Equality Strategy
2014 – 2016
FINAL DRAFT_May 2014
Contents
Part 1: Introduction
Foreword
Welcome
What is ‘equality’, ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘Human Rights’?
The culture of DCHS
What have we achieved since 2011?
About Derbyshire
The Derbyshire population (2011 census data)
Health inequalities in Derbyshire
DCHS’ workforce profile
DCHS’ service user profile
Part 2: DCHS’ approach to equality
Our vision for equality
Why is equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights important
to us?
What is the Equality Delivery System2 (EDS2)?
DCHS and EDS2
Our legal obligations
Reporting and decision-making
Our priority equality objectives
Links to DCHS’ strategic priorities
Part 3: Embedding good equalities practice
Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) / Equality Analysis
Equality Monitoring
Engagement and involvement
Access to services
Partnership working
Equality in employment
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Contact for more information
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Appendices
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Appendix 1: Summary of DCHS Equalities Action Plan, 2014-15
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Part 1: Introduction
Foreword
We are delighted to introduce DCHS’ new Equalities Strategy, which clearly
states our commitment to achieving equality, celebrating diversity, fostering a
culture of inclusion and respecting Human Rights.
This strategy explains what we will do to make DCHS an inclusive employer
and service provider. It sets out our vision and identifies our priority equality
objectives that will help us to achieve it.
At DCHS, we recognise that good equalities practice is fundamental to the provision of high
quality health services that meet people’s individual needs. We also appreciate that it’s one
of the most critical elements of attracting - and retaining - a highly skilled and experienced
workforce. This strategy sets out how we will promote equality in the delivery of our services
and the employment of staff.
The strategy covers inequality in terms of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and
civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
These are known as ‘Protected Characteristics’ in the Equality Act 2010. DCHS also
recognise that inequality is cause by other factors, such as socio-economic disadvantage and
a lack of consideration of Human Rights, and that other ‘groups’ experience discrimination
and disadvantage, such as carers. Our approach considers these in addition to the
‘Protected Characteristics’.
This new strategy will focus on continuing the good work we’re doing right across the Trust to
embed good equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights practice so that we deliver the
best services that improve outcomes for our patients / service users and their carers, and so
we make DCHS the best place to work.
Tracy Allen
Chief Executive
Prem Singh
Chairman
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Welcome
I am proud to welcome you to our new Equalities Strategy.
This is DCHS’ second strategy – the first was produced in 2011 – and it has
been written to communicate the progress we have made to date and what our
plans are for the future.
We have decided to develop this strategy because we are passionate about
people – our service users and our employees – and want to make a real
difference to people’s lives.
DCHS’ vision is ‘To be the best provider of local healthcare and a great place to
work’.
We were one of the first NHS organisations to sign up to the national Equality Delivery
System (EDS), a framework that was designed to improve organisations equalities practice,
back in 2011. Since then, we have used it to help us to develop our own DCHS Equalities
Framework that focuses upon the areas that we, in collaboration with a wide range of our
stakeholders, have identified as being the most important for us to make progress on.
We have identified what outcomes we want to achieve, our equalities priorities, and have
also determined how we are going to achieve them, who will be involved in achieving them
and when they will be achieved by. This is all set out in our Equalities Action Plan, a
summary of which is at Appendix 1.
As Chair of DCHS’ Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Forum, I am looking forward
to working with my colleagues across the whole organisation in implementing this strategy.
Whilst I realise that we have much more to do to achieve our aspirations and make equality,
diversity, inclusion and Human Rights part of everything we do, I am confident that we can
achieve it. We have the commitment and the right attitude to make it happen.
Please get in touch if you would like to comment on this strategy or find out more about the
work we’re doing on the equalities agenda. I look forward to hearing from you.
Amanda Rawlings
Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness
and Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Forum (EDILF)
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What is ‘equality’, ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘human rights’?
Whilst each of these terms are separate and different, there is a connection
between them. They are all about fairness and respect.
A definition of each of these terms is below:
Equality
Equality is about fair treatment. It is not about treating everybody the same. It’s about
recognising that inequality exists and that discrimination needs to be tackled; that
employment and services should be accessible to all; that everyone should be treated fairly
and with respect, and that everyone has individual needs and the right to have those needs
met.
The Department of Health has defined equality as being about ‘…creating a fairer society,
where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential' (DoH, 2004)
Diversity
Diversity is about recognising difference. It recognises that everyone is an individual with
their own background, experiences, styles, perceptions, values and beliefs and that we need
to understand, value, and respect these differences.
Inclusion
Inclusion is a sense of belonging, of feeling respected and valued for who you are.
Human Rights
Human Rights are the basic rights and freedoms that should be available to every person in
the world. Human Rights are based on core principles such as dignity, fairness, equality,
respect and autonomy. They protect people’s freedom to control their own lives, effectively
take part in decisions made by public authorities which impact upon their rights, and get fair
and equal services from public authorities.
The culture of DCHS
Quality Service, Quality Business and Quality People are at the heart of how we operate –
this is The DCHS Way.
Leadership of the equalities agenda within DCHS is strong. This is demonstrated by the
visible commitment and involvement of the Trusts’ Executive Directors and Non-Executive
Directors in improving DCHS’ performance in this area.
Our Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness is the strategic lead for the
equalities agenda. Our Chief Executive and other Executive Directors are Equality
