Equality considerations

Advice

NICE is committed to promoting equality, eliminating unlawful discrimination and fostering good relations between people with particular protected characteristics and others. In producing guidance and advice, NICE aims to comply fully with all legal obligations to: promote race and disability equality and equality of opportunity between men and women, eliminate unlawful discrimination on grounds of race, disability, age, sex, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity (including women post-delivery), sexual orientation, and religion or belief (these are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010).

There are many different types of heart diseases. Many heart diseases develop over the course of time, and can be long-term conditions. This may mean someone is disabled if cardiovascular conditions have a substantial and long-term effect on their ability to do daily activities. Disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. NICE's clinical guideline on surgical site infections lists risk factors that are associated with surgical site infection including age, underlying conditions and the complexity of procedure.