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What is Equality and Diversity?<\/h2>\n
Equality<\/strong> means ensuring everyone in your setting has equal opportunities, regardless of their abilities, their background or their lifestyle.<\/p>\n Diversity<\/strong> means appreciating the differences between people and treating people\u2019s values, beliefs, cultures and lifestyles with respect.<\/p>\n We can help you gain a CPD accredited certificate with our range of online Safeguarding Adults Training<\/a>. Popular courses, such as Dementia Awareness Training<\/a> and Information Governance Training<\/a>, could help you gain a better understanding of your responsibilities in healthcare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a health and social care environment, it\u2019s important that equality and diversity are at the heart of what you do. Your patients and service users are individual people. You should always strive to ensure that their diverse needs are met and ensure that they have equal access to the services you provide. This is particularly important for adults in need<\/strong> who, because of a disability, illness or their age, are unable to take adequate care of themselves and keep themselves from harm.<\/p>\n Promoting equality and diversity in the workplace is primarily concerned with preventing discrimination<\/a> \u2013 whether this is active or passive. Sometimes your setting may be discriminating against a patient accidentally, particularly if the adult is vulnerable because of their health, age or disability, so having an awareness of the potential barriers and how to remove them is essential.<\/p>\n There are four key laws relating to equality and diversity which you should be familiar with if you work in a health or social care setting. These are:<\/p>\n Adults in need, also known as vulnerable adults, are people who are unable to take adequate care of themselves or protect themselves from harm as a result of disability, age or illness. If you work in a care setting then it\u2019s likely that you work with adults in need on a regular basis and its imperative that equality and diversity practices are upheld.<\/p>\n The nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010 apply to all vulnerable adults, although some of the characteristics have more of a direct link which you need to be aware of. Understanding these protected characteristics, and how you can prevent discrimination against them, is essential.<\/p>\n This characteristic refers to a person who follows any religion (including atheism) or who holds any philosophical belief. Depending on their religion or belief, the care you provide to the patient will vary, as certain religions disallow certain healthcare practices. You cannot simply use the same care approach for all religions as you\u2019ll be at risk of indirect discrimination. People of all religions and beliefs are entitled to equal care.<\/p>\n This Multi-Faith Resource for Healthcare Staff<\/a> from NHS Education for Scotland provides useful information about a range of different faith groups to help health and social care workers understand what individual requirements may be needed.<\/p>\n This characteristic refers to a person with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial adverse impact on their day-to-day life. In order to promote equality for disabled people, you should consider whether any changes to your method of care are required. For example, are all areas of your setting accessible? Does information need to be provided in alternative formats, such as audio or Braille? Do people need personal care plans? People of all disabilities are entitled to equal care.<\/p>\n Particular attention should be paid to adults who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards protect people who lack capacity by enabling them to have as much control as possible over the decisions that affect them. All health and social care workers must comply with the guidance contained within the DoLS legislation.<\/p>\n This characteristic refers to a person of a particular age or age group. A person\u2019s age will affect their care needs, although be careful not to make assumptions. For example, never assume that an older adult has a poor memory or poor hearing, and never assume that a younger adult is too immature to make a decision. People of all ages are entitled to equal care.<\/p>\n This characteristic refers to a person’s colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins. As a health or social care worker, promoting equality in regards to race means being aware of (and responsive to) people\u2019s cultural needs and sensitivities and adapting your methods as required. People of all races are entitled to equal care.<\/p>\n In the 2014\/15 adult inpatient survey<\/a> by NHS England, there was a mixed bag of results when it came to ethnicity. People who identified as White Irish and White and Black Caribbean tended to have more positive experiences in hospital than White British people, yet people from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Arab backgrounds tended to have less positive experiences. Providing equal care for everyone should ensure that these imbalances are addressed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In order to promote equality and diversity in your health or social care setting, everyone on your team needs to be fully understanding of the relevant legislation, principles and practices. Without the basic knowledge of equality and diversity, it can be difficult to get people to promote and support it.<\/p>\n Firstly, does your setting have an equality and diversity policy<\/a>? If so, make sure you\u2019ve read it and then circulate it around your team. Similarly, do your best to ensure that everyone is appropriately trained in Equality and Diversity<\/a>, the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and SOVA<\/a>.<\/p>\n Next, encourage staff members to think about what matters to each person in your setting.<\/strong> What are each person\u2019s values and goals? What does each individual need to attain their values and goals? If you and your fellow workers keep these questions in mind then the care you provide will always be in the individual\u2019s best interests and you\u2019ll always be keeping equality and diversity matters at the forefront.<\/p>\n The following questions, from NHS Scotland<\/a>, will also help you to assess how well diversity is managed in your setting. Take a moment to consider how you would answer them:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Equality and diversity is of paramount importance – especially so in a health and social care setting; but how can you promote this crucial message?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":35642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[67,76],"class_list":["post-7016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safeguarding","tag-equality-diversity","tag-safeguarding-adults"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"\n![\"expert](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/expert-tip-icon.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/div>\nNeed a Certificate, Fast?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"patient](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/equality_diversity_healthcare.jpg\")
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\nWhat the Law Says About Equality and Diversity
![\"down53\"](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/down53.png\")
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Equality for Adults in Need
<\/h3>\nReligion and belief<\/h4>\n
Disability<\/h4>\n
![\"elderly](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/disabled_vulnerable_adults_equality.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAge<\/h4>\n
Race<\/h4>\n
Tips for Promoting Equality and Diversity
<\/h3>\n![\"elderly](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/vulnerable_adults_social_care.jpg\")
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\nFurther Resources<\/h3>\n
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