This essay aims to identify and evaluate the inequalities in health care in different areas of society, namely disability and gender. Firstly, it is important to understand what we mean by health inequalities. It is commonly understood that health inequality refers to unjust differences in the health status, usually preventable, between different groups, populations or individuals. The existence of such inequalities is attributed to the unequal distributions of social, environmental and economic conditions within societies. Such conditions determine the risk of individuals getting ill, their ability to prevent sickness, as well as opportunities to access to the right treatments. (Black, 2013) Numerous reports have been presented by medical professionals regarding this discriminatory issue and will be cited throughout. Poor health and higher than average death rates can be …show more content…
The evidence presented in this study also suggests that there are many reasons which prevent individuals with learning disabilities accessing effective health care. Further organisational barriers were presented which may impede effective communication between patients and staff. It may be that the need for written forms of communication or the use of poor signage caused issues for these individuals as reduced literacy skills may make it difficult to comprehend these types of communication. Rigid appointment systems may be a barrier to accessing health care if the patient is unable to tell the time or manage their time effectively. Tuffrey goes on to suggest that it is essential that staff have the appropriate attitude and knowledge to treat vulnerable patients and reasonable adjustments need to be made to address some of the barriers preventing this. (Tuffrey-Wijne,