Describe TWO pieces of legislation, ONE code of practice and TWO policies that should be used to promote equality of opportunity at Queenslands.LEGISLATION NUMBER 1:Since Queenslands is a residential home, housing people with learning difficulties

University Degree Subjects allied to Medicine

Working to quality practice in care settings:

TASK 4: Examining legislation, policies, codes of practice and routes of redress.

Assessment Objectives 4 and 5

_______________________

Describe TWO pieces of legislation, ONE code of practice and TWO policies that should be used to promote equality of opportunity at Queenslands.

LEGISLATION NUMBER 1:

Since Queenslands is a residential home, housing people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities it seems reasonable to describe the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 firstly, as this affects: -

Employers and service providers - i.e. Rose Wallace and staff
Disabled people - i.e. Roger Campbell and the other residents
Landlords and others who are letting or selling property - i.e. the owner of Queenslands

This Act introduces new laws that are aimed at ending prejudice and discrimination against disabled people. It covers: -

Employment

Where the act makes it unlawful for employers to treat disabled people less favourably than others. This includes matters of recruitment, training, promotion and dismissal.

Access to goods, facilities and services

It is against the law to refuse a service to any person for any reason relating to disability.

Buying or renting land or property

It is unlawful for landlords and others who are responsible for selling or letting property to discriminate against a disabled person.

Education

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2000 (SENDA) is the part of the DDA that relates to education. Here, all educational authorities are required to provide user friendly adjustments to services (teaching, catering, facilities, trips etc.), so that all areas are accessible to everyone.

Transport

The Act allows the government to set minimum standards so that disabled people can use public transport easily.

LEGISLATION NUMBER 2:

Since male care workers are not encouraged to work at Queenslands because they are accused here of being ‘less capable of caring’ it is, in my opinion appropriate to mention the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) as my second equal opportunities legislation. This Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex or marital status in the areas of:-

Employment

Includes selection processes, the terms on which a job

is offered, choosing a successful applicant, opportunities in promotion, transfers or training, benefits granted by the employer, dismissals, disciplinary hearings or other unfair treatment of employees.

Training and education

Includes the treatment and admittance of students.

The provision of goods, facilities and services

Whether for payment or not, services which are offered to the public are to be provided on the same basis for both sexes. Examples of such services are: leisure and transport facilities, banking, personal and household services etc.

The Act provides for exceptions, but unless a relevant exception to the requirements of the SDA can be used, facilities and services should be open to both sexes in the same way.

Discrimination can be against both men and women, and also married people. The Act identified two forms of discrimination:-

Direct

Direct sex discrimination is less favourable treatment of a woman than a man (or vice versa) because of her sex.

For instance, when a man or woman is refused a job on the basis of their gender (as would definitely happen to any male applying for a vacancy at Queenslands).

It is also unlawful to advertise a job as being for ‘men only’ (or vice versa) or turn down a woman because she is married and may have children.

Indirect

Indirect sex discrimination occurs when a condition or requirement is applied equally to both women and men but, ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Direct

Direct sex discrimination is less favourable treatment of a woman than a man (or vice versa) because of her sex.

For instance, when a man or woman is refused a job on the basis of their gender (as would definitely happen to any male applying for a vacancy at Queenslands).

It is also unlawful to advertise a job as being for ‘men only’ (or vice versa) or turn down a woman because she is married and may have children.

Indirect

Indirect sex discrimination occurs when a condition or requirement is applied equally to both women and men but, in fact, it affects more women than men (or vice versa) and is not justifiable on objective grounds unrelated to sex.

CODE OF PRACTICE:

A code of Practice is a list of rules established by regulatory bodies or trade associations, which are intended as a guide to acceptable behaviour from each individual care worker.

Together the Government and organisations that support equality of opportunity have produced a number of Codes of Practice, explaining legal rights and requirements. These Codes are a practical guidance, particularly for service users, employers, service providers and educational institutions - rather than definitive statements of the law.

