Equality Impact Assessment Tool: Policy,
Strategy and Plans
(Please follow the EQIA guidance in completing this form)
1. Name of Strategy, Policy or Plan
Financial Operating Procedure -
Patient's Travelling Expenses Scheme |
This is a : Current;#Current Policy
2. Brief Description - Purpose of the policy, Changes and outcomes, services or activities affected
The Operating Procedure
for patient's travelling expenses sets out the conditions required for a
patient to qualify for financial reimbursement of costs incurred for
travel to NHSGGC services. |
3. Lead Reviewer
Douglas Murray
|
4. Please list all participants in carrying out this EQIA:
Douglas Murray (Head
Cashier) |
5. Impact Assessment
A. Does the policy explicitly promote equality of opportunity and anti-discrimination and refer to legislative and policy drivers in relation to Equality | |||||
Not currently included. The Following
text will be applied to the Operating Procedure. The application of this
Operating Procedure will not unfairly impact on people with legally
protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act (2010). To
support this, the Procedure has been impact assessed to consider Age,
Disability, Gender Reassignment, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Pregnancy
and Maternity, Race, Religion and Belief, Sexual Orientation. it also
takes cognisance of Scotland's forthcoming Socio-Economic Duty and
NHSGGC's standing commitment to remove barriers to services arising from
experience of poverty. | |||||
B. What is known about the issues for people with protected characteristics in relation to the services or activities affected by the policy? | |||||
Source | |||||
All |
This Operating Procedure seeks to
alleviate the financial burden of attending for care for groups of
patients who are in receipt of qualifying benefit entitlement. It is vital
that an operating procedure of this nature is integrated seamlessly into
working practice. The patterning of ill health and therefore patterning of
access to health care is clearly defined by experience of poverty. People
on lower incomes are more likely to experience poorer physical and mental
health than their more affluent counterparts. |
Joseph Rowntree
Foundation | |||
Sex |
The primary burden of unpaid care
provision is undertaken by women and women are more likely to be living in
poverty than men. Women living in poverty may have to weigh up carefully
the option to attend for treatment and lose money from the 'family purse'
or seek to spend the money elsewhere on childcare. |
Joseph Rowntree
Foundation | |||
Gender Reassignment |
People who reassign their gender are
more likely to be living in poverty and less likely to be in full-time
employment than cisgender people. Trans people who undergo a medical
process to reassign their gender will require regular access to NHS
services. Some of these services may not be delivered within local Board
areas and will incur significant travel costs. |
Scottish Trans
Alliance | |||
Race |
Ethnicity is a strong predictor of
poverty. For all ages, family types and family work statuses, people from
minority ethnic groups are, on average, much more likely to be in income
poverty then white British people. |
Joseph Rowntree
Foundation | |||
Disability |
At 46%, the employment rate for
disabled people is little more than half that for non-disabled people
(80%). 28% of those in poverty in the UK are disabled (3.9 million people)
while a further 20% of people in poverty (2.7 million) live in a household
with a disabled person. Nearly half of the poverty in the UK is therefore
directly associated with disability. |
New Policy Institute
| |||
Sexual Orientation |
Gay men, together with bisexual men
and women, are more likely to experience poverty than their heterosexual
counterparts. |
Poverty and Social Exclusion
Research Project | |||
Religion and Belief |
There is limited research linking
religion to poverty. However, statistics show that around 50% of the
Muslim community live in poverty followed by Sikhs (27%) and Hindus (27%).
