Contemporary Thinking in Health & Social Care

This assignment delves into the influence of contemporary perspectives on health and social care policies in the UK. Students must examine how these evolving viewpoints have shaped service provision since 1945, considering both local and national levels. The task requires critical analysis of research, justification of conclusions through evidence, and demonstration of innovative thought processes.

BTEC Level 4 HNC Diploma in Health and Social Care
and
BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Health and Social Care
Unit 7: Social Policy and
Unit 19: Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care
Task 2 Assignment Portfolio

Portfolio section 3
In this section, you need to Evaluate the reliability of media information of the policy issue you discussed in
sections 1 and 2 and also the impact of this same policy issue on specific groups of service users.
Also, media influenced attitudes and behaviour in relation to social policy and how has this influence affected
the implementation of this Act by organisations and practitioners
Remember to maintain the same social care or health context you used in sections 1 and 2 (CI 1.3, 2.1, 4.2,
M1) (SP 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, M3, D2)
i. Using two different organisations, explain the ways that media influences the implementation of
this Act (Use examples from the media linked with theory on attitudes to show how this might be
successful)
The act is compulsory to be followed by each and every company. So as NHS also
follows Equality Act 2010. At the time of selecting and recruiting the candidates, and
providing induction to them, they have to ensure the fact that they have to treat all the
employees equal. No discrimination can be allowed in any case. Whether it may be
regarding color, race or sex etc. it is not at all allowed in a workplace. All the
employees of the company should get an equal opportunity during the election process
of the stated firm. During interviews, the HR manager of the firm focuses on asking
questions regarding their background. Additionally, the working hours of the
employees are same as per their salaries. In contradiction to that, St. Andrew’s hospital
has also adopted the equality act, 2010 as the firm believes in rendering equal
opportunities to both men and women. Besides this, their organization does not
discriminate women on the basis of their personal life. Factors contradicting to this
may prove as punishable.
ii. How might individual beliefs impact positively and negatively on service users when it comes to
implementing this Act?
Belief of the Individuals has a huge impact on the whole workplace environment.
When the employees themselves make their mind that everyone should be treated
equally, they should start with themselves. When they start treating each other equally,
the other people and employers will do the same. Self-Belief matters a lot. It puts a
positive impact on the service users when it comes to implementing the equality act.
When health a d social care organization follow all principles and practices of Equality
act 2010 such as gender reassignment, then service providers get motivated and

satisfied because they are able to enjoy equal facilities and rights. Thus, they perform
their job and responsibility in an effective manner. It ultimately results in increasing the
satisfaction level of service users because practitioners provide effective treatment and
care services to them. It can be said that equality act 2010 beneficial for practitioners as
well as service users. When the environment of a workplace remains equal, everyone is
treated equally and their efforts are being considered, it helps in a healthy and happy
environment of the organization.
iii. How might individual behaviour impact positively and negatively on service users when it comes
to implementing this Act?
Behavior of both employees and the employers has a huge impact on the
implementation of the equality act 2010. The role of government is to issue the act or
law. The other responsibilities are of the common public. In an organization, the
members are responsible for handling and non-handling of the policies and procedures.
The employers first have to make sure that all the members are aware of the equality
rights and acts. Then, they have to ensure that they are following it properly. The
employees themselves also make sure that they treat each other equally. No
discrimination is allowed in anywhere, whether inside or outside an office. There is a
very old proverb “One dirty fish can contaminate the whole pond”. Like the same way,
some cheap people if in a workplace can teach only the dirty things to the other
employees. It may affect the environment badly. That is why at the time of recruitment
and selection of an employee, proper verification is to be done to ensure that the whole
workplace is surrounded by people that can encourage each other towards success.
To achieve SP M3 your discussion will need to follow a recognised structure that shows a logical and
coherent development of the concepts in your analysis and evaluation.
To achieve CI M1 you must demonstrate that you have considered attitude formation and attitude change and
how the presentation of information in the media influences this when making your evaluation
To achieve SP D2 you will be able to autonomy/independence is demonstrated – your work will show
that you have not been heavily reliant on support and guidance from your tutor(s) or others in
producing the assignment. This will particularly be reflected in your discussion in that your
recommendations need to directly relate to potential policy problems for service users and provide
solutions

Portfolio Section 4
Research into different perspectives on a social policy relating to health and social care (CI 3.1, 3.3, 4.1,
M3, D2) (SP 4.1, 4.2,)
This section of the portfolio requires you to explore/research a social policy in health and social care that you
described in Section 1, in more depth. In your research, you are to focus on reliable sources of information.
Present your work in of a written investigation, analysis and evaluation using the headings below.
Introduction
This is an introduction to The Equality Act 2010-local and national perspective
This is equality act which was formulated with a motive to eliminate the
discrimination in different terms. In addition to this, the objective of this act is to
strengthen the each and every section of the society. There are nine protective
characteristics of this act are stated below.
Sources of information
Discuss the range of sources that you used to research the issue in this section. These need to be reliable
sources of information and you are asked to explain why you consider them reliable.
Research resources are considered as both the primary and the secondary resources.
First-hand accounts, raw data and all the original material are categorized as the
primary sources. The material that interprets and analyses the primary sources are
termed as secondary sources. In UK, there is huge development is seen in the health
and social care policy. However, the government of UK has a major focus on the
development of social and health services. The government has made certain laws
and regulations with reference to the health and social services such as health and

