Introduction
In the care settings, equality and inclusion ensures that the services are offered to the people are fair and accessible. In the healthcare, equality is important because it helps the people to feel like they are treated equally and fairly as well as get the dignity and respect that they deserve. Additionally, in the care setting equality and diversity is important because it aids in improving cultural competency, strengthen communication and mitigating healthcare disparities which eventually positively impacts on the overall health and well-being (Rosenkranz et al, 2021). Apart from this, the current assignment will be based on equality and inclusion in the care settings. This assignment will depicts legislation and code of practice related to diversity, equality in care setting.
1.1 Meaning of diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination
In the context of care setting, diversity is defined as presence of people from various cultures, backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, religions, abilities, sexual orientations and ages. In the healthcare, diversity is important because it helps in improving the overall effectiveness of the services (Căruceru et al, 2024). Emphasis on diversity is crucial for care workers because it helps staffs to think the innovative and unique ideas to provide the treatment to the people.
Equality in care setting refers to the fair and equal treatment of all the care recipients irrespective of their gender, age, disability, religious belief etc. Equality ensures that, every people are admittance to same high-quality support and care to meet their needs and requirements as well as enhancing the overall health and well-being (Hirschhorn, Magge and Kiflie, 2021). Emphasis on equality is beneficial for the healthcare organization because it helps in improving the overall health and well-being of all the care recipients as well as promoting value and sense of belonging in the society.
In the healthcare, inclusion is considered as one of the critical approach where the people with diverse culture and backgrounds are welcomes and socially as well as culturally accepted and treated equally (Rodriguez, Shachar and Bates, 2022). Emphasis on inclusion is beneficial for both healthcare providers and patients because it helps in increase innovation and problem-solving, better reputation and trusts, enhance health outcomes and increase their satisfaction.
In the care setting, discrimination refers to lack of consideration and negative actions which are directed towards people or group which is based on the preconceived notions about their identifications (Webster et al, 2022). Generally, discrimination is the chronic stressor for the people because it increases the likelihood of vulnerability to the physical illness.
1. 2 Ways in which discrimination may deliberately or inadvertently occur in the work setting
In the workplace, discrimination happens when individual or group of people is treated unequally and unfairly because of protected characteristics such as gender identity, disability, religious belief, race etc. There is wide range of ways from which discrimination is occurring deliberately and inadvertently within workplace (Bright, 2022). Hiring practice is considered as one of the common way that occur discrimination deliberately in the workplace. Generally, the employers are creating discrimination by not recruiting the people based on their gender, beliefs, culture. In the context of care setting, the healthcare organization are discriminating the people by their age and emphasis on recruiting the young candidates over older one even they are highly qualified and have more experience. The HR managers likely to recruit young healthcare staff because they think they are capable to provide better and high-quality of services to the patients.
Additionally, promotion and advancement is recognized another way of occurring discrimination intestinally at the workplace. Generally, healthcare professionals are overlooked towards the protected characteristics for promoting and recognizing the staff. For example, healthcare professionals are giving priority to the skilled female staff over less- qualified men for the promotion. Deliberately discrimination creates the toxic environment which decreases morale and enthusiasm of the workers to provide care to the people (Ehie et al, 2021). Apart from this, workplace policies and practice is considered as one of the common way of occur the discrimination unintentionally. For example, if healthcare facilities have policy of not promoting the staff who have been in their current role for more than five years. This is considered as unintentional discrimination because it directly affects the younger staff or certain ethnic or racial groups.
1.3 How practices that support equality and inclusion reduce the likelihood of discrimination
There are wide range of practices such person centred care, follow policies of Equality Act 2010, creating fair opportunities etc., that can be implement by the healthcare care organizations to support the equality and inclusion. Person-centred care is considered as one of the critical practice that assists the care workers to support the inclusion and equality as well as reduce the chance of occurring discrimination. Person-centred approach is valuing the perspective of the all people who are involved in the care and listen them with empathy to provide effective treatment (Hassen et al, 2021). In addition, adoption of this practice can be valuable for healthcare facilities because it helps in ensuring that all individual is treated fairly and equally to meet their needs and requirements. Adoption of this practice can be useful for the healthcare because it helps in treat each person respectfully by seeking out what is significant for the patients and their families, developing mutual respect and promoting trusts.
