AO2 - Identify the possible effects of national policies and legislation on care practice and provision
Changes in policies and legislation
Policies and legislations are laws and governed rules put into place to protect people and things. Policies are a set of principles, rules and guidelines formulated or adopted by an organisation to reach its long term goals and are typically published in a booklet or another form with is widely accessible. Every business and child care has to have policies in place to protect their service users and others. It is a legal requirement to have policies in place and that they are followed. Legislation is a law which is set and suggested by the government and is made official by a parliament. This means that it is a legal requirement to do as the legislation says and if it is breached, there will be severe consequences like imprisonment. Polices and legislation are in place to ensure standard and good care is provided for the service users and others. If there were no rules and legislation in place, anyone could od anything. For example, if you get hurt in work, there is the Safety at Work Act which covers any cost for treatment you need or compensation. However, if that legislation was not in place, you wouldn’t get anything but your injury.
There have been some changes in legislation over the years and these changes are essential in order for the legislation to be as updated as it can be which would ensure the legislation works. I have looked at some general legislation which have had changes made to them over the past 5 years and have found out that the Children and Young Person Act in 1933 has been updated as well as the Family Reform Act 1969. Updates to legislation are important to keep t\up to date and to ensure necessary changes are made to protect people.
The smoking ban was imposed in the UK for people who smoke. The ban was made to stop people from smoking in public places and where other non-smokers would be. The legislation meant people who were caught smoking would have to face a fine. Employees at a company would also have to be told not to smoke, and if not the company itself would receive a larger fine. The Act was made in 2007 and has been reviewed and schemes such as campaigns have been made to help smokers to quit smoking. The importance of this Act is to protect those people who don’t smoke in particular as even if they don’t smoke, they breathe in second hand smoke which is of others who do smoke. Banning smoking in public p-laces will ensure they are healthy. Banning smoking in public places will also make smokers more inclined to quit smoking and this leads to them being healthier and it also saves the NHS money if people are going in for smoking related problems like chronic heart disease. The downfall of this act however, is the way in which it is implemented out. There are no set rules and even if people know they should stop smoking, not many people take notice as smoking has turned into a normal thing. This legislation is not that effective thus, only if there were appointed people to stop people smoking in public places, I don’t think people will stop smoking.
The Mental Capacity Act was put into place to support and aid those individuals who had a mental health condition. The Act help’s people make their own decisions. The Act was introduced in 2007 which enabled some individuals to make their own decisions if they could. The act was introduced and put into place when care providers noticed that people with certain mental incapacities were treated differently and were more likely to have decisions made for them. This act gave people a voice to speak out. It’s important to update this legislation in order to keep up to date with new issues and problems. There have been important updates to the act such as for those who have no family and friends and need support in making decisions. This Act had another pieces of legislation along with it to support it called the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate which was also realised in 2007. It is important to update the Mental Capacity Act to ensure if new practice are made the Act still benefit and helps the interests of an individual.
The Care Act is an act which put together everything which is about social care all into one act. This makes it simpler to refer to. Also the act looks at updating and modernising any existing acts or putting new ones into place. This act tells councils across England what they need to do to support someone if they have social care needs. The act supports adults who need support and additional help. Changes to this act have occurred when there are a lot of other legislation and policies in place which all are similar in ways and they just need to be brought together so it’s easier to acknowledge what the act is. The social care bill is used to reform the law relating to the care and support for adults. The bill supports carers. The bill also safeguards vulnerable adults particularly with social care needs from abuse and neglect. The downfall’s of this act is possible the fact it is quite large and not every sections and policy can be regulated for every health service or those that provide care. The Act, although prevents the abuse and neglect of service users, does not deter the possibilities. There have still been many cases related to the abuse and neglect of adults with social care needs. It’s important therefore to update the act to make sure every are is covered and to ensure all health care providers are up to date with the act and abide by its policies and regulations.