Jenny Rimmer
Edexcel Level 3 Diploma in Health & Social Care
Unit Two: Equality, Diversity & Rights in Health & Social Care
Task 1

In this assignment I am going to explain the different rights of service users in health and social care environments.

We all have basic human rights no matter what service we are using and everybody has a responsibility to respect other people’s human rights as stated in The Human Rights Act 2000. It is important that the rights of individuals are understood and catered for in health and social care environments and that service users can be cared for in a way that meet their needs, takes into account their choice and protects them. Many service users will be in a situation where they are vulnerable and their freedom and independence is minimal maybe because they are unwell, distressed, have a physical or mental health concern and many decisions will be made on their behalf and it is for this reason that care workers must promote and support service users’ rights wherever possible.
Rights are something that people can claim they are entitled to and if they feel that their rights have been breached or not supported then they can achieve justice through law such as, court action or claiming compensation. Rights affect an individual’s day to day life by what they can say or do, their beliefs and other freedoms.

The right to Choice
It is a service users right to make their own choices about the care they receive in any care setting. Care workers should promote service users rights to exercise choice and provide opportunities for them to select from a range of options in all aspects in their lives. They could do this by: listening to the views of service users so that informed choices can be made about their care, treatment and support in their activities of daily living such as providing meals which enable service users to decide for themselves what food and drink they would like to consume. By offering a range of different activities which suit the service users’ needs and letting them decide what they would like to do and enable the service users to manage their own time and not be dictated to by set timetables. A service users right to choice also includes the right to choose a GP surgery and which GP they would like to see and to choose which hospital they’re treated at. The department of health states that the only time service users will not be able to make this choice is if they are: a prisoner, a serving member of the armed forces or detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. If a service user does not have the capability of making choices for themselves they can have somebody to make these decisions for them called a power of attorney. This could be a family member, friend or professional person such as a solicitor. The power of attorney will have to make decisions on choices that are in the service users best interests help the service user to take part in the process as much as possible and must take into account the service users wishes, beliefs and feelings. By giving service users the right to choice it will help them feel in control and empower them to make their own decisions in the future.

The right to be treated fairly and as an individual
It is a service users right to be treated fairly and equally and not be discriminated against because of their differences in society covered by The Equality Act 2010. Care workers should recognise service users’ diverse needs and respond positively to them. Service users could be discriminated against because of their gender, social class, race, disability, family structure, religion, ethnicity and geographical location. An example of discrimination could be: that because a service user speaks a different language that their opinions and choices don’t get asked because care workers can’t understand them, this would be discrimination and the service user may feel like they are being ignored, lonely and upset. It could also lead them to be