Equality and Diversity Essay Example for Free

Equality and Diversity Essay In this module I am going to discuss about the aspect of equality and diversity within the health sector, about Act and legislations and the role official bodies (CQC and OFSED). Moreover, I am going to define the terminology of equality and diversity. The example of the policies and procedure that I am using is the one from the company that I am currently working for; Positive Community Care (PCC) and the names of the service users has not been mentioned because of data protection Act1998. Equality means being in the same in quantity, size, degree, value or status, evenly or fairly balanced. A good example is two football teams were playing a game and the pitch was slanted in one direction, thus making it an unfair situation for one of the team. It will be unfair for them and they won’t have an equal opportunity of winning. Equal means to have the same value but it does not mean that thing have to be identical, for example one kilogram of rice and one kilogram of flour in weight is the same., but they don’t have the same â€Å" physical characteristics†. In the UK equality means that everyone is valued as individuals. It also means that everyone has equal rights and that there is a balance of power in the county. One good example is democracy where all the citizens living in the UK have the liberty to vote. Furthermore, Health care in the UK is unequally distributed because it is linked to other life factors, namely socio-economic groups. Poverty is one of the major contributions to ill health; the government is trying to implement changes like clean water supplies, efficient sewage works, less overcrowded housing, improved diet in order to minimise inequality among people. Besides, people and children from lower income families are more likely to suffer from infectious and parasitic diseases, poisonings, accidents, respiratory diseases and cancer than those with a higher income groups. â€Å"Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status (Esty, et al., 1995).† http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr022 (accessed on 21.04.12) The National Health Service (NHS) was set up to help to eliminate the worst excesses of ill- Health when people could not afford to seek medical attention but this does not give people the right to health care. The homeless and travellers were not able to have access to General Practitioners (GP) as they didn’t have a permanent address. As hospitals, NHS, GPs and primary care trusts are public organisations; they are required to operate within the law set by the Equality Act 2010, which means they have a duty to promote equal opportunity and not to discriminate on the grounds of protected characteristics. In every study or work place, they are required to have policies and procedures relating to equality and diversity. Codes of conduct are also very important. These are the statements about how an organisation intends to implement the laws that exist and prevent any type of discrimination. In order to protect and maintain equality at work, laws are in place to make sure people is not discriminate on the grounds of race, age, sex (including maternity and pregnancy), Marital status (including civil partnership status), Gender reassignment, Sexual orientation (gay or lesbian), Disability, Religion/ belief, Trade union membership or being a non-member and Employment statues (full-time, part-time or bank). Policies and procedures and codes of conduct are aimed to encourage values and manage diversity and thus, provide equality for all. Moreover, it also creates a work force that is representative of the communities from which employers are recruited and say what is expected of employees regarding equality and diversity. Finally, it is to set out legal rights and responsibilities of employees in relation to equality and diversity. Thompsons PCS Model According to Neil Thompson (2009): It is a model that has been developed by in his work place to enables and guide us to have a better understanding of how discrimination works in society. It explains the features of the model clearly as it help to demonstrate how discrimination is much wider and difficult than the views, attitude and behaviors of the person. Furthermore, it helps us to distinguish how prejudice, stereotyping, labelling and discrimination are surrounded in different part of our society. How does the PCS Model work? P Refers to the personal or psychological level (thoughts, feelings, views, attitudes and actions of the person involved in the decision or case). C Refers to the cultural level, which focuses on shared ways of seeing, thinking and doing (Thompson, 2009). He also defines it as ‘an assumed consensus about what is right and what is normal producing conformity to social norms. For example â€Å"Children should be bought up by mother and father† or â€Å"men are better with manual work than women†. S Refers to the structural level, which Thompson defines as being associated to the network of social divisions that make up society. He argues that oppression and discrimination are institutionalized and thus sewn in to the fabric of society (2009). It is also worth considering how institutions such as the health service, the education sector and other public services might be prone to structural influences, and what impact this may have on certain groups within society. Here is an example of that has been broken down using the Thompsons PCS Model: A severely disabled woman who is confined to her wheelchair and needs help with eating and drinking goes on day out with staff at a theme park. At the restaurant, the manager asks if she would mind eating in a separate room as it is putting the other guests off their food. P Personal: The disabled woman who is witnessing the situation is being subject to direct discrimination due to her disability. It is linked to her thoughts, feeling and the negative attitude of the hotel owner. C Cultural: In our modern society it unbelievable of where do his views come from? What are his assumptions about disability? That disabled people are worthless and has no right to sit down with other people in the dining room (e.g. their right to eat where they want doesnt count)? S Structural: What part do the media play in this? Do the media include the voice of people with a disability? How many disabled people do we commonly see on the television? This means that disabled people remain invisible and â€Å"dehumanized†. On a more positive note the DDA 2005 puts a duty on organizations to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people the DDA would have given the disabled woman who suffered a discrimination redress. The Thompson’s PCS Model is explained using Acts and Legislations: In 1975 and 1976 the Sex Discrimination Act and Race Relations Act came into force. Thirty years later, it was recognized and reinforced because of the inequalities and abuses in societies that continued to occur. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the Equality Act 2006 came into force in order to strengthen the Act as inequalities and discrimination continues to prevail on gender and ethnicity. The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (following previous legislation in 1995) was amended. â€Å"An advocate should be free from conflicts of interest with those providing services to the person they are working with and should represent the other persons interest as if they were the Advocates own.† http://www.devon.gov.uk/advocacy.htm (accessed 30.04.2012). It helps people to voice their opinion and to be understood. It also gives them support, information, backing, and a service to help them and to make choices. Furthermore, it is cost effective as it is free and is a confidential service which is easily available to everyone.