Ways to develop equality and diversity in social care.

Equality is the belief that every individual is given access to equal opportunities in their lives, while also acknowledging the discrimination, whether consciously or unconsciously, among people with special characteristics including race, gender, religion and sexual orientation (Understanding Equality | Equality and Human Rights Commission, n.d.).

Diversity on the other hand, is the understanding that every person is unique, and one must acknowledge such rich differences instead of simply tolerating them. Therefore, it is our responsibility to appreciate such diversities and provide a safe and nurturing environment for these individuals.

Undoubtedly, equality and diversity are important aspects of the healthcare system. In order to provide optimal care, one must ensure that every person is receiving similar treatment from the system. As care providers from Virtus care, we must always propagate a fair system within the community and question ourselves, what are our contributions to promote equality to our clients? Or, are we culturally competent enough to provide someone with optimal care?

Equality and diversity in care organizations.

When it comes to Virtus care services, we must ascertain the different ideologies and characteristics of our recipients. These differences can be due to ethnicities, language barriers, religious practices, or disparity within the social hierarchy. Therefore, one must always strive to make sure our care-receivers are comfortable with the services, especially among the marginalized groups who experience dis-empowerment in society.

In the UK, the healthcare system has to abide by the law of equality within the community; under The Equality Act 2010 individual can officially file a tribunal if they experience any form of discrimination within an organization, for example, if an organization neglects to provide services to certain demographics. The law aims to provide protect their constituents who possess special characteristics including age, disability, pregnancy, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

The Care Act 2014 aims to safeguards the rights of people who are physically and mentally vulnerable, it ensures adequate protection of adults who are involved in the working system.

Ways that Virtus care promotes equality and diversity with the system.

Undoubtedly, we know that people with certain demographics and disabilities face a tremendous challenge in the daily working of lives. At one end of the spectrum, they face casual remarks and racial slurs while at the other end they may be a victim to hate crime and brutality. Therefore, to effectively promote this ongoing issue, firstly, our staff are thoroughly appraised through client feedbacks and opinions regarding their treatment. We encourage quality care to our workers, also organizing workshop programs to promote our equal and diverse policies.

• The language barrier is a known issue when caring for different ethnicities, our diverse group of care workers can help to alleviate this physical barrier. Oftentimes we experience individuals in our care settings who are unable to communicate properly, however, we do realize that these individuals are trying hard to ‘assimilate’ in this community. Virtus care workers are trained to be empathic and patient towards them, if a language interpreter is possible, we may even assign one for the care-recipients.

• Cultural competency is defined as being fully educated about the cultural mindset of individuals. This includes acknowledging and respecting their beliefs and ideologies, and to implement care practices accordingly for a more balanced approach.

• We strive to make sure that any sort of discriminatory action is held for accountability, similarly, it is also important to continuously monitor their views within the workplace. Clientele feedback and equality impact self-assessment are some of the measures that we believe can instill positive culture within our workplace.

References:

Kai, J. (2007). Safety and achieving equality amid diversity in health care. The British Journal of General Practice: The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 57(543), 774–776.

Understanding equality | Equality and Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2020, from https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/secondary-education-resources/useful-information/understanding-equality

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