Equality, Diversity and Rights in Health and Social Care Essay

In this task I am going to be explaining what discrimination is and how it affects people around us. I am also going to be talking about covert and over power of abuse, infringement or rights, discriminatory practice, prejudice, stereotyping and labelling, bullying, loss of rights and also disempowerment. Discriminatory practice means to make choices based upon their categories, like values and beliefs, gender, age, race or religion. Discriminating involves infringement of rights, covert and overt abuse of power, prejudice, stereotyping, labelling, bulling and abuse. If a Muslim woman wanted to work in a health and social care setting and didn’t get the job because of her religion or skin colour this would be discrimination. Discrimination towards a person when working in a health and social care setting has to be taken very seriously, if a person is found out to be discriminating a person this could result in the person losing their job. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/healthandsocial care Everyone is entitles to have their rights respected and followed, everyone is entitled to right no matter what their race, religion, age or gender is. When working in a health and social care setting for example an elderly care home, all residents have the right to choice, choice of what they want to eat and when they want to eat and when they want to get up in the morning. Care workers must promote the tights of the people they are caring for. Infringement of Rights is when someone’s individual rights are not respected or denied. Muslim people do not eat pork or anything containing gelatine, gelatine comes from pork so when eating something Muslim people have to be aware of what is in their food. It is against their religion to eat any type of pork substance. If a Muslim woman was been cared for in an elderly care home and the care workers served her pork and there were no other options of food she could have this would be taking away her rights and beliefs, this is an example of infringement of rights. It is unacceptable for staff to abuse their power, like making decisions without involving the elderly residents and not a llowing the elderly to make their own choices. Covert abuse is when a person is abusing someone but in a secretive sly way. In a way that is  hidden from anyone elder, this abuse is not physical but is the abuse of power taking away the elderly’s right as an individual. A care worker should ask an elderly resident what they would like for breakfast but if a care worker was using covert abuse against the elderly the elderly person would not be given a choice on what they want for breakfast they would just get what the care worker gives them. If someone using covert abuse they are taking away the choices an individual is entitled too. Abuse of power is denied as a misuse of power, no matter what the context. It can be in the government, in the home or in the work place that the abuse of power is occurring covertly. Covert abuse is an act of discriminatory practice by someone who uses hidden use of power or authority to discriminate a person or social groupings. Such as age, culture, sexuality, gender, family status and health status. Overt abuse of power is when a person abuses their power in an obvious way, the abuser is often more aggressive and physically or psychologically violent. They can be very abusive to the residents and can act with subversive behaviours like spying or phone-tapping, vicious name calling, use sex as a tool for manipulation and self satisfaction, spend large amounts of money without respect for the victims needs and deny love and affection. An example of this is when a person has a purse and a care worker takes money out of it on a regular basis. Overt abuse of power is also discriminatory practice, however unlike covert abuse of power it is the openly use of power and authority to discriminate. http://www.blurtit.com/ Prejudices means judging someone before you have met them and know them. Prejudice is judgement towards people of a person because of their gender, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, nationality or other personal characteristics. An example of prejudice is if a care worker was talking about an elderly person who was just about to come in to the care home, the care worker may off looked at the elderly person’s notes and seen that the elderly woman is Sikh, the care worker may judge the elderly person because of her religion. This is an example of prejudice because the care worker has judged the elderly without meeting her or knowing her If someone is been prejudice against this can have affects on their health and well-being. If an elderly person feels like they are been judged because of their religion then this could make them discriminated against. It can also make them feel lonely and could  make them feel isolated from other residents. The elderly person could get depressed and this then could have an impact on her physical health, she may feel worn down, lack of energy and this could lead to major health problems such as the immune system going down and this could lead to infections. It is important when working in a health and social care setting that a person is not prejudiced against. http://www.simplypsychology.org/prejudice.html Another example of prejudice is if a man is expected into the care home and he is in a wheelchair, a care worker may have already judged the person and worked out the things he can and cannot do without meeting him. The man may be able to do many things but because the care worker has already judged what he can and can’t do without meeting him this could have affects on his development. If the man in the wheelchair can walk a short distance but the care worker does not think he should then this could delay his development with walking, the man then could stop walking the short distance he can and then in time may not be able to at all because he may not want to, or because he body will get used to not walking so when he try’s it will be harder. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/prejudice/ Not everyone is the same and everyone should be treated differently according to their needs. Stereotyping is when a person or a group of people puts for example and elderly person in a certain category or group because of their age, capabilities, gender or beliefs. It is important when working in a health and social care setting that a care worker does not stereotype. Stereotyping is seen as a form of discrimination and this can have a bad affect on the person. The affects stereotyping can have on a person is low self esteem, if a person is affected by stereotyping they could develop low self esteem, mental health issues such a depression, the person who is been stereotyped could feel isolated or picked on. http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/emotional_health/mental_health/emotion_esteem.shtm Labelling is similar to stereotyping but instead of being complex they are one word like calling an elderly person a whiner. When an elderly person is constantly being referred as a label they stop being people and it may reduce the elderly persons self esteem, dignity and individuality. Labelling people causes them to lose motivation and self-esteem as it closes the mind  of the person who sticks the label. The labeller gets a general perception of the subject and allows him no room for change or improvement. