Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are required to comply with our legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and we believe wholeheartedly that Equality, Diversity and Inclusion must be integral to our culture and values in order to assist us in improving both our service users experience and that of our workforce (staff and volunteers). We use NHS Englands Equality Delivery System 2 as our framework to monitor and improve our performance on equality and inclusion along with fulfilling our requirements as set out in other Standards.

We will always recognise the individual needs of people and the characteristics that are protected by law, these are:

• Age
• Disability
• Sex
• Gender reassignment
• Pregnancy and Maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sexual Orientation
• Marriage and civil partnership

We aim to build on engagement and partnering with key organisations across our region and are committed to promoting equality within and beyond our organisation.

The Trust has an established EDI Steering Group that meets four times a year and this forum is used to:

• Provide proactive support, evidence based feedback, guidance, assurance and governance for the Trust Board.
• Report progress and raise risks to the Board,
• Identify and recommend positive action initiatives to address inequality and meet the relevant standards.
• Communicate any new equality objectives.

We will aim to make the Trust a place where all who work and access our services are free from all forms of discrimination and where the diversity of our staff patients, visitors and service-users is recognised as a key driver of our success and is openly valued and celebrated.

Our EDI objectives can be found in the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for 2021-2023.