It can be difficult to distinguish between ethnic differences and race
difference as the majority of Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities are
Muslim and these race communities area also more likely to live in
poverty. However, after taking account of race, age and other contributing
factors, Muslims are 20% more likely to live in poverty that other
religious groups and so are more likely to benefit from financial support
in accessing health care. |
Centre for Social
Investigation - Analysis for JRF | |||
Age |
Around 1 in 6 people of pensionable
age live in poverty in the UK. Age-related illness means that older people
are more likely to access health care and are therefore more likely to
benefit from travel costs reimbursement, though concessions should be
available to cover travel costs incurred elsewhere. |
Age UK - Poverty in Later
Life | |||
Pregnancy and Maternity |
There is a link between teenage
pregnancy and poverty, with teenage mothers being 8 tomes more likely to
come from low paid manual social backgrounds as those from professional
backgrounds. |
Poverty.Org.uk
| |||
Marriage and Civil Partnership |
No relationship established
|
| |||
Social and Economic Status |
Poverty is often the underpinning
or compounding aspect of discrimination experienced by protected
characteristic groups. People living in poverty are more likely to have
poorer mental and physical health and are more likely to require health
care interventions across their life course. |
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
| |||
Other marginalised groups (homeless, addictions, asylum seekers/refugees, travellers, ex-offenders |
As above, other marginalised groups
are likely to experience poverty and are therefore likely to consider the
'hidden' costs of accessing health care before attending. |
Joseph Rowntree
Foundation | |||
C. Do you expect the policy to have any positive impact on people with protected characteristics? | |||||
Highly Likely |
Probable |
Possible | |||
General |
Yes. this protocol
will support the provision of travel expenses to the most financially
vulnerable groups within NHSGGC. |
|
| ||
Sex |
|
Effective promotion of the
travel expenses scheme will ease the financial burden on women attending
for their own care or accompanying others. |
| ||
Gender Reassignment |
|
given that trans people are
disproportionately impacted upon by poverty and are more likely to be in
receipt of qualifying benefits, access to a travel cost scheme will
further ease their financial burden. |
| ||
Race |
|
Given the correlation
between race and poverty it is likely that a travel costs scheme of this
nature will ease the financial burden of access to health care, including
care for Asylum Seekers and Refugees who are explicitly named in the
Operating Procedure. |
| ||
Disability |
|
Given the link between
disability and poverty and also the additional requirement some disabled
people may have of health care, the provision of a travel cost
reimbursement scheme for qualifying patients will ease the financial
burden of attending for care. |
| ||
Sexual Orientation |
|
The provision of a travel
reimbursement scheme will ease the financial burden of attending for care
for LGB people disproportionately impacted up by poverty. |
| ||
Religion and Belief |
|
In addressing some of the
financial barriers to access experienced by ethnic groups, there is a
likelihood that this will also positively impact upon people from
different faith groups. |
| ||
Age |
|
Provision of the scheme
will ease the financial burden for people of all ages who qualify for
receipt. |
| ||
Marriage and Civil Partnership |
|
|
Little evidence to suggest
that there will be any specific positive impact though provision of the
scheme will alleviate the financial burden of attending for health care
for anyone qualifying for reimbursement. | ||
Pregnancy and Maternity |
|
It is likely the scheme
will positively impact on parents who are in receipt of qualifying
benefits and will ease the financial burden of attending either during the
course of their pregnancy or during post-natal treatment. |
| ||
Social and Economic Status |
|
Where experience of
poverty risks determining whether an individual can afford to attend for
treatment or not, the reimbursement scheme will help to ease the financial
burden for those who qualify. |
| ||
Other marginalised groups (homeless, addictions, asylum seekers/refugees, travellers, ex-offenders |
|
As above, anyone who is at
higher risk of poverty and who qualifies for the inclusion criteria will
benefit by having the financial burden of attending for treatment
significantly reduced. |
| ||
D. Do you expect the policy to have any negative impact on people with protected characteristics? | |||||
Highly Likely |
Probable |
Possible | |||
General |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Sex |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Gender Reassignment |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Race |
|
|
While the operating
procedure in itself will not directly negatively impact on different race
communities, the effectiveness of access to the scheme will be facilitated
by ensuring information is available in other languages and that where
required, interpreting services (including telephone interpreting where
appropriate)is provided. | ||
Disability |
|
|
While the operating
procedure in itself will not directly negatively impact on disabled
people, uptake of its benefit will be facilitated by ensuring promotional
resources are available in other formats to meet the needs of disabled
people who require additional communication or information support.
| ||
Sexual Orientation |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Religion and Belief |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Age |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Marriage and Civil Partnership |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Pregnancy and Maternity |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Social and Economic Status |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||
Other marginalised groups (homeless, addictions, asylum seekers/refugees, travellers, ex-offenders |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated |
No negative impact
anticipated | ||