Analyzing National Policies and Legislation in UK Healthcare Delivery

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the relevant national policies and legislation that significantly influence healthcare delivery in the United Kingdom. It delves into key acts such as the NHS and Community Care Act 1990, the Data Protection Act, the Children's Act, the Care Standards Act, the Race Relations Act, the Disability Discrimination Act, the NHS Confidentiality Policy, the Health and Social Care Act, the Human Rights Act 2000, and the Mental Health Act. The report explores how these policies impact various aspects of healthcare, including patient rights, data protection, the well-being of vulnerable groups (children, adults needing care, individuals with disabilities, and those with mental health conditions), and the overall quality and accessibility of healthcare services. The analysis highlights the importance of these policies in promoting equality, ensuring patient safety, and guiding the ethical conduct of healthcare professionals. The report emphasizes the interconnectedness of these policies and their collective role in shaping the UK healthcare landscape.

Discuss the relevant national
policies and legislation which
influence Healthcare delivery

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
National policies and legislative framework provide guidelines for the specific code of
conduct which is expected and required from professionals. These policies assures that the
safety, well being and rights of other individuals are not violated. The health care services are
more sensitive and related to safety and life of individuals (MacKinnon, 2015). Health care
policies and regulations guide professionals to formulate action plan for achieving desired
outcome and to make proper decisions. Thus national policies and regulations gives a
foundation of cost effective and safe quality care. The report will discuss various UK policies,
legislative acts and regulations and how they influence the delivery of quality health care
services.
DISCUSSION
Health care policies plays significant role in affecting quality of services as well as in
promotion of health care. For assuring the safety of people and to promote equality in health
results it is necessary that all individuals are able to access and receive same quality of health
services. The health care related various policies and legislations regulates the ways in which
health services are accessed, delivered and monitored. These policies are formulated with aim of
improving public health so that social inequalities can be minimised and mortality rate can be
reduced (Shawe and et.al., 2015). Apart from creating awareness among communities health
care regulations and policies also assures that all health care service providers meet the necessary
safety regulations for the patients. Some of the key policies and regulations which influences the
UK health care systems are discussed below:
NHS and community health care act 1990
Community health care act demands for the attention and action of local authorities to
perform assessment of vulnerable communities which are in great need of care services and
packages. In order to improve community health particularly local population the health
distribute the health authorities into separate roles at national as well as local level. It gives
opportunities to local health departments so that they can enable local communities to access
appropriate health and social care services (Barnish and Turner, 2017). It has been analysed that
apart from clinical care services individuals also requires day and home care, palliative, respite
care and other services which are vital for the comfortable and healthy living. Thus the act
provide regulatory guidance to such organisation which assist the communities in health delivery
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services. The local service authorities are also trained and allowed to set eligibility criteria so that
their care needs can be identified and provided to people.
Data protection act:
The health care service providers have access to personal and sensitive information of the
records of patient. With digital storage system and associated security risk data protection act is
very significant amendment in strengthening the health care services. The regulation all patients
to access and share their health records. It allow patients to review their health outcomes as well
as to maintain a safe and personalised records for their own health improvement (Calder and
Hackett, 2017). Data protection legislation also assures and guides general practitioners so that
they can share their patients records only with their consent and data can be used only for the
welfare of patient and in authorised manner.
With the effectiveness of this regulation health care service providers have began to
maintain a more transparent, effective and secure storage system. The unauthorised access of
patients records can influence their personal relationships, work life and employment status,
public safety, cyber security and threats of artificial intelligence which attacks on biomedical
information of individuals (Macaulay and et.al., 2016). Thus it has become mandatory for the
health regulatory organisations as well as general practitioners to follow all regulations related to
data protection so that patients can access their records in authorised way for improving quality
of services.
Children's act:
The children act came into enforcement in 2004 with aim of protecting the welfare of
young people particularly children. The act also states that it safeguarding children in all aspects
including health, economic and social circumstances, education and development and safety is
responsibility of everyone. Health care service providers must assures that children are able to
access all necessary health conditions along with the facilities which can affect their health. For
instance along with the treatment services health authorities also monitor and emphasis upon
nutritional needs, emotional care and other requirements and well being of child (Blank, Burau
and Kuhlmann, 2017). Apart from providing health services to children, professionals and
service providers must also identify the vulnerable children who are in need of support and care.
In addition to the clinical services children must also be protected from various vulnerabilities
such as violence and other health inequalities.
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Care standard act:
The aim of this regulation is to promote and assure the well being of adults who are in
need of support and care services. Thus it encourages health professionals to emphasis on
personalised or person centred care services. The individuals who are in great need of financial
support for improving health are assessed and provided care services at their home or care home
which are funded by local council. The care standard act has 6 key principles which are
empowerment, prevention, protection, partnership, accountability and proportionality. The health
professionals must educate and empower vulnerable adults so that they can make decisions
regarding their care needs and priorities. The act also give responsibility to professionals so that
they can identify the symptoms or crucial situations requiring immediate medical attention
(Kristensen, Bech and Quentin, 2015). The local service providers must also collaborate with
other professionals and institutes such as insurance companies, government and family members
along with the patient. It will contribute significantly in promoting health equality among people.
Race relation act:
Racial discrimination is one of the key challenge in health care services and thus the race
relation act aims at addressing the issue. This act provides the legislative framework to prohibit
the racial discrimination or the denial of any kind of health care services on the basis of culture,
race and ethnicity. As a result of this act health professionals are not allowed to refuse the service
delivery on racial basis. The service providers must also treat individuals with dignity, respect