Apart from this, to support the equality and inclusion as well as reduce the chances of occurring discrimination, the healthcare facilities can require to follow all the rules and regulations of Equality Act 2010. This act is legally safeguarding the people from discrimination in the workplace. This act is encouraging the healthcare organizations to hire all the people irrespective of their protected characteristics to provide better and high-quality services to the children, adult and young people (Acas, 2025). On the other hand, creating the fair opportunities is another practices that supports inclusion and diversity in the workplace (Chakravarthi et al, 2022). To create the diverse and positive environment it is important for healthcare professionals to provide equal opportunities to the staff from which they feel encourage and motivate to provide the better and high-quality services to the patients.
2.1 Legislation and codes of practice relating to equality, diversity and discrimination apply to own role
There are wide ranges of legislations such as Equality Act 2010, Human Rights Act 1998 etc., and code of practice is implementing by the care workers to maintain equality and diversity as well as reduce discrimination. As a care worker, it is significant to be aware of the legislations and code of practice in relevant to equality and diversity which ensures that whether they provide a equal and fair service to all the patients or not (Mullin et al, 2021). Being a care worker in NHS, I implement Equality Act 2010 in order to maintain equality and diversity as well as reduce the discrimination. Following all the rules and regulations of chosen legislation is beneficial for care worker because it makes unlawful for the people to be treated unfairly because of their differences. This act states nine protected characteristics such as age, disability, sex, religion, sexual orientation etc., which cannot be used as a reason to treat someone unfairly. Being a care worker, by following this legislation I protect the human rights and treat the adults, children and young people fairly with dignity and respect. By implementing this legislation, care workers can take actions in order to make sure the equality of the staff and patients as well as enhance the quality of care that they provide (Morrison et al, 2021).
Apart from this, the code of conduct for the healthcare support and adult social care workers in England encompasses several principles relating to diversity, equality, inclusion and discrimination. As an adult care worker, I am accountable to make significant and valuable contributions towards the delivery of high-quality of care and support. According to this code of conduct, the care workers are responsible for fostering and uphold the dignity, privacy, health and well-being as well as rights of the individuals who use services (Wolbring and Nguyen, 2023). The care workers are also responsible for communicating in effective and open way in order to foster safety and security of the people who are availing the services.
2.2 Interactions with individuals that respects their beliefs, culture, values and preferences
It is significant for the care workers to work with the individuals who respect their culture, beliefs, preferences and values which help in creating the supportive and positive environment for them to flourish in. At the time working with the people from different backgrounds it is important for care workers to be aware of their cultural values and norms. It is crucial for the care workers to be respectful of their spiritual or religious beliefs (Marjadi et al, 2023). By being accommodating and sensitive to the unique background and culture of the people, care workers can create the welcoming and positive atmosphere for them. From this, the individuals like patients are encourage to avail the high quality and effective healthcare services in order to enhance the overall safety and well-being.
Additionally, positive atmosphere assist the individuals to feel flexible and comfortable to avail the better treatment for improving health and well-being. It is critical for the care workers to show the empathy at the time of interacting with the people who respects their culture and beliefs because it helps in building the deep connections among them (Rodríguez et al, 2022). Interest in the backgrounds and experience of the individuals assist the care workers to understand and provide the personalized support and puts them at the centre of their care.
For example, during offering care services to the individuals the healthcare providers are accountable to demonstrate respectful interactions by offering them with food and drink choices according to their religious and cultural belief. It is important for care workers to do because from this individuals can feel comfortable and ease with their environment. Along with this, maintaining the strong interactions with the individuals that respects culture, beliefs is beneficial for care workers because it demonstrates that they are care about their physical well-being as well as emotional requirements too.
2.3 Ways to challenge discrimination in a way that encourages change
It can be difficult for the care workers to challenge or respond discrimination in a way that encourages the positive change. To encouraging the positive change in the healthcare organization by reducing the discrimination it can be important for the healthcare providers to conducting training and development. Implementing this approach can be useful for the healthcare providers because it aids in increase knowledge and improve the skills of the patients and staff in relevant to the discrimination (Redley et al, 2019). For bringing the positive change, it is important to educate the patients and staff in relevant to the detrimental influence of discrimination. Education and training program helps in raising the awareness of the people in regarding discrimination and equip them with the essential skills they require to effectively challenge it.