Champions, each tasked with championing a specific equality theme. In this role, they
demonstrate senior leadership and support of the agenda and recognise the instrumental
part they play in the process of positive culture change within the organisation.
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What have we achieved since 2011?
Since 2011, we have heightened our focus on developing our employees’
understanding and awareness of equality, diversity, inclusion and Human
Rights through a range of events and innovative training.
We marked national NHS Equality and Diversity Week for the very first time in May 2013.
Events included inspirational talks, performances, language taster sessions, cultural dancing
displays, workshops and debates. We also launched five videos, available to view on our
website, challenging gender stereotypes and myths and misconceptions of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and Trans young people.
We celebrated Black History Month for the first time in October 2012. In October 2013 we
marked the month by engaging employees in a quiz to raise awareness of the significant
contribution that Black and other ethnic minority communities have made, and are continuing
to make, to UK society. We also created displays in our community hospitals, which included
a black history timeline, to generate discussion and develop understanding.
We marked, for the first time, International Human Rights Day on 10th December 2013, by
delivering a presentation and holding a debate on the theme of ‘Understanding your Human
Rights’.
We have established three Employee Network Groups for our lesbian, gay, bisexual and
Trans (LGB&T) employees, our Black and ethnic minority employees and our employees with
a Disability or long-standing condition. Each group has open membership for equality ‘allies’
or anyone – irrespective of characteristic – wanting to support DCHS in progressing the
agenda.
The Trust has been recognised by Stonewall as a gay friendly employer moving from a
ranking of 230th in 2013 to 168th in 2014 and our ambition is to move into the top 100 over
the next two years.
In May 2012, we secured a grading of ‘Developing’ under the Equality Delivery System (EDS)
– now known as EDS2 – by a representative panel of stakeholders from the voluntary and
community sectors (the pilot Derbyshire Community Health Services Equality Panel). Since
then we have continued to make progress and have created our own DCHS Equalities
Framework, based on the EDS, which has enabled us to focus our activity on our key
priorities as identified by us and our stakeholders. To support the DCHS Equalities
Framework, we created – initially in 2012 and updated annually since then – our first
Equalities Action Plan which explicitly identifies the positive outcomes we want to achieve,
how we will achieve them and by when.
We have created, and are now implementing, a new approach to equality impact
assessment. This ensures that we properly identify and understand the possible or actual
effect of what we are doing, or planning to do, on all the Protected Characteristics and other
groups who are at risk of discrimination or disadvantage. We are working hard to ensure that
all of our key decisions, including service changes, policies and procedures, proposals and
projects, undergo a timely assessment that is of a high quality and that the outcome of this is
used to best effect.
We have made equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights learning and development a
key part of the Trusts’ Induction programme, which all new employees must attend, and have
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embedded it into our Essential Learning programme that everyone refreshes every two
years. In early 2014 we launched a new ‘Introduction to Equality and Diversity at DCHS’
video, starring our own employees, for new starters to watch at their Induction. It
communicates what equality and diversity mean within DCHS, why it’s important and what
our expectations of our employees are.
Since May 2011, have had in place an Equality Monitoring Framework, which provides
practical guidance and establishes minimum standards in relation to what questions should
be asked, how and by whom. Additional guidance has been developed to generate a better
of understanding of why we need to ask questions that may, to some people, seem ‘personal’
or ‘sensitive’ and is being communicated across the organisation.
During 2012, we undertook a comprehensive data verification and validation exercise to ‘fill
the gaps’ in equalities-related information held about our employees. This has improved the
quality and accuracy of our workforce equality data reports.
We have strengthened our focus on equality and diversity in DCHS’ governance
arrangements, with formal monthly reporting of progress to the Board-level Quality People
and Quality Services Committees. The Director of People and Organisational Effectiveness
chairs our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Forum (EDILF), which ensures that
effective and co-ordinated action is taken across Derbyshire Community Health Services
NHS Trust (DCHS) to reduce disadvantage, discrimination and inequalities of opportunity,
and promote diversity and inclusion in terms of the people it serves, its workforce, the
partners it works with and the services it delivers.
About Derbyshire
The Derbyshire population (2011 Census data)
The 2011 Census data tells us that the population of Derbyshire is 736,596.
Age
Derbyshire has an ageing population, with peaks at ages 40-50 years and again at 60-64
years. The figure below shows the population by age and gender:
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Source: ONS
Gender
There is a relatively equal gender split in Derbyshire. 51% of the population are female and
49% are male.
Disability or long-term condition
21% of Derbyshire’s population has a long-term health problem or disability that affects their
day-to-day activities either a little or a lot.
Approximately 0.5% of the population in Derbyshire County are known to have a learning
disability and this is similar to the national average. It is however estimated that the likely true
prevalence is just over 2%1.
1
Derby and Derbyshire Learning Disability Needs Assessment, March 2013
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Ethnicity
96% of the Derbyshire population describe their ethnic group as ‘White’. However there are
some small variations in the BME populations at a district level. South Derbyshire,
Chesterfield and Erewash have a higher Black, Asian and Mixed population than other
districts in the county.
Source: ONS
Religion or belief
Derbyshire’s population hold a wide range of religious beliefs, although the majority (63%)
identify themselves as ‘Christian’. 28% of the population have said they have no religion.
Marriage or Civil Partnership
29% of the population are single (never married or never registered a same-sex civil
partnership); 50% are married; 0.2% are in a registered same-sex civil partnership; 2.4% are
separated (but still legally married or still legally in a same-sex civil partnership); 10% are