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Harmful-Effects-of-Labelling-People&id=4705852 Stereotyping and labelling could be overcome if care practitioners stopped making assumptions and looked after the elderly person to a high standard. When working in a health and social care setting it is important that a care worker does not bully anyone that could be staff or residents if working in an elderly care home. Bulling is a form of discrimination and is an evil act towards someone. Bullying means using your power to intimidate another person. Bullying could include staff bullying, older staff bulling younger staff or even staff bullying residents. Bullying could be giving looks to other people, a member of staff could pull a horrible look at a resident, and the resident then could feel bullied. Another form of bullying is humiliation, if an elderly person is humiliated by a member of staff then this is seen as bullying, never should a care worker humiliate or put a resident in an awkward position. This could result in low self-esteem or depression which then has affects on the person’s health and well-being. There is a bulling system which is called cyber bullying, this includes bullying from the internet, email and mobile phones, and this is now one of the most popular ways of bulling a person. These can be physical, verbal or written. All forms of bulling are discrimination. A form a cyber bulling is if a care worker talks to another via internet about a resident in a care home, calling the person names or picking on things about the elder, this is cyber bulling and is not accepted when working in a health and social care setting. When working in a health and social care setting abuse is not allowed, if it is physical, sexual or mental all form of abuse are not accepted and are forms of discrimination towards a person. When working in a health and social care setting abuse should not be accepted, people who work in an elderly care home or visit elderly people’s homes can also target older people and financially abuse them. Financial abuse is when a care worker regularly takes money from an elderly person, weather it stealing without them knowing if taking it from them though a threat towards them. If an elderly person feel threatened they are more likely to give into the abuse. Physical abuse is manhandling a person in a way that is not accepted or a way that hurts the person. For example if a child was sitting on the  floor refusing to move the care worker should not handle the child in a way it will hurt them, a way of doing this would be kicking them out of the way or grabbing their arm in a way that hurts them this is a form of physical abuse as the child has been hurt, this manner is not accepted in any health and social care setting or any type of job. A professional way to solve the problem would be to talk to the child or pick the child up in a soft professional manner. Ageism is discrimination or unfair treatment based on a person’s age. This can have an impact on someone’s confidence, job prospects, financial situation and quality of life, for example if an elderly person wanted a job and they didn’t get it because they were too old this would be ageism towards the elderly person. Age should not matter when getting a job and age discrimination should not be permitted when working in a health and social care setting. Another example of ageism is if a care worker was caring for an elderly person and she made a comment about the elderly person not been able to do something because she is too â€Å"old† this would be age discrimination. Just because a person is old it does not mean they are not capable of doing things. Ageism could also happen to a younger person, a younger person could be seen as â€Å"thick† because they do not have much life experience this could result in it been harder for a younger person to get a job. This could affect the younger person because they may lose self esteem and may rely on benefits. This type of discrimination and should not be tolerated when working in a health and social care setting. An older person may see some affects in their life because of their age, the may lose their job or be forced into redundancy so that a younger person can take their place. Some elderly people may not be entitled to disability benefit even if they qualify because of their age. The possible outcomes of discriminating against someone are: * Feeling intimidated because the person could say some horrible things or make the elderly person feel alone * Feeling bullied because being discriminated against is an act of bulling * Frustrated because they might not know what to do to solve the discrimination towards the, or they are not getting the right help or support * Their health may deteriorate e.g., from stress or not receiving the right care, their medicine not been given out or been given out on time, or they could receive the wrong medicine * Feel  annoyed because they might not now what to do to stop the discrimination * Embarrassed to tell anyone because they may feel like people might laugh at them for telling or if it is a care worker discriminating the person the may feel scared to tell anyone incase it got worse or people did not believe them * Feel angry because the have not done anything wrong and do not understand why they are being picked on Marg inalisation is an effect of discrimination. This means being on the edge of society being moved to the edge. It is where individuals or groups are prevented from accessing services, such as health care. It is where a person is cut of from cultural and social activities; this could be from family or a care worker. When a person is marginalized they are made to feel like they are different and this is different in a negative way. For example a lower class person being admitted to a private care trust because there is no room anywhere elder and being surrounded by upper class service users. They may begin to feel like they are been treated differently. They may feel discriminated against because they are not upper class. People who are socially excluded are more likely to be marginalized because they do not have many people around them, people may not want to be around them or include them because they may not have much money or may come from a poor background. http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=481398 Moonie et al. (2003). BETEC National Care. Oxford. Heinemann Disempowerment is when services are expected to fit in with the service rather than the service adapting to meet that persons needs. Disempowerment also means not letting a person make their own choices for themselves, for example not having their own choice what they have for breakfast or what time they get up in the morning. Their choices are made for them without considering the person first. The effect this has on the person is that they may lose all individuality because they have no choices. Another example of disempowerment is if a disabled man applies for a job, his disability is that he is wheelchair bound and he does not get the job because he is in a wheelchair. The reason why he does not get the job is because the building does not have wheelchair access. This is disempowerment towards the person because the place does not fit around him he has to fit around the complications.