and equality (Green and Thorogood, 2017). The negligence of culture and race can also affect
the quality of health services. In response to this race relation act also specify code of conduct for
health care professionals so that they can use culture and race considerations for improving
quality of care. However such basis does not allow professionals or the service users to
discriminate in health care services on racial basis. The racial act also ensures that every
community particularly racial minority group can also live safe and quality life with equal access
to health and social care services.
Disability discrimination act:
The individuals suffers from discrimination on the basis of disabilities. Disability
discrimination act protect disabled people from such biased and unethical behaviour. The law is
also applicable to employment, education, transport, goods and services. Thus the health care
service providers are also liable to pay equal respect and treatment services to their patients. The
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service providers such as private clinics, hospitals or care homes must assure that services
provided by them are also accessible to disabled people. For complying with this regulation it is
required that health service providers must identify and eliminate the barriers which affect
disabled people from accessing health service (Healy, 2016)s. For instance hospitals must have
ramps, facility to provide information in large print or Braille, specific toilet facilities for the
disabled patients. The act also bound health professionals so that they cannot provide the
approval for providing services on disability grounds. Disabled people used to face huge
discrimination and criticism along with the difficulties in their routine life. Thus the act provide
them complete health care assistance so that disabled people can also lead to quality life with
dignity and improved health.
NHS confidentiality policy:
The confidentiality policy in health acre affect the relation between patients and health
care service providers. This policy describes the professional code of conduct for the health
organisations and other service providers to maintain confidentiality and consent of patients in
sharing health records and information. People may not desire to share their health status with
other organisations or individuals without their consent thus NHS confidentiality policy sets
guidelines for the professionals to respect and maintain the privacy need of their patient.
However in certain situations such as in case of people with contagious or infectious diseases
when it becomes mandatory for professionals to share information doctors can neglect the
confidentiality (Waring and et.al., 2016). Such extreme circumstances are also discussed and
included in this policy so that confidentiality and information sharing decisions of health
professionals are ethical and for safety of public as well as individual.
Health and social care act:
This legislative act allocate duties to professionals so that health services can be
integrated with the social care services and other health related organisations. The financial
restraints and lack of quality services is one of the major factor which increases the health
inequality gap. Thus health and social care act emphasis on focusing and improving the service
provisions so that unnecessary financial burden can be reduced for both service providers and
service users (Glasby, 2017) . The act also encourages the new regulators so that regular
inspection and registration of the adult care and health services can be integrated and quality
health services can be promoted. For assuring the patient safety is is necessary that service
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providers have complete knowledge of the acceptable practices and decisions leading to quality
health outcomes. Thus the act also gives an effective framework for the professional regulations
for making decisions, clinical judgments, information sharing and practices for assuring patient
safety.
Human rights act 2000:
Like all other services health and social care service providers are also liable to ensure
that fundamental rights of people are safeguarded. It is the right of all individuals to be treated
with dignity, respect and equal facility to access the health care services (Waring and et.al.,
2016). The health professionals must not follow misconduct with their patients on any kind of
discriminatory basis. It is also their responsibility to ensure that they provide the safe and quality
service environment. The purpose of this act is to ensure that safety and equality rights of the
communities are protected.
Mental health act:
The act came into enforcement in 2008 which provide support to patients suffering form
mental illness. The people with mental disorder are often not treated with dignity by their family
members and health service providers. Their fundamental rights are also neglected. Thus to
ensure their safety and well being mental health act sets standards for the health professionals so
that such patients are treated with respect and dignity (Green and Thorogood, 2017). The
purpose of this legislation is to ensure that contrary to other clinical treatment and procedures, it
is not mandatory to take consent from the people with severe mental disorder so that they can be
protected from self destruction or self physical harm. The legislation prohibit health care service
providers to practice any inhuman or discriminatory actions which violates the dignity and safety
of mental ill patients. The act provides the framework for protecting the fundamental and safety
rights of people with psychological disorders.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the study that for the health care professionals as well as
communities it is essential that they understand various legislations related to health care
services. The knowledge will assist authorities, service providers and people to develop effective
health care and management systems. It has been also analysed from the above discussion that
health care legislations also prohibit any kind of irregularities or the safety and quality
negligence which can be life threatening for the patients. Thus it can be concluded that these
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legislations and regulations are vital for promoting public health and safety by adhering service
providers to specific professional behaviour.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Barnish, M.S. and Turner, S., 2017. The value of pragmatic and observational studies in health
care and public health. Pragmatic and observational research, 8, p.49.
Blank, R., Burau, V. and Kuhlmann, E., 2017. Comparative health policy. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
Calder, M.C. and Hackett, S., 2017. Assessment in child care. The Wiley Handbook of What
Works in Child Maltreatment, p.278.
Glasby, J., 2017. Understanding health and social care. Policy Press.
Green, J. and Thorogood, N., 2017. Analysing health policy: A sociological approach.
Routledge.
Healy, J., 2016. Improving health care safety and quality: reluctant regulators. Routledge.
Kristensen, S.R., Bech, M. and Quentin, W., 2015. A roadmap for comparing readmission
policies with application to Denmark, England, Germany and the United States. Health
policy, 119(3), pp.264-273.
Macaulay, R. and et.al., 2016. What EU Mean to the MHRA! Potential Impact of ‘Brexit’on
Pharmaceutical Regulation in the UK. Value in Health, 19(7), p.A439.
MacKinnon, D., 2015. Devolution, state restructuring and policy divergence in the UK. The
Geographical Journal, 181(1), pp.47-56.
Shawe, J. and et.al., 2015. Preconception care policy, guidelines, recommendations and services
across six European countries: Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands,
Sweden and the United Kingdom. The European Journal of Contraception &
Reproductive Health Care, 20(2), pp.77-87.
Waring, J. and et.al., 2016. Healthcare quality and safety: a review of policy, practice and
research. Sociology of Health & Illness, 38(2), pp.198-215.
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