Unit Title : Equality And Human Rights Policy
Assessment Type : Assignment
1.Purpose : To enable reception to meet the legal requirements to promote and protect the equality and human rights of Patients. To promote the autonomy and independence of Patients, by respecting and enhancing their human rights.This policy focuses on the promotion of equality and human rights for Patients. Equality and human rights for staff are not addressed in this policy.
To meet the legal requirements of the regulated activities that reception is registered to provide:
1.The Care Act 2014
2.Care Quality Commission (Registration) and (Additional Functions) and Health and Social Care Act 2008
(Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (Amendment to Parts 4 & 5)
3. Equality Act 2010
4.Equality Act 2010: Chapter 1 (Protected Characteristics) Chapter 2 (Prohibited Conduct) and Chapter 3
(Services and Public Functions)
5. Human Rights Act 1998
6. Mental Capacity Act 2005
7.Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice
Equality And Human Rights Policy Assignment – UK.
2.Scope :
The following roles may be affected by this policy:
a.All staff
The following people may be affected by this policy:
a.Patients
The following stakeholders may be affected by this policy:
1.Family
2. Advocates
3. Representatives
4. Commissioners
5. External health professionals
6. Local Authority
7. NHS
3.Objectives :
Patients are honoured in all their uniqueness and diversity, and their rights to live as they choose are not restricted, except where strictly necessary and in accordance with this policy.
Treatment plans show ongoing commitment to respecting and promoting the human rights of Patients,
through demonstrating knowledge of the person’s wishes and feelings, and making these the framework for the way services are provided.
4.Policy :
We recognise that everyone is different, and want to make sure reception respects, promotes and celebrates these differences. We will not tolerate unlawful discrimination, victimisation, bullying or harassment based on:
1.Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment
4.Marriage and civil partnership
5. Pregnancy and maternity
6. Race (this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality)
7. Religion or belief (this includes lack of belief)
8. Sex (male & female)
9. Sexual orientation
reception aims to:
i.Treat Patients with dignity, respect and fairly, without discrimination, at all times
ii. Give all Patients the information they need, in a way they can understand, so they can make informed
decisions about their care
iii. Be clear on the procedures for providing additional support for Patients with disabilities, e.g. does the
practice have a hearing loop and do staff know how to operate it?
iv Provide services that are accessible to Patients with disabilities and make reasonable adjustments in order to provide care which meets their needs
v. Provide information to Patients with disabilities in a range of formats, such as Easy Read, large-print or on CD
vi. Support Patients by providing information in other languages and translators, where appropriate
vii. Join up with other services involved with the care of Patients who have medical and social care needs
viii. Keep Patient information confidential
ix Tackle health inequalities through positive promotion and care
x. Involve individual Patients and Patient groups in decisions about the design and delivery of the service
xi Consider in team meetings, appraisals and supervision sessions, human rights, equality and diversity, and the wishes and feelings of individual Patients reception will ensure that actions and decisions that affect Patients are compliant with relevant human rights law, that is, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 and where Patients aged 16 or over may lack mental capacity, the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Human rights, equality and diversity, and the wishes and feelings of individual Patients will be considered in team meetings, appraisals and supervision sessions.
We will have a named member of staff responsible for any complaints or concerns in relation Equality and
Human Rights.
5.Procedure :
1.Staff know which Articles of the Human Rights Act are at risk of being breached and how this applies in practical terms when providing treatment and care.
2.Article 2 – Everyone has the right to life. reception should take reasonable steps to protect a Patient’s life
in nearly all circumstances and reception should have clear policies on end of life wishes and up to date
information on any ‘Do Not Attempt Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation’ decisions. reception should ensure
staff understand the exception to ‘Right to Life’.
3.The right to protection from torture and inhumane and degrading treatment (Article 3) underpins all
decisions, and staff receive training on how to deliver treatment that promotes Patients’ dignity; formal
training is reinforced in team meetings and supervision with a focus for all staff on treating Patients with
respect.