In addition to this, creating the diverse and positive work environment is another way of challenging the discrimination that encourages a positive change. By creating the positive and inclusion work environment, the adult care workers can able to improve the quality of services and support that is provided to the patients for enhancing their overall health and well-being. Generally, the inclusion environment encourages the welcome of diverse people with the positive attitude and commitment which leads to reduce discrimination (Mason and Minerva, 2022). Apart from this, for challenging discrimination it is important for the care workers to have open discussion about the discrimination that encourages the people to share their perspectives and experiences about this particular aspect. Along with this, to challenge or respond the discrimination it can be important for adult care workers to carry out policies related to equality and diversity. Developing and executing anti-discrimination policies makes clear what is anticipation of the people who are engaging the discriminatory behaviour and the consequences.
3.1 Range of sources of information, advice and support about diversity, equality and inclusion (EDI)
There are wide ranges of source that can provide advice, information and support about the equality, diversity and inclusion to the care workers. The sources are governmental bodies and legislation, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and research, online resources etc. Government bodies and legislation is considered as one of the critical source of information because it provides rules and regulations that promote the EDI. For example, Equality act 2010 and The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are considered as major governmental bodies and legislation. Equality Act 2010 helps in protecting the patients and healthcare providers from the unfair treatment. Additionally, EHRC is challenging prejudice and fostering the significance of human rights that enforce equality laws around disability, age, gender, religion etc., and encourage the fulfilment with Human Rights Act. On the other hand, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helps in offering the resources and support to the individuals and healthcare facilities to promote EDI. For example, The Equality and Human Rights Commission is one of the leading statutory bodies that developed to reduce inequality and eliminate the discrimination. Human rights campaign is another non-governmental body that makes equity, equality and liberation into a reality for all the LGBTQ+ people.
Apart from this, academic institution and research is another source that helps in providing information, support and advice about the EDI through publishing articles, reports and journals. Online resources such as articles, blogs, courses and webinars are helps in providing empirical and theoretical insights about the EDI. There are several educational platforms that help in providing the comprehensive information in relation to promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It is important for care workers to consider all the sources for providing equal and fair treatment to all the patients to enhance their health and well-being.
3.2 Ways to access information, advice and support about EDI
There are various ways from which the care workers can access the information, support and advice about the EDI in effective and successful manner. For accessing the information related to promotion of EDI, the care workers can need to emphasis on looking into the ways of working in the healthcare organizations (Young et al, 2021). For admittance the information related to EDI, the care workers can need to check out the significant standards of Care Quality Commission (CQC) that helps in encouraging them to provide the equal and fair treatment to all the adult, children and young people irrespective of their gender, age, disabilities etc.
Additionally, for accessing the information, support and advice related to EDI, the care workers need to speak to their managers. The managers are helps in providing the guidance and extra support as well as ideas to promote the EDI in healthcare organization. With the support of managers, care workers can create the diverse and positive environment from which the patients feel equal and fair to avail the services for enhancing their overall health and well-being. On the other hand, for admitting information and support related to EDI, the care workers can need to undertake the research on the internet. For example, care workers can need to look towards the Equality Act 2010, EHRC, Equality and Human Rights Commission, NHS website, courses, webinars, bogs etc., for accessing the information relevant to the EDI. Apart from this, for admitting the information and guidance in relevant to EDI, the care workers can need to use informal discussions and meetings with the others workers (Chakravarthi et al, 2022). Accessing the information from diverse sources will be beneficial for care workers because it helps in maintaining EDI in its workplace and reduce the discrimination among the patients and other healthcare providers or staff.
3.3 Identify when to access information, advice and support about EDI
There are several situations when the health care professionals are accessing the advice, information and support about EDI. The situations are providing care to the people, training and education, recruitment and hiring, regulatory compliance, implementing policies and practices, witness or experience discrimination etc. Providing care to the people is considered as one of the critical situation in which the healthcare professionals are accountable to admitting the information and guidance in relevant to EDI (Rosenkranz et al, 2021). With the help of guidance and support the healthcare providers are capable to create the positive and diverse environment by providing high-quality services and fair as well as equal treatment to them.
Additionally, training and education is another important situation in which it is important for the care workers to seek the support and advice about the EDI. At the time of providing training and education to the staff it is important for the healthcare professionals to access the information related to EDI from which they feel equal and fair as compare to others. It is important for care workers to seek the guidance and support when they are not sure about something in relevant to the EDI and need clarification about this. It is always better to ask questions and seek support to create the diverse work environment for the diversity and safety of the patients.
