Code of Conduct: a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group.
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=code%20of%20conduct Accessed 22 march 2012
The General Medical Council Codes of Conduct sets out a guide for all of its registered members which it expects them to follow as part of their membership. In relation to anti-discriminatory practice the Code of Conduct states that it’s members should act with respect and dignity for others and value diversity. In relation to the health and social care settings this code ensures that its registered members act in a way that make the service user feel that they are being treated as an individual and is having their beliefs and ideals treated with respect.
How does the Lincoln College internal policy on Equality Diversity and Rights Promote anti-discriminatory practice?
Policy: A statement of intent and responsibilities in relation to a specific aspect of practice. A document explaining the expected standards.
BTEC National Health and Social Care, Book One, B.Strech M.Whitehouse 2010
The Lincoln College internal policy on Equality, Diversity and Rights set a non-exhaustive list of the rights and responsibilities of their staff, clients and visitors. This policy intends to outline what their responsibilities are as an employer and a care supplier. Some examples of this are that all staff must use the provided training and development opportunities, that all persons on the campus must challenge discriminatory behavior and that the disciplinary procedure for breaches is clearly defined. In relation to the health and social care setting this policy attempts to remove barriers that could exist between service users and providers. This can be attempted in both an informal sense where the individual is challenged on their behaviour or on a formal layer which could ultimately lead to the dismissal of the individual.
What Can Owners and Managers do to Promote anti-discriminatory practice?
In order to promote good anti-discriminatory practice the managers should lead by example and challenge the behaviour of staff when inappropriate. The managers should also be offering training to teach their staff about anti-discriminatory practice as part of continuous professional development in order to have a competent workforce. The managers should also be providing their staff with an up to date equality diversity and rights policy and they should also make staff aware of the repercussions of breaches of the policy.
What Can Workers and Carers do to Promote anti-discriminatory practice?
Staff should make themselves aware of the relevant policies and procedures to ensure they are acting as expected. Staff should also be ensuring that they engage with the relevant training opportunities that they are provided with. Staff should challenge inappropriate and discriminatory behaviour of co-workers and clients. Where necessary it may be required for the individual to make a formal complaint regarding the issue.
How much influence has The Equality Act 2010 had In relation to anti-discriminatory practice and how much has the act achieved?
The Equality Act 2010 outlines protected characteristics such as race, age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Since this act came into force the pay gap between men and women has slightly closed. This piece of legislation also required all public sector employers to update their policies to reflect the new protected characteristics which will bring a wider scope to anti-discriminatory enforcement so more people will be affected thus making this act more influential than the equality act 2006 that did not contain as many protected characteristics.
As this initiative had only started to come into full force recently its full impact could not be as simply measured as with an older act like the human rights act that has had numerous cases brought forwards to be acted upon. Also as the act mainly focuses internally rather than publicly it could be difficult to compile a completely accurate record of the situations that have been affected by the act
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/news/2011/november/commission-welcomes-new-figures-from-ons-indicating-gender-pay-gap-has-narrowed/ accessed 22/03/2012
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/3/contents accessed 22/03/2012
What are the difficulties that could arise from implementing anti -discriminatory practice and what could be done to overcome these issues?
One difficulty that could arise when attempting to implement anti-discriminatory practise within health and social care setting is some elderly clients may not be able to understand why they are being challenged as when throughout their lives it has been okay to discriminate against certain characteristics such as sex. Also in some religions females are seen as inferior this could also cause gender discrimination issues. As this is their religion it could be problematic to challenge this individual as some people are very protective of their beliefs and even more so when challenged. I way to possibly overcome this is to ensure the client has had the anti-discriminatory policy explained to them.
Another difficulty that could arise when attempting to implement anti-discriminatory practise within health and social care setting is when dealing with young children they would probably not understand the importance of promoting and implementing anti-discriminatory practice. This could be hard to challenge as at a young age children are impressionable and look to their guardians as role models so it may be necessary to challenge the behaviour of the service user’s family and explain the importance of anti-discriminatory practice.
A third difficulty that could arise when attempting to implement anti-discriminatory practise within health and social care setting is with a work force of care providers that possess a different system of value that would lead them to believe that someone who is disabled and wheelchair bound would be unable to do the same job they do. This would be because there value system has taught them this and it could be hard to challenge what they have learned over a long period of time although given the opportunity some people would quickly realise that the person is just as capable at the job and only people that remain hostile should be challenged and possibly reported to their seniors.
