Promoting Equality and Diversity within Healthcare - Exploring Individual Rights and Legislation

Individual Rights in Healthcare Settings

Explain How Equality And Diversity Can Be Promoted Within Health Care.

Explain How Prejudice And Discrimination May Lead To The Disempowerment Of Individuals

Discuss Individual Rights Within Health Care Settings And How These Maylmay Not Be Met

Identify Some Equality And Diversity Legislation In Healthcare And Describe One Example In Detail.

Health is a fundamental right for everyone. Health right is internationally recognized by the WHO as a Human Right. According to UK constitution, everyone has right to life, right to liberty, right not to be discriminated, right not to be tortured or treated in an inhuman or humiliating way and the right to respect for personal and family life under the ‘Human rights Act 1998’ (legislation.gov.uk, 2020). 'Individual rights' inpatient care provides a guideline to the applications of human rights principles during the treatment. Under the individual rights in healthcare sector refers that every human being has the right to get the physical and mental health including medical services, adequate food and nutrition, sanitation, hygiene housing, healthy working settings, and hygiene and clean environment (WHO, 2017).

The concept of human rights in healthcare discusses the interpersonal relationship between patients and healthcare providers like doctors and nurses. These rights protect patients against various discrimination and social exclusion that may trigger abuse against patients. Sometimes this issue becomes critical due to biased behavior of health care providers for HIV patients, ethnic minorities group patients, drug-addicted patients, and sex workers (Cohen & Ezer, 2013).   

Human rights give provision to protect your life against anything. In medical health settings, service providers supposed to take appropriate and adequate measures to safeguard an individual's health regardless of any discrimination. The right not to be treated in an inhuman, tortured or degrading way is rights that ensure human dignity and prohibition against torture during treatment and curative methods. Under this right, service providers like nurses are not allowed to give treatment if the patient denied taking certain treatment (Hayden, 2012). Besides, healthcare providers are not allowed to keep a patient in the hospital against patients' wish, unless any serious mental issue that may lead to risk on patients and other people's life. In the healthcare setting with the patients, his/her family also has the right to respect. Family or closes related of patients are allowed to visit to the patients and meet the patient with following certain rules and policies abided by the healthcare provider. In the healthcare setting patients also allowed knowing all his condition, disease and treatment and consequences under the right of information (Arulkumaran, 2017).

Impact of Prejudice and Discrimination in Healthcare Settings

Although all rights are abided by legal laws, yet being a nurse, I observed that individuals feel the violation of these rights in health settings. For example, the right to family to be respected may create an ethical dilemma for a service provider. In case, where patients are required to adequate rest, but closes relative of the patients comes to meet the patient, which may disturb to rest or sleeping pattern of the patient which may adversely effect on patient's treatment process (Essex, 2019). In such cases, nurses face an ethical dilemma, whether the relatives should be allowed to visit the patient or not. Or, sometimes patient does not want to stay in hospital in spite of critical condition of the patients. Being a nurse professional I found difficulty in such situation. Letting the patient go may risk on the patient’s life, but we con not force to the patients to stay in hospital against his/her wishes as per patient’s rights.

In the above chapter, we had discussed that there are certain health inequalities in the healthcare setting of the country. People in the country face description and biased behavior in the health care sectors of the country. People from different ethnic groups, poor socio-economic background, race, sex workers, drug-addicted patients, and HIP patients are most prone to being abused and face health inequality in the healthcare sector of the country. According to statistics, there are huge gaps in life expectancy based on various determents. There are 9 years gap in life expectancy between most deprived and developed and rich areas and 7 years gaps male and female life expectancy. These statics indicates health inequalities based on gender, economic status, and other determents (Connolly et al., 2017 ).  

Therefore there are certain laws that have been implemented by the government of the country against discrimination and to accept diversity in the country (Public Health England, 2018).

Human rights act ensures the fundamental rights of people in the country. Under this act people are provided to rights to life, liberty, and right to respect for personal and family life. People of the country also have the right not to be treated in an inhuman, tortured or humiliating way and the right not to be discriminated. This act empowers people of the country to take action against the public body on the violation of their rights (Department of Health, 2020).

The Equality Act 2010 protects people who need healthcare and healthcare providers, against discrimination. This Act ensures equality, diversity and fundamental rights of people in the country. This act protects for direct discrimination and harassment based on age, gender, race or ethnicity, religion sexual orientation, physical and mental disability and health conditions of people in the country. This act also protects against indirect discrimination by imposing any requirement on people and groups of people equally. This act enforces powers to the 'Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)' which is an independent body that has the right to take legal action violation of this act (NHS, 2020).   

Equality and Diversity Legislation in Healthcare

The health and social care act 2012 emphasizes the restructuring of the National Health Service to struggle against inequalities issues in healthcare settings of the country. The act gives legal powers to the department of health and the National Health Service (NHS) to prevent and reduce inequalities in the healthcare sector of the country. The major challenges facing by the NHS and the Department of Health of the country is inequality with HIV patients, sex workers, patients belong to certain ethnic groups and patients and mental health issuers. Patients and their families are being discriminated and face harassment on these factors. This act provides strong protection against these health inequalities in the country (Legislation.gov.uk, 2020).

Example of health inequality: After the recession of 2008, it has been found that mental health and self-harm issues have been increased rapidly in most deprived areas of the country. Because these deprived areas have social and economic inequalities that are directly affecting to health issues of the people. Besides, these areas also have a significant lack of Healthcare providers which also increases the gaps in health inequalities in the countries (Langthorne & Bambra, 2019). Although, the health and social care act 2012 and The Equality Act 2010 provides equal opportunities for all people to get health and safety. Yet derived areas of the country face such inequality issues due to unwillingness of healthcare providers to visit and stay in these areas.

Arulkumaran, S., 2017. Health and Human Rights. SMJ, 58(1), pp.4-13.

Cohen, J. & Ezer, T., 2013. Human rights in patient care: A theoretical and practical framework. [Online] Available at: https://www.hhrjournal.org/2013/12/human-rights-in-patient-care-a-theoretical-and-practical-framework/ [Accessed 28 January 2020].

Connolly, M.A., Baker, A. & Fellows, C., 2017. Understanding health inequalities in England. [Online] Available at: https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2017/07/13/understanding-health-inequalities-in-england/ [Accessed 28 January 2020].

Department of Health, 2020. The Human Rights Act 1998. [Online] Available at: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/human-rights-act-1998 [Accessed 28 January 2020].

Essex, R., 2019. How should the health-care community respond to human rights violations? The Lancet, 394(10192), p.26.

Hayden, P., 2012. The human right to health and the struggle for recognition. Review of International Studies, 38(3), pp.569-88.

Langthorne, M. & Bambra, C., 2019. Health inequalities in the Great Depression: a case study of Stockton on Tees, North-East England in the 1930s. Journal of Public Health, pp.1-8.

Legislation.gov.uk, 2020. Health and Social Care Act 2012. [Online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/7/contents/enacted [Accessed 28 January 2020].

legislation.gov.uk, 2020. Human Rights Act 1998. [Online] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/section/1 [Accessed 28 January 2020].

NHS, 2020. Equality and diversity. [Online] Available at: https://www.humber.nhs.uk/about-our-trust/equality-and-diversity.htm [Accessed 28 January 2020].

Public Health England, 2018. Chapter 5: inequalities in health. [Online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-profile-for-england-2018/chapter-5-inequalities-in-health [Accessed 28 January 2019].

WHO, 2017. Human rights and health. [Online] Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human-rights-and-health [Accessed 28 January 2020].