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NHS Tameside & Glossop

Equality and Diversity

Meeting our Public Equality Duties

We want to ensure all parts of our local communities have fair access to NHS information and services at the points in our lives, when we need to use NHS services. Different people will need different services, and at different points in our lives those needs will vary. We know that not all people access or take up services in the same way and we want to try to take reasonable steps to accommodate these different needs, particularly for local protected groups.  

We want to ensure that whoever you are, you can access / use our services and benefit.   Each year, we will publish information to show what we are doing to:  

  • Eliminate discrimination in healthcare
  • Reduce inequalities in health
  • Remove any barriers faced by more vulnerable protected community groups, in accessing healthcare
  • Encourage people who are less likely to access our services to take advantage of the health benefits they can offer
  • Foster good relations between different community groups by tackling prejudices and ‘prohibited discrimination’.

 As part of our legal duty and commitment to the equalities agenda across Tameside and Glossop we annually publish our workforce data (only where numbers are above 10) broken down by (pay bands), age, gender, disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, and where possible we will report by gender variance (Trans issues), marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, carers* and military veterans*.  

Our latest Workforce Report on findings from this data is now available for 2011.  

Click on the link to read our Annual Equality Publication, which sets out the work we have done this year to improve equality in Tameside and Glossop.  

For more detailed information on the topics discussed in our annual equality publication, you can also read our:    

  • Annual Workforce Report (this report has removed for adjustments & will be re-displayed shortly)

EPIT (Equality Performance Improvement Toolkit) Summaries 2010 – see below

EPIT Summaries 2011 – see below

For NHS Tameside and Glossop’s EDHR performance in 2010 and 2011 using the EPIT process, follow the links for:

The information above about our approach to monitoring who uses our services, differential satisfaction levels with those services by protected groups, equality and diversity in our workforce, and engagement with and feedback from local interest groups - will be used to set our 4-yearly Equality Objectives by April 2012.  

Statement of Purpose on Equality, Diversity & Human Rights (EDHR)

  • NHS Tameside and Glossop are fully committed to promoting good EDHR outcomes for patients, carers and staff from each of the local protected characteristic groups.   
  • We are determined to achieve this by offering equally fair opportunities to  access healthcare and employment for the local communities we serve.  
  • We will do this by making reasonable adjustments to accommodate individual needs of protected groups who do not always take up services in the same way and may be harder to reach and therefore more marginalised in terms of accessing healthcare.  
  • We will also actively engage with patient and staff reps from local protected groups, giving them a voice to scrutinise for any adverse impacts for protected groups, arising from key changes made by our NHS.   
  • The Trust will eliminate unlawful (prohibited) discrimination as defined within the Equality Act 2010.  
  • It is our duty and that of the Trust’s Board(s) / Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to evidence how we implement our equality duties, including anticipatory duties such as providing ‘reasonable adjustments’ to patients, carers and staff.   
  • An Essential Reasonable Adjustments Guide and training workshops for staff and provider partner organisations has been launched to raise practical awareness of our duty to consider / provide reasonable adjustments.   
  • Staff will be trained to recognise and appropriately address stereotyping and in the avoidance of all forms of prohibited discrimination (re the new prohibited discrimination framework).   
  • Staff will also be trained in the added value of positive workplace attitudes, behaviours and assumptions towards EDHR and the clear links to providing a quality service of a cohesive, effective workforce.   
  • Our primary care partner organisations are also offered Quality and Equality Workshops training currently at a nominal fee, as private sector businesses.This ensures our legal compliance EDHR responsibilities are also understood by our primary care partners.   
  • We will adopt the Equality Delivery System (EDS) which is a national EDHR performance system for the NHS, where local interest groups publicly grade our annual performance in terms of reviewing ‘health equality outcomes’ evidence from commissioners, Public Health, Human Resources and local provider partners.  
  • Such evidence will take ‘due regard’ of each of the protected groups, showing how we ensure fair access to information, services, premises (and employment opportunities) leading to improved healthcare opportunities for these harder to reach groups.   
  • The Trust are also determined to require evidence of ‘taking due regard’, from provider partner organisations when tendering for contracts and when meeting service specifications eg how do you recognise and address potential health inequalities for local protected groups? 
  • To undertake this the organisation requires clear leadership and recognition of our EDHR responsibilities as a provider of services to the public as well as through contracting arrangements with the private and voluntary sectors. 
  • The PCT aims to make these duties transparent by publication of new Equality Objectives by 6 April 2012, supported by an updated EDHR Strategy.  
  • The EDHR Strategy is extended to include services commissioned from private and voluntary sector organisations.   
  • The new NHS Competency Framework for Equality and Diversity Leadership  will also be adopted by our NHS as part of the new Equality Delivery System or EDS.  

Providing the public with EDHR information:

Each year, we will publish information to show what we are doing to:

  • Eliminate discrimination in healthcare
  • Reduce inequalities in health
  • Remove any barriers faced by certain community groups in accessing healthcare
  • Encourage people who are less likely to access our services to take advantage of the health benefits they can offer
  • Foster good relations between different community groups by tackling prejudices and promoting inclusion.

Click on the link to read our Annual Equality Publication, which sets out the work we have done this year to improve equality in Tameside and Glossop.

 The Equality Delivery System intends to target the following performance goals:

1. Better Health Outcomes for all

2. Improved patient access & experience

3. Empowered, engaged & well supported staff

4. Inclusive leadership at all levels  

If you would like more information about this or to take part in our consultation on how we can achieve improved performance for each of these goals then please contact juliaallen@nhs.net

 
 

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