divorced or formally in a same-sex civil partnership that is now legally dissolved, and 8% are
widowed or the surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership.
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Health inequalities in Derbyshire2
‘Inequalities in health arise because of inequalities in society – in the conditions
in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. So close is the link between
particular social and economic features of society and the distribution of health
among the population, that the magnitude of health inequalities is a good
marker of progress towards creating a fairer society. Taking action to reduce
inequalities in health does not require a separate health agenda, but action
across the whole of society.’ (The Marmot Review, 2010).
On average the health and prosperity of residents is as good as, or a little better
than the England average, but there are very significant variations between the
most and least deprived areas which is reflected in many statistics around
health outcomes and healthy lifestyles. In the wealthiest wards, people can
expect to live ten or more years longer than people in the most deprived areas
and to be in good health for many more of these years too.
The 2011 Census has identified that 9.7% of the population in Derbyshire report that they
have their day-to-day activities limited ‘a lot’ by a Disability or other long-term health
condition, and 10.7% more by a slightly lesser extent. This total of 20.4% is slightly higher
than England’s average of 17.6%. Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions
showed that, in 2012, over 46,000 people in Derbyshire were in receipt of Disability Living
Allowance.
The five biggest causes of long term ill health in Derbyshire are hypertension, asthma,
diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic heart disease (CHD). This information
comes from the registers kept by GP practices in the county. Other major causes are stroke,
cancer and chronic lung diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema (known as COPD)
which are common in our old mining communities and where too many people smoke.
Generally people living in Derbyshire are healthier than the national average. Over the last
10 years or so, the death rates from all causes and across all ages have continuously
declined locally and in England as a whole, and so people everywhere are living longer. This
is a great success for our society, but brings challenges too for our health and social
services.
The main causes of death in Derbyshire are stroke and heart disease (circulatory diseases)
followed closely by cancer. Derbyshire is similar to the rest of England.
In Derbyshire our obesity rates are similar to the England average but have grown alarmingly
in just 5 years from 20 to over 25%. Childhood obesity is a major concern nationally. In
Derbyshire the percentage of reception age children who are obese is 7.7% (NCMP
2011/12), which is better than average for England (9.5%). Children in the most deprived
areas of Derbyshire are more likely to be obese. Inactivity (exercise) rates are also
statistically similar to national rates, but remain at a high level.
2
From the Derbyshire Public Health Report, 2012/13 (at www.derbyshire.gov.uk)
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Some other key facts about health inequalities are:
Childhood immunisation rates in Derbyshire are better than average; over 97% of parents
seek to have their babies vaccinated against once-common infectious diseases such has
polio and diphtheria.
Breastfeeding prevalence at 6-8 weeks (43.0%) is significantly lower in Derbyshire than the
England average (48.6%).
Smoking in pregnancy is more prevalent in Derbyshire than nationally, but if we drill down we
can see the rate ranges from 9.3% in Derbyshire Dales to 21.8% in Bolsover (2010-11).
Inequalities in health experienced by children in Derbyshire are illustrated by the fact that
A&E admissions and hospital admissions due to self-harm in children aged 12 to 19 are
significantly higher in the most deprived areas of Derbyshire compared to the most affluent.
Most of these admissions are girls.
Although we have a lower proportion of children in care in Derbyshire than England, a key
challenge for us is to tackle the inequalities in emotional health amongst our children in care.
The average score for emotional health of Children in Care was higher for Derbyshire than
for England and ranged from 13.4 in High Peak to 18.6 in Bolsover (on the SDQ tool, where a
higher score indicates poorer emotional health). Four districts have an average score of 17
or over.
It is estimated that in Derbyshire there are currently around 12,487 people living with
dementia.
Local data from GP practices in Derbyshire show that people with learning disabilities are
more likely to have diabetes, asthma, epilepsy or schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or
psychoses than the general practice population. It also suggests that eligible women with
learning disabilities are less likely to access cervical cancer screening services and are more
likely to have been excepted from the screening program than the practice population.
Some other key facts about inequalities in Derbyshire more generally are:
Around one in five children under 16 in Derbyshire live in poverty, with wide variation
between districts (with nearly half of children in some wards living in poverty). This can have
a profound impact on children’s health, education, aspirations and opportunities.
The map below shows levels of economic deprivation in Derbyshire, with darker colours
indicating higher levels of deprivation. Some large areas of Derbyshire are relatively affluent;
however there are some significant pockets of deprivation in the east of the area.
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The number of young people aged 16 to 18 in Derbyshire not in education, employment or
training (NEET) has started to rise. It’s also higher in Derbyshire (7.6%) than England (6.0%)
and there are considerable inequalities within the county with rates ranging from 4.3% in
Derbyshire Dales to 8.4% in Chesterfield. Being NEET is associated with poorer outcomes
later in life.
The latest figures from the Department for Energy and Climate Change show 80,766
households (total of 19%) in Derbyshire are living in fuel poverty. This is slightly above the
regional average of 18.2%. Older people in the most rural areas are particularly vulnerable to
fuel poverty and older people on low incomes in these areas experience greater difficulty
accessing services and support.
DCHS’ workforce profile
In summary, our most recent workforce equality analysis (for 2013/14) shows that:
We employ an ageing workforce. The highest proportion of our employees are in the age
group 46-50 years. Younger people, aged 16-25, are significantly under-represented in our
workforce when compared to the local, regional and national population. Most of our
employees are at Salary Band 5 or below.
Fewer than 2% of our employees have declared a Disability or long-standing illness or
condition. A significant number of employees continue to be ‘undefined’, which means their
