NHS North West has created a suite of tools and resources to help NHS organisations and other public sector bodies to implement their equality and inclusion strategies.
HELP
The Health Equality Library Portal (HELP) is a resource of up-to-date equality and diversity information and know-how, at your fingertips.
Health service staff and other partners can use this to:
- produce effective assessments of all strategies, policies, plans and activities to ensure they fit in with equality considerations
- manage knowledge, assess needs and decide where resources
- should be assigned
- identify knowledge and evidence gaps
- share best practice and prevent duplication of effort
- support equality and diversity leads in their roles
The Equality Performance Improvement Toolkit
NHS North West launched this system in 2009 to help PCTs/commissioners self assess and report their progress towards excellence in equality of outcomes for everyone, as well as the progress of their service providers.
The self assessments show North West NHS organisations’ individual and collective progress on delivering real benefits for all sections of the region’s diverse population. Collected onto a tailor-made website, EPIT, the results are accessible online by all stakeholders, including the Department of Health, NHS North West, PCT Clusters, partnership boards, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Care Quality Commission (CQC) as well as staff and patient groups.
The national Equality Delivery System
This national system, in large part based on the EPIT work developed by NHS North West, was fully launched in November 2011. It aims to drive up equality performance and embed equality into mainstream NHS business through strategic goal setting and measurable outcomes.
It has been designed to help the NHS meet the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty, as well as the equality aspects of the NHS Constitution and the NHS Outcomes Framework.
Link to the EDS here.
NHS North West's monthly Equality & Diversity Newsletter
This regular bulletin goes out to over 800 subscriber organisations and individuals across the North West and carries a range of information on national and regional policy, plus good practice examples, news items and forthcoming events.
To see the latest issues, please click on the links below
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
The Equality and Diversity Leadership Framework
NHS North West led a national project to develop a competency framework which puts equality and diversity roles on an equal footing with other managerial roles in the NHS .
The NHS Equality and Diversity Leadership Framework sits alongside the new national Equality Delivery System (EDS). It offers an holistic, comprehensive and evidence-based overview of the competencies managers and leaders need to support improved equality in health outcomes and workforce diversity across all the diverse communities which the NHS is there to serve.
To view the main Framework document, please click this link.
Historical Timelines
The contribution of Black and MInority Ethnic (BME) staff to the NHS: celebrating more than 60 years of our multi-ethnic health service
In the 60th anniversary year of the NHS, tNHS North West launched a Timeline Exhibition to celebrate the contribution of BME staff to the NHS since 1948 but also before then.
It was launched at a special celebration evening for BME staff from across the North West. The event also acknowledged, and reflected on, on the struggles that BME staff in the NHS have had to face to get the recognition that they deserve.
Accompanying the exhibition is a short film based on real life stories from local BME staff past, present and future. The event report and an electronic version of the exhibition can be downloaded below. To order a copy of the film on DVD please contact Nienke Wolters
Event report
Photographic Timeline Exhibition
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and TransGender Historical Health Timeline
NHS North West launched this Timeline Exhibition in February 2011 to co-incide with the annual LGBT History Month.
This Timeline resource celebrates the history and achievements of LGB&T people, particularly those who have contributed to healthcare over the years, and the development of a vibrant and active community in the North West.
The exhibition and accompanying booklet also document the way in which the medical view of sexual orientation and gender identity have altered through the ages, showing the landmark decision points where changes occurred.
It's accompanied by a short film, Rainbow Voices, based on interviews with current NHS staff, highlighting their experiences and the culture changes they have witnessed over the past two or three decades.
Health Equality Stakeholder Engagement (HESE)
NHS North West recognises that voluntary sector partners are a rich and valuable source of expertise on their communities of interest. Because of this, they are much in demand for consultation by the public sector but are often expected to provide this consultancy 'free' and can get overwhelmed by the demand without the capacity to match.
So we set up a consultation model based on paid-for service level agreements with third sector minority organisations representing all the 'protected groups'. It provides a way of consulting that goes beyond just asking people what they think by making active, rather than passive, use of the third sector. The specialist knowledge and expertise of the stakeholder organisation are engaged for advice and support when reviewing the equality impact of SHA strategies, plans and activities.
These agreements include time for formal consultations, an allowance for ad-hoc telephone support and a small allowance for specific research. This model also requires cross-cutting issues to be tackled by all groups, for example the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) stakeholder organisation has to be able to address how issues of sexual orientation affect not only gay men and lesbian women, but also BME people, disabled people, different age groups, trans people, and LGB people’s religion or belief.
These are just a few of the formal consultations in which our HESE partners have been involved over the past four years.
- Talking Food, Taking Action (Our Life)
- Healthier Horizons (NHS North West's regional Darzi Review)
- NHS North West's Workforce Diversity Project
- Response to the NHS White Paper July 2010
- "Revolution for Patients" consultation
- Child and Maternal Health consultation
- Launch of the NHS 111 Helpline
HESE representatives also took part in the second round of our regional NHS Equality Performance Improvement Toolkit system (EPIT) (see above). Primary Care Trusts/commissioner bodies presented evidence of the equality outcomes achieved by their organisations to an SHA assessment and validation panel which included HESE members.
To read the supporting publication which sets out the learning from our HESE project, please click either on the image below or the link at the end of this section.
An Equal Partnership: captured learning from setting up a health equalities stakeholder engagement model