Equal Opportunities to disabled individuals and its implications to the health and social care sector
People with disabilities in various parts of the world have been clamouring for equal opportunities over the past years. These people demand opportunities and empowerment in different sectors of the society. Over the past decades the British government has been finding ways to curb inequality and discrimination against disabled individuals. The government of UK passed legislations in order to address the issues regarding discrimination against disabled individuals and promote equality and empowerment.
According to (2007) for the past decade the British society have noticed major changes in the opportunities and rights of disabled individuals and the government have laid out concrete foundations wherein new agenda for attaining the goal of the British society in which all disabled people could participate in the society without the fear of being discriminated. But despite of the struggles of the people with disabilities and the advocates, the inequalities in British society still exist. A number of disabled people in Britain are denied and do not have access to the basic services of the government due to the widespread poverty.
As mentioned earlier, the government of Britain have passed legislations in order to help disabled individuals and address their needs in the society. One of the legislations passed is the Disability Discrimination Act. According to (2007) the act was introduced in the year 1996 and consequently the requirements of the act have been changing. In 1996 the act states that service providers may be deem unlawful if the disabled individuals are treated less favourably because of their condition. In1999, the act was again revised and service providers must make adjustments for disabled individuals such as giving additional help and make changes in the way they give services. And in 2004 the service providers must make reasonable changes in their premises in order to help the individuals overcome the physical barriers.
However, disabled individuals continue to face organisational, physical and social hindrances that make it harder for them to participate in the activities of the society. One of the examples is the involuntary placement of disabled individuals in institutions. Moreover, disabled individuals are put in separate places for education and work. According to (2005) the separation of disabled people from the non-disabled ones has come to the expense of preventing the disabled to develop relationships and participate in the activities of the community. And because of separation disabled individuals became invisible in the society, thus it contributes to the poor understanding and relationship of non-disabled people.
(2003) pointed out that the infrastructure in Britain such as housing and the transport system is still limited to the use of non-disabled individuals. Moreover, (2004) discussed that a number of public services are not providing sufficient services to disabled individuals. Not only the disabled individuals, their family members and friends, and advocates have the role of asking for empowerment and equal opportunities but the whole society. Unless the whole British society accepts the fact that disabled individuals must be included as a full functioning member of the society, calls of disabled individuals will falter. Equality rests in all individuals that enjoy the same rights and freedoms provided by the government.
(2007) discussed the ten priorities for change in the society that would benefit the disabled individuals and these are:
- Increase the active participation of disabled individuals in the public, community and civic life.
- Close the gap in employment which includes successful outcome of the welfare reform for disabled individuals.
- Assuring the disabled people and their family that they are not required to live in an institution against their will.
- Securing the rights of disabled individuals wherein it facilitates independent living.
- Develop safe communities and prevent harassment and bullying disabled individuals.
- The rights of disabled individuals in housing, employment opportunities and working conditions must be enhanced by the government.
- Improving the personal and vocational skills of disabled individuals.
- The government must also tackle inequalities in health.
- Assure disabled individuals that the legal as well as institutional arrangements that promote equality and human rights are well designed and adequate enough to secure their rights.
For the past years, the government and the society have managed to create a society wherein disabled individuals are given opportunities. The development of direct payments for individualised budgets wherein the main purpose is to give disabled individuals the control over their finances have transformed the lives of some disabled people because they now have the right to manage their money. Moreover, the Mental Capacity Act of 2005 and the Scottish Adults with Incapacity Act of 2000 have also provided rights for disabled individuals to make decisions and have access to more information. Because of the acts passed by the British government a number of disabled individuals have control over their lives and are now able realise their full potential through participation in the activities of the community.
One of the movements in Britain that seeks independence for dibbled individuals is the independent living movement. The group seeks to reshape the objectives and delivery of the services like health and social welfare by redefining the meaning of independence in the context of disabled people. Independence according to (2002) states that individuals need assistance and support from other people in some point of their lives, but despite the fact that individuals have the opportunity to control and manage their lives assistance is still given in ways that are consistent with their ambitions and aspiration in lives, and the assistance that they receive from other people can no longer be labelled as dependence, instead it means that the people around the individuals promotes independence. Taking control and managing ones lives is regarded as a sign of active participation in the society. In the case of disabled individuals most of them have been cast as people that need the sponsorship of the government. For disabled individuals living independently means playing an active role in the society as well as giving support to the people around them and the authorities.
However, there are still barriers in the society that disabled individuals must overcome in order to take full control of their lives. One of the barriers is the culture of risk aversion wherein it has a huge influence on the practices, policies and the culture of the social care. Risk aversion restricts the opportunities for disabled individuals and limits their decisions regarding how they will ran their own lives. The social care sector avoids risks associated with disabled individuals for fear that if something bad happens the service provider will be liable and accountable. If the sector of social services continues to exercise that type of care to disabled individuals they deny them of independence because they do not allow them to take risks in their lives.
Aside from the culture of risk aversion, the English common law also limits the independence of disabled individuals. The law states that the best interests of an individual must be taken into account. However in some cases it denies some rights of disabled people such as the right of an individual with learning disability to bring up children.
A number of people have argued that disable people cannot make responsible decisions because disabled individuals need help in small decisions such as navigating complex areas. The passage of the Mental Capacity Act of 2005 extends the rights of disabled people to make decisions in their lives. However, the act has its loopholes because the Mental Capacity Act did not come with an efficient package of services that seek to support the disabled individuals with regards to their decision making which leaves them without the adequate support in decision making and managing their own lives.
Lastly, the government does not have adequate funds for services to disabled individuals. The government regards expenditure to services and financial aids to disabled individuals as a means of promoting dependence.
Letting disabled individuals to live independently is a good model for giving assistance to disabled people. Through independent living the disabled individuals could actively participate in the community and could help organise their lives.
The workplace is usually the area wherein inequalities exist. In the study of (2004) it revealed that smaller workplaces, workplaces without human resource, and private sectors have the tendency to have an empty shell policy regarding equal opportunities to all workers, while workplaces that have unions are more likely to have formal policies.
A society wherein disabled individuals have equal opportunities needs disabled people to actively participate in the activities in the society may it be national or local. Despite their condition, disabled people and their organisations has a huge influence in the society. Like in the case of the passage of the Disability Discrimination Act without the persistence and continues campaign of disabled individuals it would not be legislated.
One of the great examples of government that supports disabled individuals is the Government of Westminster wherein they give a huge emphasis on the involvement of disabled individuals in the development and delivery of policies and practices to the public. Involvement of disabled individuals in the community gives them chances to obtain information and new skills and develop relationships and even improve their self-esteem. Right now wherein the economy and society become more competitive improving the skills of the people is very important. In order to have the opportunities, individuals whether disabled or not must optimise and maximise their skills and competencies. The society in general often overlooked the fact that disabled individuals have a set of skills, experiences and competencies that could be helpful to the economy. Most disabled individuals have detailed knowledge and idea regarding the social welfare and practice, as well as, expertise in making the services more accessible to people, particularly disabled ones. The British government must develop organisations that will help disabled individuals equip the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with the challenges in the society. Assuring the disabled people that they have a voice in things that may affect their lives is a key in developing independence.
Disabled individuals are one of the sectors of the society that is often times overlooked. Most of the time they are faced with challenges in the society such unequal opportunities in work, education and participation in the society, in order to remove if not reduce inequalities in the society, the people as well as the government must work hand in hand. Empowering the disabled individuals through letting them handle and manage their lives is one step to curb inequalities in the society.
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