Disability status is currently unknown. Employees declaring a disability are in posts across
the Salary Bands 1 to 8b.
88% of our employees are female. The gender profile of service areas range from 84% male
/ 6% female in Estates to 6% male / 94% female in Health Wellbeing and Inclusion. The
highest proportion of females in Salary Bands 2 and 3 compared to the highest proportion of
males in Salary band 9 and 8d.
Fewer than 4% of our employees are Black, Asian, Chinese or from another ethnic minority
group (BME). Our workforce ethnicity profile by service area ranges from 100% White in
Operations Management to 16% BME in Strategy. The highest proportion of White
employees are in Salary Band 8d and Band 3 compared to BME employees in Salary Band
9.
A high proportion (41%) of our employees are Christian, 32% are ‘Undefined’ and 17% are
‘Not Disclosed’. Just over 5% of our workforce are Atheist; 4% are ‘Other’ and less than 1%
are Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, or Sikh.
53% of our employees have declared themselves as heterosexual. Less than 1% of our
workforce has declared that they are gay (man or woman) and less than 1% is bisexual.
14% have opted not to disclose their sexual orientation and almost 32% are still ‘Undefined’.
DCHS service user profile
54% of our Minor Injury Unit service users are male; the age of service users ranges from 0
to 104 years, however the largest user group are aged between 15 and 19 years. 83% of
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service users are White British; however the ethnicity of 15% of our service users is not
recorded.
55% of our Inpatient service users are female; the age of service users ranges from 10 to
109 years, however the largest user group are aged between 80 and 84 years. 92% of our
service users are White British.
55% of our Outpatient service users are female; the age of service users ranges from 4 to
114 years, however the largest user group are aged between 65 and 69 years, and 82% are
White British.
Information about our service users accessing the wide range of our community services is
not captured consistently and therefore no analysis or reporting of this has taken place.
Additionally, we do not currently collect or analyse in a consistent fashion, or publicly report
on, disability status or type of disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy or
maternity status, marriage or civil partnership or gender reassignment. This is a priority area
for improvement the actions we plan to take to address these gaps are detailed in our Action
Plan.
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Part 2: DCHS’ approach to equality
Our vision for equality
Our vision is to be a healthcare community that promotes equality, values
diversity and radiates inclusive practice in both employment and service
delivery. We want to attract, recruit and retain a wide range of staff from all
sections of society to work in a positive, inclusive and nurturing environment.
We also want to deliver, with dignity and respect, inclusive and accessible
services that meet our patients’ individual needs.
Why is equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights important
to us?
As an NHS organisation, we have both a legal and moral duty to demonstrate
fairness and equality to our patients and services users, their carers and
families, and to our employees.
We understand and appreciate that everyone is an individual, with different
needs and requirements. People have very different life experiences and
sometimes face many challenges and barriers to accessing services and
opportunities.
We want to provide a wide range of quality health services that are designed to
meet people’s individual needs. We are committed to personalising our
services to ensure that the most positive outcome is achieved for all.
Additionally, we believe that the business case for equality and diversity is strong.
We want to foster an ‘inclusive’ culture, and treat our employers with fairness and respect, so
that we recruit the best people to work for us. We want our staff to feel committed to the
organisation, have high levels of job satisfaction and feel motivated in their work.
We want to understand who our patients or service users are so that we can effectively meet
their needs so that they continue to want to receive services from us. A tailored,
personalised approach will produce better outcomes for individuals rather than a ‘one size fits
all’ one that isn’t personalised.
What is the NHS Equality Delivery System2 (EDS2)?
EDS2 is an evidence-based tool to enable health care organisations to make
good equalities practice part of the day-to-day activities and to help meet their
legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
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It supports NHS commissioners and service providers to deliver better
outcomes for patients and communities, and to promote better working
conditions for employees which are personal, fair and diverse.
There are 18 outcomes in the EDS2, grouped under the four goals of:
1. Better health outcomes for all
2. Improved patient access and experience
3. Empowered, engaged and included staff
4. Inclusive leadership at all levels
Health organisations are required to provide evidence to show to what extent they are
achieving all of the 18 outcomes. This evidence will help to determine whether an
organisation is rated as ‘Excelling’, ‘Achieving’, ‘Developing’ or ‘Undeveloped’.
DCHS and the EDS / EDS2
DCHS was an early adopter of the NHS’ new Equality Delivery System (EDS), which was
launched by the Department of Health (DoH) in July 2011.
We were externally assessed and validated as achieving ‘Developing’ (Level 2) of the EDS in
May 2012 by a representative panel of external stakeholders, including our service users and
representatives from the local voluntary and community sector.
This external assessment resulted in the formation of our first set of priority equality
objectives, which were set out in our first Equalities Action Plan.
We have used the EDS as a foundation for developing our own DCHS Equalities Framework,
which is based on EDS2, and provides the focus for our activities over the next two years.
DCHS remains committed to attaining the ‘Achieving’ level of the EDS2 by March 2015.
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Our legal obligations
Equality Act 2012 and the Public Sector Equality Duty
The Equality Act 2010 and associated Public Sector Equality Duty are the main pieces of
equalities legislation, which set out the different ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone.
The Act covers nine Protected Characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment,
marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual
orientation) which cannot be used as a reason for treating people less favourably or unfairly.
Every person has one or more of these Protected Characteristics, so the Act protects
everyone.
The Public Sector Equality Duty comprises a general duty which is supported by specific
duties. The general duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to:

Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation;

Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a Protected Characteristic
and those who do not; and

Foster good relations between people who share a Protected Characteristic and those
who do not.
Human Rights Act 1998
There are basic human rights set out in the Human Rights Act 1998. As a health care
provider organisation, we strongly value these as everyone must have equal access to their
human rights. Therefore, we will ensure that we consider opportunities to promote and
protect people’s relevant human rights in all that we do.
We will also ensure that people – our services users, their carers and our employees – are
aware of their human rights and the legislation and how they can use it to help them address
discrimination and unfairness.
A focus on human rights and key values like fairness and respect underpin The DCHS Way.
The Act sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that individuals in the UK can expect.
They include:

the right to life

freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment

the right to liberty and security

freedom from slavery and forced labour

the right to a fair trial

no punishment without law
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
respect for private and family life, home and correspondence

freedom of thought, belief and religion

freedom of expression

freedom of assembly and association

the right to marry and start a family

protection from discrimination in respect of these rights and freedoms

the right to peaceful enjoyment of property

the right to education

the right to participate in free elections
Reporting and decision-making
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Forum (EDILF) aims to ensure that effective
and co-ordinated action is taken across Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust
(DCHS) to reduce disadvantage, discrimination and inequalities of opportunity, and promote
diversity and inclusion in terms of the people it serves, its workforce, the partners it works
with and the services it delivers.
The Forum is a formal sub group of the Quality People and Quality Service Committees,
which report directly to the Trust Board, and provides support and assurance to them. The
Forum determines DCHS’ equalities priorities, objectives and targets, in collaboration with
stakeholders, and monitors and performance manages the progress being made towards
their achievement.
The Forum oversees the implementation of the DCHS Equalities Framework and Action Plan
and ensure the organisations compliance with the NHS Equality Delivery System 2 (EDS2)
and equalities legislation.
Our priority equality objectives
In response to the Equality Act and the Public Sector Equality Duty, we have identified and
are working towards achieving, 5 priority equality objectives.
These objectives were identified following engagement with our stakeholders (our service
users, their carers and our employees) and external assessment of our equalities practice
which helped us to see the progress we were making with meeting our equalities duties and
the requirements of the EDS.
They underpin this Strategy, our Equalities Action Plan and provide a focus for our work over
the next few years.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Forum formally approved these objectives
and is leading on their implementation and achievement.
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Here are our 5 priority equality objectives:
Objective 1:
Consider the impact of what we do (or are planning to do) on all
sections of the community (all the ‘Protected Characteristics’).
Objective 2:
Increase and improve DCHS’ awareness and understanding of
equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights issues.
Objective 3:
Better understand, and more effectively meet, the needs of all
our service users / patients.
Objective 4:
Better understand the profile and experiences of our employees
and achieve a diverse workforce.
Objective 5:
Progress the equalities agenda within DCHS.
Appendix 1 of this Strategy and our Equalities Action Plan provides more information about
the work we will undertake to ensure we achieve these objectives.
Links to DCHS’ strategic objectives
DCHS recognises that embedding equalities good practice in all that we do as an
organisation is fundamental to us achieving our quality business, quality service and quality
people objectives.
Our Quality Service objective is to…
“To deliver high quality and sustainable services that echo the values and aspirations of the
communities we serve.”
Our Quality People objective is to…
“To build a high performance work environment that engages, involves and supports staff to
reach their full potential.”
Our Quality Business objective is to…
“To ensure an effective, efficient and economical organisation that promotes productive
working and which offers good value to its community and commissioners.”
DCHS Quality People Strategy
‘Achieving Equality, Valuing Diversity’ is a strategic priority in the Quality People, The DCHS
Way Strategy, 2014 -2019.
The strategy supports the delivery of the DCHS Integrated Business Plan and Clinical
Strategy and our vision to be the best provider of local healthcare and a great place to work.
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Part 3: Embedding good equalities practice
Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) / Equality Analysis
Undertaking EIAs - sometimes referred to as Equality Analysis - helps us to understand how
our decisions may affect different groups of people.
We use EIAs as a policy and service improvement tool – they help us to identify what we
need to do to better meet people's needs. We use them to help us to think clearly about how
what we do may impact on all members of our community and provides us with an
opportunity to consider how we can further promote equality, diversity, inclusion and Human
Rights in everything that we do.
We consider each of the 9 Protected Characteristics as well as carers, people who are
socially and economically disadvantaged, rurally isolated, asylum seekers and refugees and
children in care.
DCHS’ approach to Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) has been integrated into much of
the organisations decision-making process, and is embedded with our Policy Development
Framework with all key policies requiring an assessment to be completed in order to be
approved by committee. The current completion rate stands at 83%.
We are focussing our efforts on ensuring that good quality assessments are undertaken on
all service changes, key projects and proposals as well as new or significantly changed
policies and procedures.
Equality Monitoring
DCHS recognises that equality monitoring is central to its principle of operating fairly and
equitably in terms of both employment practices and service design and delivery. We need
information about the characteristics of our community, staff and service users, if we are to
understand people’s needs and to monitor whether or not we are meeting them.
The organisations Equality Monitoring Framework provides the business case for monitoring
the equality profile of our service users and contains guidance to enable it to be undertaken
effectively. Our IT systems currently being used to capture service user information are
being adapted to that equality data is being captured appropriately and as a matter of course.
We have identified equality monitoring as one of our key priority areas for improvement and
will be working closely with employees and service users / patients over the next 12 months
to improve the way that we ask for, collect and use information about our employees and
service users so that this is done much more consistently across all service areas.
