Paul Howard, WWL's Director of Corporate Affairs, shares why an inclusive ethos is so important to our Trust.
An inclusive ethos is something we pride ourselves on at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL), and, as such, we are committed to challenging discrimination in all its forms and ensuring that equality lies at the heart of everything we do. Whether for our staff as their employer, or for our patients as their care provider, we want to be a fair and equitable organisation; one where we all accept the differences between individuals and one that values the benefits that that diversity brings.
We believe that we should all live in a community where everyone can participate fully and equally and that when we need to see a doctor, visit a hospital or access other medical services, these should be delivered in ways which help everyone to be included.
We have recently launched our new Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion strategy which is built around three themes - increasing diversity and accessibility, improving the experience for protected groups and eliminating inequality. How we do this is where we really want your input, as your suggestions and feedback will make sure we get this right.
We are delighted to be in the first cohort of 40 NHS organisations to take part in a pilot of the next phase of the NHS Rainbow Badge Scheme, which shows that organisations taking part in the programme aim to be open, non-judgemental and inclusive places for LGBTQIA+ staff and patients. We are delighted to be taking part and we want to show that we are committed to supporting and valuing our LGBTQIA+ staff and ensuring inclusive practices across our services for the benefit of our LGBTQIA+ community.
Almost 2,000 members of our WWL family recently responded to the National NHS Staff Survey. Of those, 69% responded to agree that WWL respects individual differences such as cultures, working styles, backgrounds and ideas and 70% said that the people they work with at WWL are polite and treat each other with respect.
We also want to hear from the people who use our services so that we can understand and improve the patient experience. Whether you identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or not, we would really like to hear your views in order to shape the way we deliver our services. If you have had an appointment with us in the last 12 months, we want to hear from you! It will take just five minutes to fill out our quick and anonymous survey, which is open until 13th May, to share your experiences: simply visit our survey.