Unit 5 – Meeting Individual Care and Support Needs – 5.1
What is equality and why is it important when caring for individuals with specific needs? (P1+M1)
Equality is the practice of everyone having equal rights, treatment, and opportunities. Everyone
should have equal access to services and equal opportunity to make the most of their lives. Equality is
important when providing health and social care because it promotes anti-discriminatory practice and
makes service users feel valued as individuals.
One way Valerie experiences equality is through receipt of Universal Credit. It would be equal
treatment to give everyone in England Universal Credit, but not everyone needs it. This is the difference
between treating everyone the same, and equality; equality means helping people like Valerie to have equal
availability to a financial situation that enables them to afford their necessities. Since Valerie is unemployed
and is likely struggling to begin employment due to her mental health problems and low self-esteem,
Universal Credit gives her equality to those who are able to work and earn their own income. If equality was
not practised for Valerie and she did not receive Universal Credit, it is likely that she would struggle severely
financially and would not be able to afford her housing or basic essentials like food, meaning she may
become physically unwell due to not receiving the correct nutrients, and her mental health would decline
even further due to stress. This would be a severe outcome for Valerie and would put further pressure on
the services that support her.
For Tremayne, equality can be practised by providing him with a Mental Capacity Advocate. Not
everyone would need an advocate, as many people are able to speak for themselves when discussing their
care, but since Tremayne is autistic, he struggles with communication and may not always be able to assess
his situation and make appropriate choices, which is mentioned in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This
additional support gives him the same opportunity as individuals who are able to communicate and make
decisions effectively on their own. Without this, it is probable that he would find it much harder to access
the services he needs and express his needs and preferences successfully. He might also make choices that
would cause harm to come to him. This can be predicted because he has already attempted to remove his
own cast before his leg had healed, as he does not fully understand the reason why he needs to wear it. The
support of an advocate means Tremayne is able to access the services he needs and get the same chance at
a positive outcome as anyone else.
What is diversity and why is it important when caring for individuals with specific needs? (P1+M1)
Diversity is acceptance and respect for everyone’s differences, for example social and ethnic
backgrounds, gender, or sexuality. Diversity is important because it respects everyone as individuals and
what makes us different. Diversity within society promotes the exchange of ideas, values, and habits,
increases understanding and respect for cultural, religious and moral differences, and a multi-cultural society
reduces the ratio extremity between the majority and minority groups, which can lead to reduced
discrimination.
Valerie’s vegetarianism should be respected while she is in hospital. She should be provided with
vegetarian meals and not expected to eat anything that does not align with this part of her life. This will
make Valerie feel accepted and celebrated as an individual and prevent her personal morals and ethical
boundaries being crossed. Similarly, Tremayne’s wheat allergy should be taken seriously as he will become
very ill if he is given food containing wheat. The hospital should give him food in line with this dietary
requirement. For Tremayne, this will mean his health is protected and it may be a positive start to helping
him learn about his allergy and the importance of observing it when choosing what he eats outside of
hospital. Celebrating diversity means treating people as individuals, which means the care each service user
receives will be different from one another, in line with their personal needs and preferences. This is known
as individualised care.
,What is discrimination and how is it relevant when caring for individuals with specific needs? (P1+M1)
Discrimination is making unjustified distinctions between people based on characteristics such as
their race, age, or gender, and treating them differently based on this. Some service users are at increased
risk of discrimination due to various factors, including if they are vulnerable. The Equality Act protects
individuals from discrimination against nine protected characteristics: disability, race, age, gender
reassignment, sex, marital status or civil partnership, religion, sexuality, pregnancy or maternity. Preventing
discrimination goes hand in hand with equality and is crucial for preventing injustice and intentional
malpractice based on prejudice. When accessing a service, individuals deserve to feel heard and feel that
their wellbeing is genuinely a concern of the practitioner treating them. This is particularly relevant in the UK
due to the NHS being most people’s healthcare provider. When receiving private healthcare, the individual
may feel more confident in the quality of care they receive, as all parties are aware there has been a
financial transaction involved in the service provided, which could incentivise the providers to maintain an
excellent standard of care. When a service has a specific numerical value attached, a service user may feel
more entitled to complain about any issues they experience or any times they feel the treatment they
receive is below standard. Since the treatment individuals receive from the NHS is free, they may feel less
comfortable bringing up concerns or accusing staff of poor practice. The codes of practice given by
professionals’ bodies such as the NMC, GMC, and HCPC give guidelines to their members on ensuring the
service they give promotes equality and diversity and prevents discrimination. Practitioners are also
encouraged to speak up about any poor practice they witness, known as whistleblowing, which further
prevents poor practice by stopping it in its tracks. Preventing discrimination can be achieved by initiatives
such as access, diet, support, and advocacy services.