This will include explaining the reasons why we are asking for it - which is so that we can
make sure that everyone has equal access to services and opportunities - what it will be used
for - which is to help us to see where we need to do further work to tackle unfairness or
disadvantage - and the benefits it will bring.
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Engagement and involvement
Engaging and involving our service users, patients, their carers, our employees, partners and
other stakeholders in what we do is a priority for DCHS.
We have reviewed how we currently do this and it has been identified that we need to
improve our approach so that it is more inclusive.
We want to improve the way we engage with people and involve them in our decision-making
processes. We want our Patient and Public Engagement activities to fully represent the
diverse communities we serve and we are committed to making the way that we talk to, and
communicate with, people more inclusive and equitable.
We are engaging with our Members and Public Governors, as well as our patients, our
employees and individuals from the local community and voluntary sector, and involving them
in assessing our progress towards achieving our equalities priorities.
Access to services
DCHS is committed to improving access to our premises and services by removing physical
and other barriers experienced by our employees, patients and service users. Whilst a
number of our premises have Listed Building status, where we have the power to improve
access we will do so. We will ensure that, whenever we make any modifications to premises
or during the design for any new buildings, equitable access issues are prioritised. We will
include, wherever possible, Changing Places facilities and ensure that the needs of people
with a range of disabilities are considered.
The organisation has a robust approach to the provision of translation and interpretation
services. Pearl Linguistics is used by DCHS for both telephone and face-to-face
interpretation and translation.
Our Translation and Interpretation Policy ensures that all patients whose first language is not
English and patients with disabilities, such as hearing and speech impairments, have access
to quality health services regardless of the language they speak or any disability they may
have. It also ensures that our employees follow the correct procedures for obtaining
interpreting and translation services.
We have recognised that, for people with specific communication needs, it is necessary to
adopt appropriate communication strategies aimed at reducing risks, promoting equality and
improving healthcare services. We also recognise that ensuring patients receive information
in an understandable format is essential to obtaining informed consent.
The latest analysis of our interpretation and translation usage shows that, by far, the majority
of requests are for the Polish language and for British Sign Language (BSL).
We are developing an ‘Inclusive Communications Toolkit’ to ensure that we tailor our
approach to meet people’s individual needs.
We are having ‘Big Conversations’ with our employees to develop a better understanding of
the need to understand who our patients or service users are, and how this helps us in our
aim to provide effective personalised care that meets the needs of the individual.
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Partnership working
At both the October 2011 and January 2012 EDS launch events that we held in partnership
with Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (the mental health trust), Derby Hospitals
Foundation Trust and the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), members of DCHS’
executive team co-signed an Equalities Charter along with senior representatives from other
healthcare organisations in the City and County. The Charter enabled us to make a public
and visible commitment to:
•
Promote and champion equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights;
•
Recognise the equality challenges we face and work with our patients/service
users, carers, communities and staff to tackle these in a proactive and positive
way;
•
Identify local needs and priorities, particularly those of groups at risk of
disadvantage and discrimination;
•
Facilitate the engagement of everyone in shaping local services to meet individual
needs and achieve better outcomes;
•
Help and support staff to understand the importance of personalisation, fairness
and diversity in the planning and delivery of services;
•
Provide an environment where staff can thrive, are confident to be themselves, feel
valued and treat each other with fairness, dignity and respect;
•
Work to ensure that all of our information, services and buildings are accessible for
all;
•
Show zero tolerance towards bullying, harassment, inappropriate language and
behaviour, and encourage the reporting of all cases of discrimination;
•
Acknowledge and value the work of all forums who help us deliver equality; and
•
Recognise and support the importance of working in partnership with our partners,
the local voluntary and community sectors and other stakeholders to make
sustained progress on the equalities agenda.
Equality in employment
Attraction, recruitment, selection and retention
We firmly believe that the recruitment of a diverse workforce is critical to the continued
success of the Trust. Ensuring that we create a workforce that represents the wider
community in relation to age, ethnicity and disability is one of our key priorities. We will be
creating an Apprenticeship Programme specifically for 16 – 24 year olds to provide them with
much needed experience in the world of work and potentially a job at the end of their training.
We will be working with colleges and universities to attract new graduates into our
employment. We want to be an employer of choice, for everyone.
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DCHS as a ‘Two Ticks – Positive about Disabled People’ employer
We are a Two Ticks ‘Positive about Disabled People’ employer, which means we have
signed up to 5 commitments. These are:
Commitment 1
Commitment 2
Commitment 3
Commitment 4
Commitment 5
To interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum
criteria for a job vacancy and consider them on their abilities.
To ensure there is a mechanism in place to discuss at any time, but at
least once a year, with disabled employees what can be done to make
sure they can develop and use their abilities.
To make every effort when employees become disabled to make sure
they stay in employment.
To take action to ensure that all employees develop the appropriate
level of disability awareness needed to make the commitments work.
Each year to review the 5 commitments and what has been achieved,
to plan ways to improve on them and let employees and the Jobcentre
Plus know about progress and future plans.
DCHS as a Mindful Employer
We are also a Mindful Employer, which means that we recognise that:



People who have mental health issues may have experienced discrimination in
recruitment and selection procedures. This may discourage them from seeking
employment
Whilst some people will acknowledge their experience of mental health issues in a
frank and open way, others fear that stigma will jeopardise their chances of getting a
job.
Given appropriate support, the vast majority of people who have experienced mental ill
health continue to work successfully as do many with ongoing issues.
As an employer, we aim to:

Show a positive and enabling attitude to employees and job applicants with mental
health issues. This will include positive statements in local recruitment literature

Ensure that all staff involved in recruitment and selection are briefed on mental health
issues and The Equality Act 2010, and given appropriate interview skills.

