Our Approach to Inclusion and Diversity
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are committed to actively recognising and promoting inclusion and diversity. We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff should be treated with respect and dignity. As a public body within the NHS the Trust is committed to taking positive steps to ensure fair and equitable access to services for all.
We are committed to challenging discrimination in all its forms and ensuring that equality lies at the heart of everything we do. We want to be a fair and unbiased organisation, one where everyone accepts difference between individuals and values the benefits that diversity brings.
As a provider of services we need to be pro-active so that we can meet the changing needs of diverse communities and provide fair access for all in an environment where dignity and individuality is respected and promoted.
As an employer we will create an organisational culture in which diversity is valued and staff, feel able to promote equality and challenge unlawful discrimination.
- Responsibilities for Managing and Delivering Inclusion and Diversity
Inclusion, diversity and human rights requirements are managed by the Trust's Inclusion and Diversity Project Leads for Service Delivery and Employment.
Progress is monitored by the Trust’s established Inclusion and Diversity Steering Group who meet on a quarterly basis and the Trust’s Inclusion and Diversity Operational Group who meet on a monthly basis.
There are a number of drivers that inform, regulate and monitor the Trust’s equality work. These drivers dictate and drive how the Trust provides services to members of diverse communities. These include:
Equality Legislation
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Codes of Practice and Guidance
NHS Constitution
Care Quality Commission (CQC) Essential standards of quality and safety
NHSLA
Equality Delivery System (EDS).
Personal development – KSF Core Dimension 6
Equality Impact Assessments
- Inclusion and Diversity Champions
Each Division within the Trust has designated Inclusion and Diversity Champions (nominated by their Divisional Managers). They are responsible for championing Inclusion and Diversity throughout the Trust and assisting in the communication of Inclusion and Diversity issues.
- Staff Inclusion & Diversity Focus Groups
In November 2013 we held the first of our planned Focus group events for staff. The first Focus Group was specifically for BME staff. A disability focus group followed in September 2014 and further sessions are now held each year. These sessions are a way for us to engage with staff, seek feedback, listen to what matters to staff and identify follow up actions.
- How Performance is Monitored
Monitoring performance on equality is essential if we are to fully understand whether we are meeting the needs of our service users and staff, and whether services are improving and whether actions are having the desired impact.
We monitor our workforce diversity, by producing an Annual Monitoring Report. This sets out our monitoring information in relation to race, sex, disability and age, as well as sexual orientation and religion. This information enables us to identify key trends and support future decisions in relation to employment practices.
We monitor our patient diversity, by producing an Annual Monitoring Report. This provides a summary of our service users across the Trust by ethnicity, sex, religion and age. Interpreter and translation data is included. Wigan Borough local data / 2011 Census statistics are used to summarise local population demographics.
By undertaking Equality Impact Assessments, we are able to monitor the impact of our services and policies and identify future needs. We recognise the importance of monitoring patient profiling data and are currently reviewing a number of initiatives to enable us to monitor and measure our performance more effectively.
Progress against the Trust's Equality Objectives will be monitored by the Trust's Inclusion and Diversity Steering Group.
- Equality Impact Assessments
We want to understand how different people will be affected by our activities, so that our policies and services are appropriate and accessible to all, meet people's needs and open up opportunities for people.
Equality Impact Assessments are considered to be the key to achieving fair and equal access to healthcare services and employment opportunities. An Equality Impact Assessment is a process of systematically analysing a proposed service, strategy or policy and identifying what effect or likely effect it will have on people who come into contact with the Trust.
- Our Inclusion and Diversity Strategy
Our Inclusion and Diversity Strategy builds on the previous actions and objectives that were included within both our former Equality Strategy and Single Equality Schemes. It sets out our approach to inclusion and diversity, both as an employer and as a healthcare provider. This document is a public commitment of how we aspire to meet the needs and wishes of local people and our staff, and meet the duties placed upon us by the Equality Act 2010, and the requirements of the national NHS Equality Delivery System (EDS2).
Find out about the Equality Delivery System
