The BHA Experience: Using Human Rights in Health and Social Care

1. The BHA Experience: Using Human Rights in Health and Social Care Valeska Matziol Manchester LINk Support Team

2. Introducing BHA • BHA is a health equality charity aimed at: • challenging inequalities • supporting individuals, families and communities to improve their health and wellbeing • Our services delivered at local, regional and national level cover the areas of: • Sexual Health (e.g. Leeds Skyline, Arise) • Healthy Communities (e.g. Routes, Hepatitis C Support) • Engaging and Involving (e.g. LINks, Manchester Race & Health Forum)

3. Human Rights in Healthcare • BIHR project to • raise awareness of human rights (HR) in voluntary and community sector (VCS) • explore ways of using human rights to promote better health and social care • build a wider Health and Human Rights network • BHA is taking part together with 20+ other VCS organisations in Birmingham, London and the North West

4. BHA’s Stance on HR • The FREDA* principles underpinning the HR Act also underpin BHA’s core values of appropriateness, equity, transparency, involving, choice, and diversity. • Understanding of HR should be integral to all service provision and commissioning • HR Act = can make a real practical difference to people when rights are under threat • *FREDA = freedom, respect, equality, dignity, and autonomy

5. Actions & progress to date • Participated in BIHR learning sets and shared information within BHA • Provided HR training to Senior Management Team to ensure leadership and commitment from the top • Worked particularly with Engaging and Involving projects to: • share HR info across VCS, especially to BME organisations • raise awareness of HR and start a debate • encourage individual service users to use HR Act to challenge poor practice

6. Examples • Manchester Race & Health Forum: • challenged decisions taken by public authorities to cease or dramatically change health and social care provision referring to HR Act • developing proposal to inform older BME people to inform their rights in relation to HR Act • Local Involvement Networks: • Care Navigation Project – helps people to negotiate the health and social care system and uses HR Act in appeals to improve care for individuals • Dignity & Respect – development of local campaigns and champions, events, resources, etc.

7. Examples • Local Involvement Networks (contd): • “Your Homecare, Your Rights: A guide for homecare customers” – explicitly employs rights based approach and introduces relevant HR info • Other examples for rights based information: • “Your Guide to Patients’ Rights in the NHS” • “Changes to the way you receive support from Manchester City Council” • Enter & View – training for volunteers and process for conducting visits incorporates elements of HR Act • Access to care – use HR Act to challenge PCT decisions to restrict access to particular types of treatment (e.g. IVF)

8. Looking ahead • We have started the debate now and switched emphasis from the (management/regulatory) needs of services onto the rights of individuals, but this is only the beginning and there is scope for a lot more work to be done. • Possible ways to extend our work around HR • review our Sexual Health and Healthy Communities work to see how HR Act can be beneficial there • develop further information materials in the style of “Your Homecare, Your Rights”, e.g. for care home customers • develop more work with an explicit focus on HR issues

9. Looking ahead For further information or to get involved please contact: Donna Miller - Manchester Health & Race Forum Email: donna@theBHA.org.uk Phone: 0161 874 2193 Valeska Matziol – Manchester LINk Email: valeska@theBHA.org.uk Phone: 0161 874 2190