Make it clear in any recruitment or occupational health check that people who have
experienced mental health issues will not be discriminated against and that disclosure
of a mental health problem will enable both employee and employer to assess and
provide the right level of support or adjustment.
Page | 24

Not make assumptions that a person with a mental health problem will be more
vulnerable to workplace stress or take more time off than any other employee or job
applicant.

Provide non-judgemental and proactive support to individual staff who experience
mental health issues.

Ensure all line managers have information and training about managing mental health
in the workplace.
DCHS as a Stonewall Diversity Champion
We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion, which means we are committed to being an
inclusive employer. We have increased our ranking in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index
over the past 2 years, from a starting point of 327th in 2011 to 168th in 2014. The Index
measures how inclusive an employer we are and how LGB friendly. Our aspiration is to be in
the Top 100 list by 2016.
Supporting our employees
Our Dignity at Work Policy aims to:

Promote an awareness and understanding of the issue of bullying and harassment
amongst all of our employees.

Ensure all of our employees are aware of their individual responsibilities.

Develop a working environment where all our employees feel safe and supported to
disclose, for example, their sexuality or disability which may not be visible to others.

Enable employees, if necessary, to make a complaint or to assist in an investigation
without fear of reprisal.

Give details of how complaints will be managed.
Bullying and harassment incidents reported by staff are monitored and reported to the Board
on a regular basis. This data also forms part of the annual workforce equality data and
analysis report.
Our Flexible Working Policy recognises that, in addition to the duties and responsibilities at
work, many employees also have responsibilities and commitments outside of work. DCHS
is committed to enabling staff to achieve a work life balance and currently a significant
proportion of our staff work part-time or flexible hours.
We are committed to providing a range of workplace psychological services aimed at
promoting organisational effectiveness through well-being. The services we provide include:
counselling and psychological therapy, coaching and mediation. Access to these services is
through self-referral, which means that members of staff can be assured of confidentiality.
Page | 25
In terms of employee wellbeing, we take this very seriously and provide an independent
occupational health service offering confidential advice and support to help all staff to be safe
and well at work. The services provided include immunisations and vaccinations,
rehabilitation advice and guidance, and workplace assessments (including advising on
appropriate reasonable adjustments for staff).
Our Employee Network Groups
We have three Employee Network Groups - our ‘Myriad Voices’ Group for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and trans employees our BME Group for Black and ethnic minority employees and
our Disability Group for employees with a disability or long-term condition. Membership of
each group is extended to include ‘allies’ of the equalities agenda.
We place significant value on these groups and will continue to support them to move from
strength to strength and achieve their aims of supporting the organisation to embed good
equalities practice.
The main aims and objectives of our Employee Network Groups are to:

Promote race, sexual orientation and disability equality and challenge discrimination,
including racism, overt and covert homophobia, transphobia, heterosexism, and
disablism;

Raise awareness and promote understanding of issues that affect BME, LGB&T and
Disabled employees and service users;

Increase knowledge and understanding amongst all employees of Race, Sexual
Orientation, Trans and Disability equality;

Provide a forum for BME, LGB&T and Disabled employees;

Offer support, guidance and advice to our BME, LGB&T and Disabled employees;

Represent – and be a ‘voice’ of – our BME, LGB&T and Disabled employees;

Challenge, inform and be involved in the development of organisational policies and
procedures, and input into service design and delivery decisions;

Support the professional development of our BME, LGB&T and Disabled employees;
and
Page | 26

Develop links with other employee network groups and forums locally, regionally and
nationally.
Learning and development
We will continue to raise awareness of equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights across
the organisation through marking key dates and events, such as NHS Equality, Diversity and
Human Rights Week, International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, International
Day of Disabled People, Black History Month and others.
We are developing a series of learning opportunities for all employees to engage in to equip
them with the knowledge and skills required for them to effectively demonstrate ‘The DCHS
Way’. This learning will be delivered in a variety of ways and wherever staff can be reached,
including at individual team meetings.
Training on equality, diversity, inclusion and Human Rights is embedded in our Induction
programme for new employees. We deliver a face-to-face participative and interactive
session on the first day of the Induction programme and require that all employees follow this
up with the ‘Equality Essentials’ e-learning course.
It also forms a key part of our Essential Learning programme, which all staff are mandated to
attend and refresh every two years. We have developed an ‘Introduction to Equality, Diversity
and Inclusion at DCHS’ video, which is subtitled and British Sign Language (BSL) translated,
to stimulate discussion and debate. Hate Crime Awareness, covering all of the Protected
Characteristics, also forms part of this mandatory programme.
Additionally, all employees have access to face-to-face training courses on specific
equalities-related topics, including one on sexual orientation and trans equality.
We publish information about our work on the equalities agenda, including the
progress we are making towards achieving our objectives through our Equalities
Action Plan, on our public-facing website:
http://www.dchs.nhs.uk/dchs_about_us/dchs_equality_diversity
For more information, contact:
Sally Edwards
Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Tel: 07766 282951
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Summary of DCHS Equalities Action Plan, 2014-15
Equality Objective
Objective 1: Consider the impact
of what we do (or are planning to
do) on all sections of the
community (all the ‘Protected
Characteristics’)
EDS
Goal
Priority
Public
Sector
Equality
Duty
1,2,3,4
H
1,2,3
Ensure that Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs)
or Equality Analysis (EA) – using the agreed
format – are undertaken on all key decisions,
proposals, policies, procedures, services and
functions that are relevant to equality
Compliance
1,2,3
H
1,2
Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) carried out
as part of organisational restructures
Compliance / System
and procedure
1,2,3
M
1,2,3
Ensure that ‘Equality Proofing’ is undertaken of
key strategies and other relevant documents
Compliance
1,2,3
H
1,2,3
Use monitoring information to identify and
analyse:
DCHS Equalities
Framework Ref
Compliance / System
and procedure
Action






