LO3 H&S Current Legislation and national initiatives COMPLETE Flashcards
What is Legislation?
Legislation is a collection of laws passed by parliament. These laws state and protect the rights and entitlements of individuals and Organisations.
What is the Care Act 2014?
The Care Act outlines the way in which local authorities should determine who is eligible for support. The act also places new obligations on local authorities
- Duty on local authorities to promote an individual’s wellbeing. The wellbeing principles include: personal dignity, protection from abuse and neglect, physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing etc.
- continuity of care. Must be provided if someone moves from one geographical area to another so there will be no gap in care or support.
- Duty on local authorities to carry out Child’s needs assessements for young people where there is likely to be need for care and support after the age of 18.
- An independent advocate to be available to faciliate the involvement of an adult or carer who is the subject of assessement care or support planning or a review.
- Adult safeguarding. This includes: responsibility for inquiries into cases of abuse and neglect.
- Local authorities have to guarantee preventative services that could help reduce or delay the development of care and support needs, including carer’s support needs.
What is the Health and Social Care Act 2012?
This act is underpinned by 2 main principles first to enable patients have more control over the care they receive and second that those responsible for patient care have the freedom and power to commision care that meets local needs.
Key aspects of the Act include:
- “ No decision about me without me”: Intended to become the guiding principle behind the treatment of patients. Patients will be able to choose their GP, consultant, treatment plans, hospital or other local services. This empowers individuals as they will be consulted and involved in decision making for their care.
- Clinical commissioning groups. GP- led bodies will commission most health services
including primary care services such as GPs, dentists, pharmacists and secondary care services such as those provided by hospitals.
- Health and Wellbeing boards. These boards bring together health and social care commissions, councillors and a lay representative to promote joint working and tackle inequalities in people’s health and wellbeing.
- Public Health. Increased focus on prevention with local councils taking over responsibility for public health services and population health improvement in relation to obesity, vaccinations and so on.
- Healthwatch. An independent service created by the Act which aims to protect all those who use health and social care services. Healthwatch has a role in communicating the views of patients to commissioning bodies and regulators.
What is the Healthwatch?
- Healthwatch. An independent service created by the Act which aims to protect all those who use health and social care services. Healthwatch has a role in communicating the views of patients to commissioning bodies and regulators.
What is the Equality Act/ what do key aspects of the act include?
- Makes direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic illegal.
- prohibits discrimination in education, employment, access to goods or services and housing.
- covers victimisation and harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic.
- Reasonable adjustments have to be made by employers or providers of goods or services for those with disabilities, for example installing a ramp to access a building, providing aids such as computer software to help a woman do their job or providing info in a suitable format.
- Women have the right to breastfeed in public places. It is against the law for a woman to receive unfavourable treatment because she is breastfeeding when receiving services.
- The Act encourages positive action. One form of positive action is encouraging or training people to apply for jobs or take part in an activity in which people with that protected characteristic are under- represented.
- Discrimination due to association is now an offence. This means that there is now protection for the carers of an individual who has a protected characteristic.
- Pay secrecy clauses are now illegal. You cannot be legally prevented from disclosing your income to another person.
What are the 9 protected characteristics?
Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.
What is Capacity?
Capacity is the ability to make a decision. This act is in place to provide a legal framework setting out key principles, procedures and safeguards to protect and empower those who are unable to make some of their own decisions. This could include people with learning disabilities, Dementia,Mental health problems, stroke or head injuries.
How many statutory principles are there in the Mental Capacity Act and what are they?
There are 5 statutory principles:
1) A presumption of capacity: Every adult has the right to make their own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless proved otherwise. A care worker must not assume someone who has a disability is unable to make decisions for themselves.
2) Support to make own decisions: A person must be given all realistic help before anyone treats them as not being able to make their own decisions. This may include presenting info in a different format for those with physical or learning disabilities.
3) Unwise decisions: Just because an individual makes what might be seen as an unwise decision, they should not be treated as lacking the capacity to make that decision. People have the right to make what others may call unwise or eccentric decisions. Everyone has their own preferences, values and beliefs which may not be the same as those of others; they cannot be treated as lacking capacity for thinking differently.
4) Best interests: Action taken or decisions made under the Act on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done in their best interests. Care workers should provide reasons showing the decision they are making is in the individuals’ best interests. They should try to involve the person, or to consider whether the decision could be put off until the person regains capacity.