4.To ensure adherence to Article 8 – the right to respect for family and private life, home and correspondence is one of the rights protected by the Human Rights Act.Staff will be trained to understand the importance of confidentiality and will follow reception Data Protection and Social Networking policies. Patient records will be held securely and a member of staff will be responsible for data protection concerns.Any breaches of confidentiality or data protection will be investigated and reported where
required. reception will follow any guidance issued by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) relevant to reception.
5.reception will ensure information about care and treatment is available in formats that are accessible. We will ensure that we comply with the Equalities Act and will make any reasonable adjustments required
so that Patients can access care and treatment.
6.Definitions :
Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA)
1. In England and Wales, the MCA defines capacity as the ability to make a specific decision at the time it
needs to be made
2.Everyone is presumed to have this capacity unless there are reasons to question it, in which case the
person’s capacity should be assessed
3.The MCA balances the requirement to respect and enhance autonomy, the rights of people to live as they choose and make their own decisions as long as they are not harming others, against the requirement to protect people who lack mental capacity, by finding the least restrictive options to meet identified needs in.
Human Rights Act 1998: Article 8 :-
a.Everyone has the right to live as they choose, and for the State not to interfere in their private life
b.This includes the right to have contact with relatives and friends and to have privacy during those contacts,whether face to face, or by letter or phone
c.These rights can be breached if the breach is necessary and proportionate to prevent harm to the person. However, in health and social care settings, interference with this right should be extremely rare, and legal advice should be sought before doing so
Human Rights Protected by the Human Rights Act :-
1.Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world. In the UK, human rights are protected by the Human Rights Act 1998
2. The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates into UK law the European Convention on Human Rights, and
makes it unlawful for a public body, or anyone acting on behalf of a public body, to behave in a way that is incompatible with the Convention. The rights most likely to be relevant in health and social care are Article 3, Article 5, and Article 8. All the rights protected by the Convention are listed in the following bullet points
3.Article 2 (Article 1 is just the preamble): The right to life. Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by
law. No one shall be deprived of their life intentionally, save in the execution of a sentence of a court
following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. Note that this makes so-
called ‘mercy killing’ unlawful
1.Article 3: The complete prohibition of torture under any circumstances. No one shall be subjected to
torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is a tragic fact that some so-called ‘care’
can include inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; there is no place for this in care services, and
any tendency, however slight, to bully, punish or degrade users of the service must be rooted out
Equality And Human Rights Policy Assignment – UK.
2.Article 4: Prohibition of slavery and forced labour
1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude
2. No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour
This is now strengthened by the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which forbids slavery or forced labour, and includes trafficking. reception must ensure it is not, even unwittingly, employing people who do not
enjoy the rights available to other staff due to being trafficked or forced to pass on their pay to a trafficker
3.Article 5: Right to liberty and security of person. This is not an absolute right but no one shall be
deprived of his liberty except in certain circumstances, which includes Article 5(1)(e) – ‘the lawful
detention of persons…of unsound mind’. If someone is to be deprived of their liberty, it must be ‘in
accordance with a procedure laid down in law’ and Article 5(4)’ Everyone who is deprived of his liberty…shall be entitled to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of his detention shall be decided speedily by a court and his release ordered if the detention is not lawful.’ This is why the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were created, to ensure these procedural safeguards to people lacking capacity: UK law had a gap, which meant that this vulnerable group of people could be deprived of their liberty on the say-so of a doctor, for example, without any clear way of asking a court whether this was legal or not
4.Article 6: Right to a fair trial. This includes being presumed innocent until there is evidence of guilt
5.Article 7: No punishment without law. Nobody can be found guilty of something which was not a crime
at the time it was committed
6.Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This is not an absolute right, but can only be
limited when necessary in a democracy, ‘in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order,
health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.’ It includes the right to decide to change one’s religion
7.Article 10: Freedom of expression. This is not an absolute right, and carries with it duties and responsibilities.It can be limited, where necessary, in a democracy, in a range of circumstances, including
‘for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the
reputation or rights of others’
Equality And Human Rights Policy Assignment – UK.