Although the primary responsibility to ensure there is no unlawful discrimination rests with the employer of any organisation, each individual employee at all levels (in our case the care workers at Queenslands) has a responsibility to self-regulatory compliance with a good code of practice. As a care worker, you are personally accountable for your practice.

EXAMPLE - CODE OF PRACTICE: (NMC)

In caring for service users you must:

Respect the service user as an individual

Irrespective of gender, age, race, ability, sexuality, economic status, lifestyle, culture and religious or political beliefs

Obtain consent before you give any treatment or care

You must respect service users’ autonomy. When obtaining valid consent, you must be sure that it is:

given by a legally competent person
given voluntarily
Informed.

Protect confidential information

You must treat information about service users as confidential and use it only for the purposes for which it was given.

Co-operate with others in the team

This includes the service user and their family as well as work colleagues. Treat people with fairness and respect in an anti-discriminatory manner.

Maintain your professional knowledge and competence

You have a responsibility to regularly take part in learning activities that develop your competence and performance. Knowledge, skills and abilities are required for lawful, safe and effective practice without direct supervision.

Be trustworthy

Act respectfully and never abuse your position.

Act to identify and minimise risk to service users.

You must work alongside other members of the team to promote health care environments that are conducive to safe, therapeutic and ethical practice. Be aware of the terms of legislation that offer protection for people who raise concerns about health and safety issues.

POLICY NUMBER 1:

Care settings have a responsibility under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Equal Pay (Amendment) Act 1983, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to provide an Equal Opportunities Policy.

Equal opportunity Policies are put in place to maintain the best of standards in the work place, so that all members (service users, employees and employment applicants) are treated equally irrespective of race, sex, sexual orientation, trade union membership (or non-membership), religion, social class, disability, age, marital status or ethnic origin.

The policy will state that the organisation opposes all forms of discrimination, victimisation or harassment so will be aiming to banish any negative forms within.

It will aim to empower all members involved in the organisation by providing equality of opportunity through offering the same rights and choices irrespectively and will seek to fulfil its commitments by recognising the expertise, abilities and needs of every individual and by acknowledging the right to dignity and respect of every human being.

To ensure that the policy is operating effectively ongoing monitoring and regular reviews will be necessary. This will involve all members’ views and opinions, especially that of the service user. Here, any adjustments can be made or gaps filled where necessary.

POLICY NUMBER 2:

During my research I came across a ‘whistle blowing policy’ which I think is very relevant and necessary to any care setting as vulnerable individuals are being cared for and should never be subjected to any unnecessary harm or unfairness.

The policy encourages any member of staff with a particular concern regarding malpractice at work to raise this with managers or specialist staff.

Concerns may include:

Cases of malpractice, negligence, unprofessional or unethical behaviour
Conduct which is against the law, a miscarriage of justice, or fails to meet a legal obligation
Financial irregularities, including fraud, corruption or unauthorised use of public funds
Failure to observe health and safety regulations, or action which involves risks to the public or other employees
Sexual, racial, physical or other abuse of patients or other staff
Concealment of any of the above

Care settings face the risk that something can go seriously wrong. Whenever such a risk arises, the first people to know about it will usually be those who work in or with the organisation. Yet while employees are the people best placed to raise the concern and so enable the risk to be removed or reduced, they are also the people who have the most to lose if they do. It is vital for effective risk management that employees are confident that they can raise their concerns with their employer without suffering any detriment. Without this confidence, employees may stay silent where there is a threat, even a serious one. Such silence denies organisations a fail-safe opportunity to deal with a serious problem before it causes real damage. The cost of such a missed opportunity can be huge - fines, compensation, higher insurance premiums, damaged reputation, regulatory investigation, lost jobs, and even lost lives.

A positive whistle blowing policy has numerous advantages, such as:-

Detecting and deterring wrongdoing
Acting as an early warning system that warns employers of the above concerns
Informing managers of details needed to make decisions and control risk
Demonstrating to all members involved that you are serious about providing good care and employment
Reducing the chance of anonymous or malicious leaks (including to the media)
Reduces the chance of legal claims against your organisation.

