Legislation
AS Promoting quality care
You must know:
1. The key features of each law
2. The strengths and weaknesses of each law
3. How it promotes the rights of the service user and staff
Equality Act 2010
• Make sure all people are treated fairly
• The Equality Act brings together 9 big equality laws and about 100 smaller
laws.
• Bringing these laws together makes it a lot easier for employers and other
people to know what they must do. It will also help everyone understand the
law.
• Act informs public bodies what to do to make equality happen including
buying resources or making reasonable adjustments.
• Makes sure older people are treated fairly
• Fairer wages for men and women. Same wage for same job.
• Employers can use positive action when looking at who they want to employ
to make sure workers are diverse
• Protects carers from being treated unfairly
• Stops disabled people being treated unfairly
• Women can breast feed in public
• Public bodies have to think about how to stop people doing less well because
of their family background
• Protects people with disabilities, different genders, different sexual orientation
and different ethnicity and religions, pregnant women
Human Rights Act 1998
• Set of values. How individuals should act towards one another
(right to life, right to freedom from slavery, right to hold free
elections, right to marry, right to freedom from torture, right
to a public and fair trail and right to freedom of expression,
education, right to protection of property, the abolition of
death penalty)
• Everyone has the rights no matter what ethnicity, gender, age
or class
• Right to seek redress if believe rights been infringed.
• Originates from the European Convention on Human Rights
which was set up during WW2.
• Helps to prevent social exclusion
Mental Health Act 1983
• Sets out how a person with mental health illness can be
treated with their consent
• Gives rights to relatives, social workers and doctors to detain
the person in hospital under their own safety
• Part of the Act makes it compulsory that someone can be held
but permission must be granted from family member, social
workers, doctors, mental health nurse and the police
• The act states if someone is help against their will a second
opinion must be sought from another doctor
• A person can be detained for 28 days against their will and will
then be reviewed
• The act also states that after care must be provide such as
counselling.
Mental Capacity Act 2005
• Supports people who are unable to make decisions for
themselves
• Reasons why you may not be able to make decisions could be
due to a learning disability, Dementia, mental health or a
stroke.
• Every adult must be given all help before treated as though
they are unable to make decisions
• Any decision made for someone must be made in their best
interests
• Courts, public guardian (usually family) and the independent
mental capacity advocate can all make decisions
• The advocate acts on the persons behalf when they lack
capacity and have no one to represent them.
Children Act 1989
• Protect children who are at risk paramouncy principle
• Local authorities (KCC) have a statutory duty to investigate any
reports of child abuse.
• Under the act a child can be made ‘a ward of court’ so it is
protected by court
• Under the act the court can make an order that removes the child
from the family or take other protective action.
• Children have the right to be heard and wishes taken into
consideration
• Support provided to help keep families together
• The PIES needs of the child to be considered when child protection
is being discussed
• Services provided under the act are: social work, housing support,
equipment and adaptations & counselling.
Children Act 2004
• Act updated due to the death of Victoria Climbie.
• Forced services involved in the care of a child to work together
• Every local authority to have a Director of Children’s Services who
will be accountable.
• Information database set up so professionals can share information
easier.
• Local Authorities have to produce plans that take into account
child’s needs.
• Act was developed using ‘The Every Child matters’ paper (health,
safe, enjoy and achieve, positive contribution & achieve economic
and social well being)
Vetting and Barring scheme
• Now replaced in 2012 by the DBS (disclosure and barring
scheme)
• Merged the CRB and Independent safeguarding authority to
make DBS
• Set up to safeguard children and vulnerable adults
• Checks made on everyone who works with children and
vulnerable people.
• Costly to organisations approx £40 per person