social care act 2008 and 2009. These acts are used by an individual but also in the
organization. With the help of these acts, the people are taking participate in the free
camps organized by the UK government. This has resulted in creating a sense of
security among the individuals. For an instance, now people of UK are hiring nurses
for their old parents for the proper care. In addition to this, they also provide care to
their children which has remain useful for the future perspectives.
Interpretation of Results
In this section, you are to present your findings and analyse as required to meet the assessment criteria. You
need to:
 consider a range of perspectives about the Act and consider these over a period of time
 analyse the factors that have influenced the development of different perspectives and how these have
changed over a period of time
 assess the relevance of your findings to health and social care practice locally
 analyse the extent to which local attitudes reflect those found at a national level.
The equality act 2010 streams the anti-discrimination legislation. It was being
introduced in year 2010 and since then, it is compulsory for each company to follow
it. Any company not following the policies and procedures of the act can have to
pay the charges as a means of penalty and also may have to stay in a jail for a
specific period. In health and social care sector, it is found that, people are getting
aware of the health and social care services. Earlier, they had no idea of these
services but with the changing time and technology, the organization are able to
provide better services to the patients. In addition to this, corrective measures taken
by the government of UK also helped the public to get good knowledge with
reference to these services. This has resulted in changing the attitude of people
towards these services. Now, they are taking initiatives and taking part in the
government services and policies. Change in local perspective has also changed at
global level. With the passage of time, it is found that people are taking these things
positively. In context to this, countries like India and Bangladesh are much more
aware of the social and health care services. For an instance, it is seen that, in India
having a life insurance policy is mandatory during the birth of a child. However, in
UK also seen a positive change towards the issues in health and social care sector.
Conclusion
In this section, you need to use the findings from your research and draw it together into some conclusions.
It can be concluded from the report that health and social sector plays an essential
role in the development of society. The health of an individual is necessary where it
is the duty of an individual to adopt the health measures. This document has
provided an assistance to analyse the importance of this sector for the well-being of

an individual.
Bibliography
Include a list of all sources used in this section using the Harvard Referencing System.
Axinn, J. and Stern, M.J., 2011. Social welfare: A history of the American
response to need. Pearson Higher Ed.
Cini, M. and Borragán, N.P.S., 2016. European union politics. Oxford
University Press.
Coreil, J. ed., 2010. Social and behavioral foundations of public health. SAGE
Publications Inc.
Daly, M., 2011. What adult worker model? A critical look at recent social
policy reform in Europe from a gender and family perspective. Social
politics: international studies in gender, state & society, 18(1), pp.1-23.
Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S., 2011. The SAGE handbook of qualitative
research. Sage.
Dwyer, P., 2010. Understanding social citizenship: Themes and perspectives for
policy and practice. Policy press.
To achieve CI M3 the research writing should be presented in an appropriate structured format.
To achieve CI D2 you should take an effective approach to independent research and study and will have met
the deadline to submit the tasks and achieve the unit assessment criteria.

Portfolio Section 5
A reflection on the influence of contemporary perspectives on a policy issue on the development of
services from 1945 to date (CI 3.2, 3.4, 4.3, D3) (SP 1.2, D1, D3)
This section is asking you to look at how the different perspectives developed as discussed in the other sections
affects how health and social care services are developed.
Write summary statements in the boxes below that draw on the information gained from your research and
analysis in Sections 3/4. Ensure that you reference any sources you have used to support your discussion and
complete a bibliography at the end of the section.
i. Based on local and national perspectives, evaluate public attitudes and behaviours related to the
Act and consider how valid these are
There are various perspectives are made with reference to different issues in relation to
the health and social care in UK. On the basis of case study, Joe is suffering with
certain disability. However, he demands certain help form his company in order to
compensate his issues and disabilities. But Joe's employer is not ready to provide him
certain benefits. But on other hand, he is offered some flexibility in terms of working
hours and breaks. As a result, Joe does not agree upon the flexibility provided by the
employer. He wants to get the relaxation as per the UK norms and rules which are
given by the government. From this case, it can be depicted that, the needs for social
services are also tend to increase in a huge mannerr. In terms of individual attitude
people of UK have certain level of dissimilarities between the local and national level.
Some people are ready to adapt the policies at national and local level but some of
them are not ready with the same. Some protected characteristics that come under the
specific act are age, disability, gender, partnership and that can be civil or any other,
maternity and pregnancy, race etc. If any company or person refuses to follow the
same and misbehaves with someone and discriminates somebody, charges can be filed
against them and they may have to pay the penalties.
ii. Again, from both the local and national perspectives, consider how the new (contemporary)
thinking about the policy has affected the provision of health and social care services since 1945.
In other words what are the possible or actual outcomes/consequences of the contemporary
thinking on how health and social care services are provided?
The contemporary thinking related with several consequences as it is replaced by
modern thoughts. The major issue of contemporary thinking is related with the
education of health and social care sector. There is positive relationship among the
issues of development and public opinions. Whereas, social media can play an
effective role in the development of this sector. This also helps in raising the interest of
people in health and social care sector. As a result, people are getting advanced in UK
and also adopting the positive attitude towards this sector in an effective manner.

iii. Justify your answer by referring to the research that you have interrogated.
From the above report, it can be concluded that in the whole development of the
economy, health and social sector plays an essential role. The health of an individual is
necessary and it is the duty of an individual to adopt the health measures. This
document has provided an assistance to analyse the importance of this sector for the
well-being of an individual.
To Achieve SP D1 Reflective model will have been used to work alongside the debate to synthesise,
to generate and justify valid conclusions
To achieve CI D3 you should generate a diverse range of ideas about the consequences of contemporary
thinking and the effect on services and justify these.
To achieve SP D3 you must be able to demonstrate that you have applied innovative and creative
thought to your work this will have been done through will show that ideas have been created and
choices made concerning the understanding of the significant historical and contemporary landmarks
in social welfare provision and understand the origins of social policies