National Care Service Charter of Rights: equality impact assessment

Overall findings

Overall, the assessment found no negative impacts identified across all protected characteristics, though effective implementation and ongoing monitoring will be essential to ensure equitable access for all.

Gaps in evidence and mitigations

The EQIA has drawn on a wide range of evidence to understand how people with different protected characteristics access services and information within social care and community health settings. Focused co-design activity and statistical data have minimised gaps in evidence.

Where gaps were identified, these have either been addressed through additional targeted engagement as part of the co‑design process, or will be considered further during implementation planning including the following examples:

• Healthcare Improvement Scotland were commissioned to seek feedback from under-represented groups including LGBT+ people and women with experience of pregnancy and maternity services
• Action for Children were commissioned to provide specific input from people aged under 18 to ensure that the approach to signposting to information about children’s rights is appropriate
• Additional co-design activity was commissioned from organisations such as CEMVO, British Deaf Association and Glasgow Disability Alliance during the final phase of co-design to address gaps relating to disability and race and to review new content
• Transition from child to adult services and describing the associated rights that apply at this stage could form the basis of more focused work as part of implementation plans