Discrimination warning over health profession law
7 Sep 07
Commission warns that bill could reinforce disadvantage
Government proposals run the risk of discriminating against thousands of Scottish health care workers, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has claimed.
A bill, expected in the autumn, considers extending revalidation (assessment of health standards) and student registration in the health professions.
With the exception of Scotland - where health standards for teachers and social workers have already been dropped - meeting requirements for “good health” is a condition for entry and progress in various public sector professions across Great Britain. These standards require applicants to be of “good health” or “good physical and mental fitness”.
However the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requires employers not to treat people unfairly on grounds of their disability and to make reasonable adjustments when their practices and policies place disabled workers at a substantial disadvantage.
A DRC report, Maintaining Standards, Promoting Equality, to be formally published next week and which has been endorsed by the regulators overseeing the teaching, nursing and social work professions, recommends the removal of the “good health” requirement in all three professions. It concludes that regulations making “good health” a requirement to train, register or work in public sector professions are in contravention of the DDA, unnecessary, confusing and provide a licence to discriminate.
The report follows a year-long investigation into the statutory requirement as it affects teachers, social workers, nurses and other health professionals.
"False sense of security"
DRC Chairman Sir Bert Massie warned: “Extending requirements for ‘good health’ to Scottish health workers would increase the potential for discrimination, while doing nothing to protect the public. Indeed, these requirements may offer a false sense of security by implying that inappropriate candidates are weeded out.
“What we all require, as users of public services, are rigorously applied professional standards of competence and conduct that are regularly monitored, with sharing of relevant information across institutions.”
Among other findings the investigation concluded that the repeal of “fitness” standards by the Scottish social work and teaching professions has had no adverse impact on the professions or public safety, whereas the effect of the standards in nursing in particular – which still apply to Scotland – is to stigmatise people with current or past mental health problems, prompting either their exclusion from employment or a reluctance to disclose their conditions and to get support.
Regulatory requirements to disclose health conditions also undermine equality by deterring people from asking for the reasonable adjustments to which they are legally entitled. Making “reasonable adjustments” mean that many people who are disabled or have long-term health conditions can practise safely and effectively.
The report can be downloaded at http://www.maintainingstandards.org from 14 September.