Adult Law in Social Work - Report Example

Adult Law in Social Work Introduction The equality Act identifies a person with disabilities as a person with physical or mental impairments that makes it impossible to perform day-to-day tasks in the long-term (HSE, web). The inability to carry out day-to-day activities implies that disabled people rely on assistance from other able persons. Disabilities are long-term conditions implying that persons with disabilities live with the condition for a minimum of one year. Being a long-term condition also implies that disabilities can be a lifelong condition. Mrs. Lambat has physical impairments resulting from repeated stroke attacks and hence she is a disabled person according to the Act. Mrs. Lambat is currently depending on her daughters for her day-to-day requirements. However, her daughters intend to return to their homes and workplace soon. The daughters together with their mother’s doctor have made a plan to take her to a referral center without her knowledge. This easy will therefore examine an adult case of Mrs. Lambat from the perspective of a local authority social worker. The essay will also consider laws policies and statutory guidance in the given case with relation to disabled people. Through this case, the essay will analyze the dilemma faced by social workers in similar scenarios. The essay will therefore concentrate on policies relating to assessment, budgetary allocation, and provision of services and care for the disabled people like Mrs. Lambat. Controversies relating to the definition of disability and disabled persons complicate the process of identifying disabled people (Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 2007). Identification of people with disabilities is an important step in providing care to people living with disabilities. The importance attached with the identification process implies that there is need to have measures or guidelines to assist in the identification process. UK laws and policies relating to disabilities provide appropriate measures and guidelines for the identification of disabled people. Some of these laws and policies are important in determining or measuring the level of disability in a person. Mrs. Lambat’s daughters require the knowledge of these legislation and policies. The knowledge of the laws and policies related to persons living with disabilities will enable them to determine their mother’s degree of disability and the implication of necessary laws and policies (Austin, 2003). The knowledge of their mother’s degree of disability will enable them to make appropriate decision when choosing the appropriate mode of care. Knowledge of these laws and policies will enable them to evaluate the benefits of having their mother under referral care or homecare. The knowledge Equality Act of 2010 will enable the daughters and the doctor to make appropriate decisions concerning the best care for Mrs. Lambat. The Equality Act of 2012 defines a disabled person as a person with physical or mental impairments (National disability authority, web). According to the Act disability is the inability to perform day-to-day tasks in the long term due to the impairment. This definition will enable them to recognize their mother as a disabled person who needs care. The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 defines disability based on medical principals (Wehman, 1988). According to the Act, a disabled person is a person with certain medical conditions or limitations that make them unable to carry out their day-to-day activities normally. Mrs. Lambat disability resulted from repeated strokes and hence according to this Act she is a disabled person. Knowledge of this Act will enable the daughters to make informed choices concerning the best care to give to their mother (Government of Ireland 2004). The two basic Acts emphasize on the fact that disabled person are unable to perform their day-to-day task and hence require constant support. This implies that the daughters have a duty to take care of their mother. According to the case study, the daughters will be soon returning to their workplace and homes. Their plans to put their mother under referral care confirm that they recognize their duty towards her. Their duty towards their mother goes beyond provision of daily support and care and it covers provision of essential support services. Although Mrs. Lambat’s daughters might be willing to provide her with full support as required by the service Act 1995 however, their personal duties and responsibilities might prevent them. This does not imply that Mrs. Lambat should be deprived off her support services due to them being involved in other responsibilities. According to the disability discrimination Act, disability is a medical condition and hence a health issue. This implies that disabled people require constant healthcare and this apply to Mrs. Lambat. The UK health services provide basic health care services to UK citizens free of charge. This scheme is funded using taxpayer’s money and it covers persons with disabilities. Due to their medical needs, disabled people require specialized care in addition to the basic healthcare. The national service and Community Care Act of 1990 was introduced by the UK parliament to assist in assessment and management of people with disabilities (Thornton, Sainsbury, & Barnes, 1997). In particular Section 47 of the Act has requires that the disabled should be given specialized medical care in all health facilities. This policy defines the government’s role in allocating funds through the local health centers to cater for the disabled people. This policy however requires that health services to the disabled should be provided through the health center. Additionally, the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 require that the local authorities assess and provide necessary care and support to the disabled depending on the assessment. According to this Act, Mrs. Lambat would still get care from local authorities as long she is registered. Although the policy has provisions for specialized care to the disabled person, the policy requires people with disabilities to access a local health center for them to be given the specialized care. This implies that disabled people should be able to access the facility or should have someone to assist them. Mrs. Lambat has mobility difficulties due to her medical condition this implies she requires constant medical care and some assistance to enable her access local health facilities. From the case study, Mrs. Lambat does not complain of any medical related complication. This implies her daughters have been fully responsible for her health. It also indicates that her daughters have been assisting her to access the local health facility. The daughters will be living soon and this makes them concerned about their mother’s health. They are also concerned with the fact that she is unable to attend the local health facility on her own due to her mobility difficulties. The daughters’ decision to put their mother into referral care for persons with disability indicates their level of concern and care towards her. Referral center provide people with disabilities the required support services that include medical care. The daughters are therefore assured of adequate medical care for their mother once under the referral care. The case study also indicates some form of consultation between the mother’s doctor and the daughters. This consultation implies that the decision to put Mrs. Lambat under referral care has concerns for her personal health. This justifies their decision to put her under the referral center. Although Mrs. Lambat’s daughters have assumed full responsibilities towards their mother, she is concerned about being a burden to them. This is