her job
without the backing of her union. This is because while employers have a legal obligation to
consider their employees’ mental health, the head teacher may choose to let Maria go for
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reasons of poor work (which was because she has been lacking sleep and sanity while caring
for her mother). The law states that an employer must ensure a safe working environment for
their employees while also caring for the Equality Act 2010. This means to have a physically
and mentally safe work environment. (Thrive Law, 2020) Overall, to not accommodate
Maria’s needs via diversity and equality, she risks losing her job, leaving little to way of
paying for her and her mother’s care.
Discrimination:
Discrimination is the unfair
prejudicial treatment of people
and groups based on a protected
characteristic (sexual orientation,
gender reassignment, age,
pregnancy, race, religion,
relationship status and sex).
(Gov.uk, 2023) (APA, 2019)
There are four types of
discrimination:
- Unfair discrimination: The instance in which an individual is treated negatively in
comparison to another person. This can be withholding opportunities or delaying care
for a dark-skinned individual.
- Direct Discrimination: When someone expresses hostility to an individual because
they are different (namely for the reason of a protected characteristic), such as
reducing quality of care for a patient who cannot speak English.
- Indirect Discrimination: When a service provider introduces a policy, practice or
procedure that when applied to a group of people, some of those people have a
negative experience due to their characteristics. An example of this is a rule that states
a form of ID must be shown before entering the hospital. This policy would prevent
lower class people from entering as ID costs money to obtain.
- Positive Discrimination: When a decision is made in favour of an individual due to a
characteristic they possess. This could be seen if an individual is put into a post
without checking their qualifications, assuming that they have those qualifications.
(Robertson, 2022)
To prevent discrimination is to be inclusive of all people and ensure that all service users
receive care of equal quality in comparison to others receiving care. Not only for service
users, professionals and care workers need to be treated without discrimination to ensure a
secure, productive workforce otherwise teamwork is purely a dream. (Chron, 2021) Some
effects on service users as a result of discrimination include:
- Disempowerment
- Restricted opportunities (linking closely to equality)
- Lack of social cohesion (a term used to describe the sense of unity in a community)
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