Nurses should support people from different backgrounds, treating them fairly and protecting them from discrimination. Indeed Walsh 1998 goes as far as suggesting that without comprehensive assessment, nursing care is routinised and impersonal. In order to be comprehensive the assessment should be both systematic and continues. It is important for nurses to develop a culture where patient’s privacy and dignity are respected. Measures need to be taken to promote patient dignity on the wards by redesigning hospital gowns, providing a warning system to indicate when a patient is undergoing intimate care, and to involve patients in all aspect of decision making about their care. (Nursing standard January page 5)
Good practice is based on good communication and the establishment of trust between the patient and the health team. Every one has rights even children have rights. It is essential that children and young people are shown that their views are valued and where appropriate, that those values will be treated confidentially, on the same terms as dialogue with other patients.
All patients regardless of their age, status or mental health capacity are to expect that information about themselves provided or discovered in the courses of their health care will not be revealed to others without their consent. Regarding the general duty of confidentiality owed to all patients, the general medical council (GMC) states:
Patients have a right to expect that information about them will be held in confidence by their doctors. Confidentiality is central trust between doctors and patients. Without assurances about confidentiality, patients may be reluctant to give doctors the information they need in order to provide good care.
A fundamental value of the NHS is equity of access to its services. Everybody, irrespective of their gender, age, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, religion or sexuality should have equal access to services, and services should as far as possible, be sensitive to their individual needs. The Health Service is committed to ensuring that its workforce is able to respond fully to the needs of
all its patients. Staff working across the NHS therefore needs to reflect the diverse communities they serve, as this can contribute significantly to ensuring equitable access to, and appropriate and sensitive services.
Elderly people are suffering inequalities, prejudice and discrimination in health care provisions because there are putting pressures on NHS resources due to the complex of mixture of health problems they suffer from. Despite some improvement in the lives of older people many are disadvantaged. Levels of physical impairment are at their highest among older people (hunt 1978). Age concern discovered about 20% of coronary care units operates an age related admissions policy and on average 1000 elderly people die each year because doctors say their age makes it unlikely that they can cope with surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. (Working for equality in health care edited by Paul Bywaters and Eileen McLeod)
With death mainly occurring in elderly patient, nursing staff need to be prepared to identify and support the religious and cultural needs of the patient. Dying patient in their final days can be upsetting; however, ensuring that the older person receives high quality care is very rewarding. Spirituality may be an important aspect of a person’s life or it may be considered unimportant. People have different traditions that should be respected and observed as death approaches. These Traditions can influence the place where the death takes place. People of the Muslim faith who are dying will wish to face Mecca .The bed should be moved facing East towards Mecca .The imam (priest) may come and recite prayers with the family. If families are not available any practicing Muslim can help. Post –mortem examination is not allowed, nor the use of organs for transplant. Female Muslims must not be touched after death by male nurses, and vise versa. Nursing Residential Care, (2006)
A major purpose of reporting these is to ensure that the person needs are meet, during and beyond death. The only way to find out what is wanted from Nurses is to ask the patient or family and not make assumptions. Indeed Hector and Whitefield (1982) goes as far as suggesting that the last few hours of someone’s life can be a memorable experience for his relatives, other patients and the care giver. It is the nurse’s responsibility to make the memory as painless as possible by the care and support they give to the dying patient and to those around him. For the dying patient the nurse have to ensure that their comfort physically, emotionally and spiritually, and to make the end of their patient life peaceful and dignified.
Equality is not a matter that concerns only a minority of us, it should and does concern all of us equality is a fundamental human right. Inequality has the potential to prevent a person participating fully in society as a result, for example, of their gender, religion or sexuality. Unjust treatment can make a person isolated, scared and misunderstood.
Nurses need to reflect the diverse communities they serve, as this can contribute significantly to ensuring equitable access to, and appropriate and sensitive services. For the nurse to be culturally competent they need to be self awareness as a cultural being because culture is the fundamental to the relisation of holistic and individualsed care. Culture as a concept need to be studied formaly understood ,and applied.The role of nurses is to ensure that the health and social needs of diverse group are met. For Nurses to promote equality through practise as Comments of the Equality act ( 2006) insist that health providers should work together with patients in hospital .They should treat them fairly in respect to diversity and cultural diffrences. The most valunerable people in society who are often the least represented ,i.e. the disable. Nurses should ensure that the policies and procedure they currently operate should be compatible with the act.British journal of Nursing (2006).
Nurses need to learn from each other to develop their understanding of Diversity, rights and equality. Diversity, rights and equality are all linked together. Without equality Nurses would be taking ones rights away from them. Fairness and respect are privileges that everyone should enjoy, whoever and where ever they are .As health care professionals it is vital for nurses to be aware of diversity, rights and equality so they can provide good personal care.
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Campinha-Bacote, J., (January 31, 2003)."Many Faces: Addressing Diversity in Health Care" Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, Vol 8 (1) Manuscript 2. Available:
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