Complaints
Incidents
DNAs
Service under-representation
Satisfaction with services
Effectiveness / accessibility of workforce
initiatives
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Equality Objective
Objective 2. Increase and
improve DCHS’ awareness and
understanding of equality,
diversity, inclusion and Human
Rights issues
EDS
Goal
Priority
Public
Sector
Equality
Duty
Board capacity /
Leadership capacity /
Staff capacity
1,2,3,4
H
1,2,3
Raise the profile of equalities and diversity
throughout the organisation and develop staff
and service user awareness
System and procedure
1,2,3,4
H
1,2,3
Source, and signpost to - using the equalities
pages on DCHS website - relevant equalitiesrelated information and data
Leadership capacity /
Staff Capacity / People
and Organisation
Effectiveness capacity
3
H
1,2,3
Offer a range of effective learning and
development opportunities
Board development and
challenge
4
T
1,2,3
Promote high level ownership and championing
of equality and diversity issues
Leadership capacity
3,4
H
1,2,3
Embed equality and diversity values more
consistently in lower and middle tiers of
management
Leadership capacity /
Staff capacity
1,2,3,4
H
1,2,3
Prepare and deliver a programme of ‘Big
Conversation’ style roadshows tackling the
importance of understanding our service users
and their needs
DCHS Equalities
Framework Ref
Action
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Equality Objective
Objective 3: Better
understand, and more
effectively meet, the needs of
all our service users / patients
EDS
Goal
Priority
Public
Sector
Equality
Duty
System and procedure
2
H
1,2,3
Create new and more inclusive ways of engaging
and involving all members of the community (our
patients and other stakeholders) in what we do,
which can be used to support the EDS2
assessment process
Board capacity and
challenge
2
H
2
Understand the equalities profile of our Public
Governors and Members and include them in the
equalities agenda
Leaders capacity / Staff
capacity / System and
procedure
1,2
H
2
Embed, promote and raise awareness of equality
monitoring across all service areas
Compliance
1,2
M
1,2,3
Ensure that all DCHS services and buildings are
accessible to all
Compliance / Systems
and processes / Staff
capability
1,2,3
H
2
Continue to ensure that interpretation and
translation services are available, accessible and
of good quality
Compliance / Systems
and procedures /
Leadership capability /
Staff capability
1,2,3,4
T
1,2,3
DCHS Equalities
Framework Ref
Action
All services / divisions to develop an equalities
action plan based on the outcome of their EDS
self-assessment, equality monitoring evidence
and patient experience feedback
Page | 30
Equality Objective
Objective 4: Better
understand the profile and
experiences of our
employees and achieve a
diverse workforce
DCHS Equalities
Framework Ref
EDS
Goal
Priority
Public
Sector
Equality
Duty
Compliance / System and
procedure
3,4
H
1,2
Produce equalities analysis of workforce data on
annual basis
Compliance / System and
procedure
3,4
H
1,2
Undertake benchmarking of DCHS’ workforce
equality data with other comparator organisations
Compliance / System and
procedure
Staff capacity
Systems and processes
3,4
H
3
1,2,3,4
H
M
1,2
Action
Increase workforce diversity
1,2
1,2,3
Improve declaration of sexual orientation,
disability and religion or belief
Participate in, and continue to improve our place
in, the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index
Compliance / Systems
and procedures
3
H
1,2
Undertake equality analysis of Staff Surveys
Staff capacity
3
H
1,2
Raise profile of, and use to better effect, DCHS’
Employee Network Groups:



LGB&T (Myriad Voices)
BME
Disability and long-term conditions
Page | 31
Equality Objective
Objective 5: Progress the
equalities agenda within
DCHS
EDS
Goal
Priority
Public
Sector
Equality
Duty
1,2,3,4
T
1,2,3
Develop priority outcome-focused equality and
diversity objectives and actions
Systems and processes /
Governance
4
H
1,2,3
Ensure that monthly Equality, Diversity and
Inclusion Leadership Forum meetings are
arranged, held, well attended and appropriately
supported
Governance
4
H
1,2,3
Ensure that monthly EDS Leadership Group
Summary Reports are prepared and submitted to
both the QPC and QSC
System and procedure
1,2,3,4
M
1,2,3
Continue to contribute towards the work of the
Regional NHS Equalities Leads Group, the
Derbyshire Equalities Forum and other
associated partnership meetings or projects
Compliance
1,2,3,4
T
1,2,3
Publish information to evidence equalities best
practice and compliance with the Public Sector
Equality Duty (Equality Act 2010)
Systems and processes /
Compliance
1,2,3,4
H
1,2,3
Attain the ‘Achieving’ level of the NHS Equality
Delivery System (EDS)
Governance /
Compliance
1,2,3,4
T
1,2,3
Work with DCHS’ Membership, Public Governors
and Staff Governors to improve all performance
DCHS Equalities
Framework Ref
Compliance
Action
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