a normal phenomenon since Mrs. Lambat’s disability does not prevent them from having human values. To be self-sufficient is a human value that makes every adult to have a desire to be self-reliant. Although Mrs. Lambat has the desire to be, self-reliant she is unable to meet her requirements due to her disability. The government is concerned about providing adequate care to people with disabilities. Adequate care for persons with disabilities includes provision of financial support. The government has developed policies and legislation to enhance efficiency in the disbursement of financial support to persons with disabilities. Personal budgetary allocations and direct payments are some of the methods that the government offer financial support to people with disabilities. Personalization agenda is a personalized plan of making provisions for people who depend on the UK community service. Personalized care covers personal needs beyond basic health care. Personalized care therefore covers expenses for family, education, health and other social requirements for persons with disabilities. The personalization agenda is therefore aimed at assisting people with disabilities lead independent lives (Vygotsky, 1978). The policy achieves this by providing disabled people with funds that assist them to achieve independent lives. Direct payments are the main channel of disbursement that was established following the development of personalization agenda. The right to control is a supportive policy that works alongside the personalization agenda (James, 2000). This policy was established due to the variation of needs for people with disabilities. The policy was intended to give people with disability more control on how to spend their financial allocations by giving them a chance to make choices. This policy therefore gives people with disabilities a choice to decide on how to use funds allocated to them. Mrs. Lambat has personal needs and hence she requires the government’s financial allocations. These allocations will enable her lead a financial independent life without being a burden to her daughters. According to the case study, Mrs. Lambat is desperate of leading an independent life and therefore she would consider receiving government’s financial provisions. From the case study, it is evident that Mrs. Lambat must have fully depended on her daughters for her support including her financial support. The case also indicates that the daughters are concerned with their mother’s financial needs. Placing the mother under referral care therefore seems as the most appropriate decision with reference to her financial needs. Being registered with a referral center will enable Mrs. Lambat to receive her allocation from the government more easily. This is because the government makes most allocation to people living with disabilities through the social centers. Registration with the social center will also save Mrs. Lambat from the bureaucracy involved in accessing the funds through government agencies. Although Mrs. Lambat might be adamant about the idea of leaving her home for a referral center, the center is the most appropriate place for her with reference to her financial requirements. Her adamancy to remain at her home is caused by her lack of knowledge on the benefits she would realize from the services offered. The benefits she would realize from the referral center particularly the ease in acquiring the government’s financial allocations justify her daughter’s decision. As stated by Read (2008) disabilities do not prevent a person to have basic human desires. This implies that Mrs. Lambat has desires equivalent to those of a normal person. It is also important to consider that the death of her husband is still in her memory. According the Mental Health Act 1983, Mrs. Lambat needs moral support to help her cope with the loss. According to the Equality Act of 2010, people with disability should be treated fairly without any discrimination (Brisenden, 1986). From the presented scenario, Mrs. Lambat’s daughters went against their mother’s right for equality and fair treatment by making a crucial decision without involving her. According to this Act, Mrs. Lambat’s daughters and doctor are legally accountable for any inconvenience that might result from the decisions. The making of a crucial decision without involving her also indicate that her daughters and doctors discriminated her due to her condition. However due to her needy condition, being in the referral center is an appropriate decision. Discrimination of persons with disabilities goes beyond the treatment they receive from the immediate people to the treatment they receive in public sector. Although Mrs. Lambat is disabled, she still requires some services from the public sector. This indicates that Mrs. Lambat needs to know her rights or the kind of treatment that she should expect from the public sector. The Equality Act of 2010 has provisions for equality in the public sector for persons with disabilities (Bryan, 2010). This provision requires that all public facilities should be free from any form of discrimination based on a person’s level of disability. The provision outlaws harassment and victimizations of people with disabilities. The provision also proposes equal opportunity for all people including people living with disabilities. This provision also requires that buildings housing public facilities should have features that facilitate use by people with disabilities. Knowledge of this provision will give optimism to Mrs. Lambat’s daughters that their mother will receive good care while in the public sector. Conclusion Mrs. Lambat is an adult living with disability, the United Kingdom legislation has laws, policies, and statutes that apply to disabled people like her. Knowledge of the legislation concerning people with disabilities will be important to her and her daughters. Using these legislations, they will be able to determine the best care to give to their mother according to the law. References Adams, M. Bell, L. & Griffin, P., 2007. Teaching For Diversity and Social Justice, Volume 1. New York: Taylor and Francis. Austin, M. (2003). Perinatal mental health: opportunities and challenges for psychiatry. Australian Psychiatry. 11(4), 399-403. Bryan, W., 2010. Sociopolitical aspect of disabilities. Illinois: Charles C Thomas Publishers. Brisenden, S. (1986). "Independent Living and the Medical Model of Disability". Disability & Society 1 (2): 173–171. Government of Ireland (2004) Education for Persons with Special Needs Act 2004. Available: http://www.hse.gov.uk/disability/law.htm. [viewed February 4, 2011]. HSE. The law. What counts as a disability in law? http://www.hse.gov.uk/disability/law.htm. [viewed February 4, 2011]. James, Charlton (2000). Nothing about us without us: disability oppression and empowerment. California: University of California Press. National disability authority. Current policies governing procedure and practice in service provision at Health Service Executive level. http://www.nda.ie/website/nda/cntmgmtnew.nsf/0/419BBFC356BC438A80257705003FA51D/$File/mwd_report_05.htm. [Viewed February 4, 2011]. Read, J., 2008. Disabled people and the right to life: the protection and violation of disabled people’s most basic human rights. England: Routlidge. Thornton, P., Sainsbury, R. & Barnes, H. (1997) Helping Disabled People to Work: A cross-national study of social security and employment provisions, Social Security Advisory Committee research paper number 8, London: The Stationery Office. Vygotsky, L. S. 1978. Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, UK: Harvard University Press. Wehman, P. (1988) “Supported employment - towards equal employment opportunities for people with severe disabilities”, Mental Retardation, 26, 6, 357-361. Read More