8.Article 11: Freedom of peaceful assembly with others. This is the right to meet up with other people
and, for example, join a trade union. This is not an absolute right, and can be limited, where necessary in a
democracy, for public safety or protection or the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of
health or morals, or for the protection of the rights of others. States have the right to restrict this right
among armed forces, the police, and other areas of public administration
9.Article 12: The right to marry. Men and women of marriageable age can marry and found a family in
accordance with national laws. Together with Article 8, this specifically protects the rights of people with
learning disabilities who have the capacity to consent to marriage, to enter into a marriage, and have
children
Equality And Human Rights Policy Assignment – UK.
10.Article 14: Prohibition of discrimination. This is an absolute right. ‘The enjoyment of the rights and
freedoms set forth in this convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex,
race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a
national minority, property, birth or other status.’ This phrase ‘other status’ includes people living with
certain diagnoses or lacking mental capacity to make their own decisions, and highlights that human rights are for everyone
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
A. The UK is a signatory to the CRPD, and bound to work within it
B. The CRPD aims to wipe out all discrimination and barriers to inclusion that face people with disabilities.
This means the UK must develop and carry out policies and laws that secure the rights recognised in the
Human Rights Act 1998, and abolish laws, regulations,customs and practices that constitute discrimination (Article 4)
C. The UK is also committed to combatting stereotypes and prejudices, and promoting awareness of the
capabilities of people with disabilities (Article 8)
D. The CRPD demands guarantees that people with disabilities enjoy their inherent right to life on an equal basis with others (Article 10), ensures the equal rights and advancement of women and girls with
disabilities (Article 6) and protects children with disabilities (Article 7)
The Equality Act 2010
This Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against people, both in the workplace and in wider society
It combines several earlier pieces of legislation, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
‘Protected Characteristics’ – that people must not be subjected to discrimination on the basis of – are laid out in Section 4. They are:
1.Age
2. Disability
3.Gender reassignment
4. Marriage and civil partnership
5. Pregnancy and maternity
6. Race
7. Religion or belief
8. Sex
9. Sexual orientation
Equality
The Equality and Human Rights Commission defines ‘equality’ as ‘ensuring that every individual has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents, and believing that no one should have poorer life chances because of where, what or whom they were born, or because of other characteristics’
Key Facts – Professionals
Professionals providing this service should be aware of the following:
1.The Human Rights Act 1998, and, where relevant, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, provide the essential
framework for decisions and actions in health and social care
2. Rights can be absolute (such as Article 3 the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) or qualified (such as Article 5, the right to liberty, and Article 8, the right to a private and family life)
3. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and its code of practice provide detailed guidance on human rights for
people who lack mental capacity
4. Any breach of a person’s human rights is a serious matter and all attempts must be made to avoid it or
minimise its extent and effects on the person
Key Facts – People Affected by The Service
People affected by this service should be aware of the following:
1.You, or your relatives, have legal rights under the Human Rights Act 1998 or, where relevant, the Mental
Capacity Act 2005
2.Some rights can never be taken away or lessened; these include a person’s right never to be tortured or
treated in a way that is degrading or inhuman. This is explained in the Human Rights Act, Article 3
3.Some rights can be restricted, but only if it is in your best interests (or those of your relatives or friends
who receive services). These are your rights to liberty (Article 5) and your right to live as you choose,
including your contacts (Article 8)
4.Any inference by a public authority (or anyone commissioned by it) in someone’s rights must be the least restrictive option that can be found and can be challenged in court
Equality And Human Rights Policy Assignment – UK.
Further Reading
As well as the information in the ‘Underpinning Knowledge’ section of the review sheet we recommend that you add to your understanding in this policy area by considering the following materials:
Outstanding Practice
To be ‘Outstanding’ in this policy area you could provide evidence that:
A.The Patient’s rights are always discussed in team meetings and individual supervision, and evidenced by
recording
B.Human rights are central whenever decisions are taken about or for someone lacking capacity to make this decision
C. Staff are trained and can discuss the main human rights that are at risk of being breached
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