5) Restrictive options: Anything done for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity should be least restrictive of their basic rights and freedoms. It would be reasonable for a care worker to accompany an individual with learning disabilities who lack capacity on a visit to the shops or to see friends. It would not, however, be reasonable to lock them in their rooms to prevent them from going out. This would be an unacceptable deprivation of liberty.
What do key aspects of the Children Act 2004 include:
- Aims to protect children at risk of harm and to keep them safe. This may involve taking a child from their family using an emergency protection order or care order.
- Paramountcy principle: The child’s needs must come first. For example, taking a child away from their family may affect the adults but may be in the best interests of the child.
- The child has a right to be consulted: The Act gives children who are mature/ old enough a voice; their wishes should be taken into consideration.
- Children have a right to an advocate: Every Child Matters has five aims: staying safe; healthy; enjoying and achieving; making a positive contribution; achieving economic wellbeing. These are universal ambitions for every child and young person; whatever their background or circumstances.
- Encourages partnership working: Practitioners need to ensure info is shared to help avoid miscommunication, particularly in child protection situations.
- Created the Children’s Commissioner: and set up Local Safeguarding Children Boards to represent children’s interests.
What are the 7 principles of the Data Protection Act?
They state that information and data should be:
- processed fairly and lawfully: meaning that information should be collected only with an individuals’ permission. The info should be shared only on a ‘ need to know’ basis.
- Used only for the purposes for which it was intended. Information should be gathered only for a specific and necessary purpose and used only for that purpose.
- Adequate and relevant but not excessive. Care workers should collect and use only information that is needed. For example, a detailed case history would be required by a social worker in order to inform an care plan. The same level of information would not be required by a nurse treating someone who had injured their ankle playing football.
- Accurate and kept- up- date: Inaccurate data should be destroyed or corrected. Care workers have a responsibility to ensure info is correct and systems should be in place for checking accuracy, for instance checking with patients.
- Kept for no longer than is necessary: Delete or destroy information which is no longer needed.
- Processed in line with the rights of the individual: ‘ processed’ means how the information is used. People have a right to know if information is being held about them and how their info is being used. They have the rights to have any errors corrected, and to prevent any data being used for advertising or marketing.
- Secured: Non authorised staff/ people should not be allowed to access the information. The information, for example patient’s records, should be kept in secure conditions. Clear guidelines should be in place for who can access the information and there should be a confidentiality policy.
What does the Children and Families Act include:
It includes reforms for adoption, special educational needs, and children in care.
What is the role of the children’s commissioner?
- The Act has given the commissioner stronger powers.
- The commissioner has to focus on the rights of ALL children, including those in care or who are living away from home.
- The commissioner’s role is increased, from representing ‘ the views and interests’ of children to ‘ promoting and protecting’ the rights of children.
Parents who have a new child:
- Parental leave: mothers, fathers and adopters can opt to share parental leave so each can take time off work when they have a new baby.
- Father’s or a mother’s partner can take unpaid leave to attend up to 2 antenatal appointments.
- Allows both parents to have time off to go the clinic appointments before their baby is born.
- Allows people who are going to adopt a child to have time off work to see the child and go to meetings about adoption.
What do Family Courts and Justice do to help families?
- Introduced a 26- week deadline for the family court to rule on care proceedings.
- In cases where parents are splitting up, the courts should help parents do what is right for their child, not what parents might want.
- Courts are to take the view that after separation both parents should be involved in their child’s lives, if it is safe and in the child’s best interests.
- Introduced a single order called a ‘ child arrangements order’ to replace contact and residence orders.
What did the SEND do?
Children with special educational needs and disabilities:
- Introduced Education and Health Care plans (EHC).
- Children’s needs are assessed in a holistic way with EHC plans.
- Gives rights to a personal budget for children with an EHC plan.
- When writing an EHC plan families have to be involved in discussions and decisions about children’s care and education.
- Young people and parents must be informed by the local authority of support they are entitled to so they are aware of the options available.
- Schools to be provided with more support for children with medical conditions in order to meet their needs. This extends the choice for children to attend mainstream schools if they choose to.
- The Act aims to get education, health care and social care services working together.
The Human Rights Act 1998- What are public authorities?
Public authorities are organisations that have an public function. Eg. all kinds of care homes, hospitals and social services departments. Through a series of ‘ articles’ the Act sets out rights to which everyone is entitled.