The teenagers who bully Valerie are discriminating against her for her appearance, as they can see
she is obese and tease her for it. This will make her feel worthless, self-conscious and have low self-image
and self-esteem. It could also cause her to become socially withdrawn if she fears leaving her house in case
she is harassed again. If discrimination were to be prevented and Valerie were not bullied, she would feel
more part of the community, accepted and peaceful. She would feel more comfortable in her living space
and less afraid to go outside. It is also likely her mental health would not suffer as much, and her self-esteem
would be damaged less. This could even be the beginning of more impactful positive outcomes for Valerie
such as gaining the confidence to apply for a job and make some friends in her local community. Presently,
Valerie does not want to return home because of the bullies, so the impact of preventing this type of
discrimination would encourage her to return home where she could have an improved quality of life.
Valerie could also be discriminated against on the grounds that she is a vegetarian. The staff at the hospital
may feel that her choice is unjustified or unnecessary and wish to feed her an omnivorous diet if it is easier
and more convenient for them to do so. This would be unfair discrimination and should be prevented by the
staff providing Valerie with meals that align with her choices. This initiative is diet related. Additionally,
Valerie should have equal access to services, for example she should be able to make an appointment to
have her hearing tested and receive a diagnosis. This is equality, as it gives her the same opportunities for
healthcare as anyone else. By professionals preventing this discrimination, Valerie will feel empowered, and
her health and wellbeing will be promoted. She will feel listened to, valued, and more accepted within
society for who she is and how she chooses to live her life. This may help to counterbalance some of the
negative impacts she will have experienced from being bullied, such as low self-esteem and feelings of
worthlessness.
Tremayne’s autism makes him vulnerable to discrimination. If the staff at the hospital are
condescending or impatient due to his challenging behaviour, particularly if they do not understand his case
or his needs, this would be discriminatory and could make Tremayne feel embarrassed, distressed, or
devalued as a service user. In the long term, this could cause Tremayne to feel apprehensive before
accessing a service and not want to get treated. This would cause negative outcomes for his health, and he
may be left to suffer pain or illness in silence for fear of further maltreatment. Staff working with Tremayne
, should understand his condition and have the appropriate training on communicating with neurodivergent
patients. This would be a step towards preventing discrimination and they would be more likely to treat him
with kindness and patience, which would make him feel comfortable and trusting of the service he is
receiving. Engendering trust is one of the skills needed in health and social care, which will be discussed later
on. The Mental Capacity Advocate that supports Tremayne will help to prevent him being discriminated
against by promoting his rights, needs, choices and preferences, and representing his voice in discussions
about his care. If Tremayne did not receive support from this initiative, he would be more likely to
experience discrimination, as he would be less able to communicate his views himself and the care he
received would be less individualised and less catered to his personal needs. This would result in Tremayne’s
care being of reduced quality and its effects may be less beneficial. By receiving support from the advocate,
Tremayne is able to access the best possible care available and give him the best chance at living a
contented life. Upon having a positive experience at the hospital, Tremayne is more likely to view healthcare
in a positive way and will feel more confident to access this service in the future if he needs to, which will
promote positive outcomes for his health in the future.
What are skills and attributes, and which ones are important when working with individuals with specific
needs? (P2+M2)
A skill is the ability to do something well or be an expert at something. An attribute is the quality or
characteristic that makes an individual who they are. Professionals working with individuals with specific
needs must have the appropriate skills required in order to provide the most effective care for their service
users. The 6 Cs of nursing can give all health and social care professionals, not just nurses, a baseline for the
skills and attributes expected of them in their practice. These are care, compassion, competence,
communication, courage, and commitment, and they were introduced following cases of poor practice at
Mid Staffordshire Hospital Trust and Winterbourne View. Professionals will learn about the required skills
and attributes to work in their field during their training, but they can also refer to the codes of practice
given to them by their governing bodies such as the GMC, NMC and HCPC, which will give them guidelines
on what is expected of them when providing care.
Other skills required are people skills including empathy, patience, engendering trust, flexibility, a
sense of humour, negotiation skills, honesty, and problem-solving skills, and communication skills including
active listening, appropriate tone of voice and use of language, observation skills such as monitoring an
individual’s condition, and dealing with difficult situations. It is important for health and social care
professionals to have a range of skills and attributes because each service user they work with will come
from an incredibly broad range of backgrounds and experiences, each with completely unique personalities
and needs. Having a broad range of skills and attributes enables practitioners to adapt their care to each
individual and their needs. This means each individual is treated as their own person and promotes
individualised care. If professionals only had one or two relevant skills, it would be very difficult for them to
provide appropriate care that is tailored to each service user.
The most important skills when caring for Valerie are compassion and use of appropriate language.
Compassion is important because she has been through some unfortunate and distressing events and staff
will need to be aware of her needs and want to help her. Without it, staff may come across as insensitive
and as if they do not care about the struggles Valerie has faced to get to where she is now, which would
make her feel alone and not cared for. Appropriate language would be important when discussing Valerie’s
obesity, as it is important to use the proper medical terms such as ‘obese’ and referring to her BMI and the
specific health complications that could arise from her obesity. Staff should be sure not to use non-medical
terms to describe her body such as ‘fat’ or make any comments about her aesthetic appearance, as this is
not relevant to her health and to do so would perpetuate stigma surrounding fat bodies and encourage poor
body image for Valerie. She should be encouraged to lose weight only for her physical health, and, if she