Conclusion
In the end of assignment it has been summarized that Fostering the equality and inclusion in care setting is important because it helps in providing equal and fair treatment to all the individuals irrespective of their gender, beliefs, culture etc. Hiring practice, promotion and advancement, workplace policies etc., are various ways that create discrimination deliberately in the work settings. Additionally, person-centred care, Equality Act 2010, creates fair opportunities etc., are various practices that can support EDI and reduce the chances of occurring discrimination. Training and education, creating positive environment, maintain open discussion and developing policies are significant ways to challenge the discrimination that encourages the positive change. Government bodies, non-governmental bodies, academic institution and research as well as online resources etc., are various sources from which care workers can access the information and support about EDI.
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References
Books and Journals
Bright, K., 2022. Equity of access, diversity, and inclusion. Information services today: An introduction, pp.66-79.
Căruceru, N., Ștefan, S.C., Olariu, A.A. and Breazu, A., 2024. Inclusion and Diversity in Healthcare Organizations’ Teams. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence (Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 996-1006). Sciendo.
Chakravarthi, B.R., Muralidaran, V., Priyadharshini, R., Cn, S., McCrae, J.P., García, M.Á., Jiménez-Zafra, S.M., Valencia-García, R., Kumaresan, P., Ponnusamy, R. and García-Baena, D., 2022, May. Overview of the shared task on hope speech detection for equality, diversity, and inclusion. In Proceedings of the second workshop on language technology for equality, diversity and inclusion (pp. 378-388).
Ehie, O., Muse, I., Hill, L. and Bastien, A., 2021. Professionalism: microaggression in the healthcare setting. Current opinion in anesthesiology, 34(2), pp.131-136.
Hassen, N., Lofters, A., Michael, S., Mall, A., Pinto, A.D. and Rackal, J., 2021. Implementing anti-racism interventions in healthcare settings: a scoping review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(6), p.2993.
Hirschhorn, L.R., Magge, H. and Kiflie, A., 2021. Aiming beyond equality to reach equity: the promise and challenge of quality improvement. bmj, 374.
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Mason, A. and Minerva, F., 2022. Should the Equality Act 2010 be extended to prohibit appearance discrimination?. Political Studies, 70(2), pp.425-442.
Morrison, V., Hauch, R.R., Perez, E., Bates, M., Sepe, P. and Dans, M., 2021. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing: the pathway to excellence framework alignment. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 45(4), pp.311-323.
Mullin, A.E., Coe, I.R., Gooden, E.A., Tunde-Byass, M. and Wiley, R.E., 2021, November. Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility: From organizational responsibility to leadership competency. In Healthcare management forum (Vol. 34, No. 6, pp. 311-315). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Redley, M., Lancaster, I., Pitt, A., Holland, A., Thompson, A., Bradley, J.R., Glover, G., Thomson, K., Jones, S., Herbert, B. and Holme, A., 2019. “Reasonable adjustments” under the UK's Equality Act 2010: An enquiry into the care and treatment to patients with intellectual disabilities in acute hospital settings. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 32(6), pp.1412-1420.
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Rodríguez, J.E., Figueroa, E., Campbell, K.M., Washington, J.C., Amaechi, O., Anim, T., Allen, K.C., Foster, K.E., Hightower, M., Parra, Y. and Wusu, M.H., 2022. Towards a common lexicon for equity, diversity, and inclusion work in academic medicine. BMC medical education, 22(1), p.703.
Rosenkranz, K.M., Arora, T.K., Termuhlen, P.M., Stain, S.C., Misra, S., Dent, D. and Nfonsam, V., 2021. Diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine: why it matters and how do we achieve it?. Journal of surgical education, 78(4), pp.1058-1065.
Webster, C.S., Taylor, S., Thomas, C. and Weller, J.M., 2022. Social bias, discrimination and inequity in healthcare: mechanisms, implications and recommendations. BJA education, 22(4), p.131.
Wolbring, G. and Nguyen, A., 2023. Equity/equality, diversity and inclusion, and other EDI phrases and EDI policy frameworks: A scoping review. Trends in Higher Education, 2(1), pp.168-237.
Young, S., Asherson, P., Lloyd, T., Absoud, M., Arif, M., Colley, W.A., Cortese, S., Cubbin, S., Doyle, N., Morua, S.D. and Ferreira-Lay, P., 2021. Failure of healthcare provision for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the United Kingdom: a consensus statement. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, p.649399.
Online
Acas, 2025 Equality act 2010. Online. Available through: < https://www.acas.org.uk/discrimination-and-the-law>