The policy must state that the organisation will not tolerate the victimisation of any care worker who raises concerns.

A full and thorough procedure should be detailed in the policy informing the complainant of the course to follow in case of concern and who to contact if the problem can not be resolved informally by management.

How do the national codes of practice guide care workers such as those at Queenslands in their professional role when working in residential care settings?

Codes of practice guide all care workers through their role as a professional carer as they go about their daily work. The intention is to confirm the standards required and ensure that care workers know what standards of conduct employers, colleagues, service users, carers and the public expect of them.

They give the care worker a clear guide about the standards of conduct they are expected to meet. With this knowledge and awareness, the care worker can adapt and improve themselves to ensure all service users are getting the quality care that they deserve.

The codes are intended to reflect existing good practice and it is anticipated that workers and employers will recognise in the codes the shared standards to which they already aspire.

Governing bodies will take account of standards set in the National codes of practice when considering issues of misconduct and decisions as to whether a registered worker should remain on the register, which will hopefully act as a deterrent to any misconduct.

What are the main features of an effective complaints procedure and how should it be applied at Queenslands?

Complaints procedures aim to provide a way to make sure that people don’t become powerless and helpless.

A good Complaints Procedure involves the assurance of a consistent and appropriate approach to the handling of complaints within care settings. Anyone should be able to make a complaint secure in the knowledge that it will be handled fairly, without fear of recrimination, and that they will receive an explanation within a set period of time, an apology if appropriate and information about any action taken or planned.

For a complaints procedure to be effective and work for the service user it needs to:

• be easy for complainants to access
• resolve complaints quickly and efficiently
• be an open and clear process, which is independent where appropriate
• be responsive to the outcome of complaints so effective improvements are made as a result.

What is the care worker’s role at Queenslands in supporting a service user in accessing a complaints procedure?

The service user and/or relevant family needs to be made aware from the onset of care that there is a complaints procedure in place in case of any problems that may arise. The complaints procedure should also be displayed to remind service users that they are not to be repressed and that their feelings matter and that there are means of redress in case of any problems.

The role of the care worker is to provide the service user with unbiased, supportive information.

The first stage of most complaints would be a problem solving stage where the members involved attempt to resolve the issue in an informal manner. Here is the best place to solve any problems and the care worker must follow the complaints procedure and never victimise the complainant, they may need to detach themselves from personal feelings if, for instance a close work colleague is the source of frustration to the complainant. The care worker must act professionally at all times. Sometimes the complainant may be satisfied with acknowledgement and an apology.

If the problem does not get solved during the first stage, complaints become formally registered and a person is appointed to investigate the issues. The care workers in Queenslands need to stay supportive during this period, offering assistance and advice where necessary.

Give examples of how organisations could offer support and guidance when seeking redress for both service users and care workers at Queenslands.

The organisation in which a care worker is employed should have a policy concerned with complaint procedures which should be made easily accessible to all. It is always better to deal with a problem informally and as soon as possible. However, if the problem cannot be solved informally and it relates to employment, the procedure will guide care workers through the formal complaint process. The afore mentioned policy should include details of appropriate organisations and independent bodies that can be contacted including the EOC, CRE, DRC, Citizens Advice Bureau, ombudsman, Trade Unions etc. These details should be listed in order of relevance and appropriateness.

There are many options that organisations can offer in assistance:-

Simple, easy to follow instructions should be issued upon the onset of employment or when service users enter the care of Queenslands in the form of a welcome pack.
Company websites could be provided with easy to follow instructions on making a complaint.
A helpline could be provided where possible with professional, caring, well trained advisers.
Relevant others could be employed to deal specifically with such issues, such as a mentor, advocate or councillor.
There are other companies that specialise in and support organisations in employing a good complaints procedure, these should be utilised where possible. Such companies can well educate organisations on the importance of compliments and complaints.