Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is committed to creating a fully inclusive and accessible service.

Making equality and diversity an integral part of the business will enable us to enhance the services we deliver and better meet the needs of patients and staff.

We will treat people with dignity and respect, actively promote equality and diversity, and eliminate all forms of discrimination regardless of (but not limited to) age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage/civil partnership and pregnancy/maternity.

Our aim is to eliminate both health and workplace inequalities by ensuring we continually demonstrate inclusive practices not just in our processes but in our behaviour and to make this an integral part of everyday business. 

The Trust is committed to embedding Equality and Diversity into its day to day business including:

• Equality Impact Assessments are undertaken on all appropriate policies, strategies, procurement and service and organisational proposals
• Equality and Diversity is included in the Trust’s induction programme, the mandatory update programme, HCA and preceptorship training and F1 and F2 Doctors training, along with a dedicated Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Recruitment class for all recruiting managers.
• Launch of the Rainbow Badge in October 2019 to support both LGBT+ colleagues and patients. Since October 2019, we have received in excess of over 1300 pledges from colleagues to show their commitment to inclusion and the badge is a visible representation of this.
• NHS Health Passport was launched across UHP to support colleagues with a disability as they move through their roles within the NHS, allowing individuals to easily record information about their condition and support conversations with line managers around their difficulties and reasonable adjustments for their role.
• As of March 2021, ProjectSEARCH has supported 98 interns across 61 departments within the Trust. 65% of these interns have then gained paid employment, with 35 of them working for the Trust.
• Establishing 5 Staff Networks to discuss issues that affect colleagues who identify with one or more protected groups (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation). Our networks enable us to better understand their lived experience and the issues they face in the workplace and to bridge the gap in experience between colleagues who do not identify with a protected group. We are working in partnership with all our networks to review our position including our workforce equality standards, gender pay gap, EDS2 and to work together to co-create and develop actions that will make the biggest and most positive difference.  Alongside this we are actively fostering good relationships within colleagues in the Trust and external organisations.  We want to encourage and welcome input into how we achieve our aim and uncover our blind spots. Each of our five networks has a dedicated Executive Champion who allow us a direct link to the board who are committed to ensuring we create and maintain a hospital that is inclusive for patients and colleagues.
• We have also launched a Men's Conversation, which acts as a place where we warmly encourage men to talk openly about issues which are important to them, such as mental health, male specific conditions/diseases, the pandemic, working in a predominantly female environment and more.   
  We want to get a better understanding of how we can better support men and encourage them to engage and to talk about the pressures and issues affecting them.
• University Hospitals NHS Trust has signed the Charter for Employers who are Positive about Mental Health
• Launching our first #1BigTeam inclusion calendar. Visit here to download more copies: https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/2022-calendar
• UHP is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer under the UK Government’s  Disability Confident Scheme, a national accreditation scheme which complements the work we do to attract, recruit and retain colleagues with a disability, including those with long-term health conditions.
   

Click here to see our Mandatory Training Staff Diversity Infographic

Equality Delivery System

The Equality Delivery System (EDS) helps NHS Trusts improve their services for their local communities, consider health inequalities in their region and intends to provide better working environments free from discrimination. Learn more about it here and find our Equality Delivery System assessment in the document list along the righthand side of this page.

We are in the process of undertaking the Equality Delivery System 2022. We will publish our results as soon as possible, and if you have any queries please contact plh-tr.equalitydiversityandinclusion@nhs.net.

Legal Framework and Public Sector Duty

Our inclusion agenda recognises that everyone matters as well as understanding that there are times when people, particularly those from protected groups*, may face unfairness and discrimination.  We have a moral responsibility to work in a way that creates fairness as well as a legal and public sector duty which we take very seriously. 

We take our responsibilities in relation to the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010 seriously at UHP.

Organisations are required to publish their equality objectives by the 31st of March each year. UHP's 2021 objectives remain ongoing and we are in the process of reviewing our strategy which will enable us to set out actions and objectives to take us forward in our inclusion improvement journey.

Please also see our action plans within our Workforce Equality Standards along the righthand side of this page. If you would like to discuss this further or have any queries please contact us at plh-tr.equalitydiversityandinclusion@nhs.net.

Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.  The Act replaced previous anti-discrimination laws including the Race Relations Act 1976, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.  A single Act makes the law easier to understand and strengthens protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone. Find out more about who is protected from discrimination, the types of discrimination under the law and what action you can take if you feel you’ve been unfairly discriminated against.  Source: www.gov.uk

Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)

Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act.
• Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
• Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The legislation acknowledges that in some circumstances, compliance with the PSED may involve treating some persons more favourably than others, but not where this would be prohibited by other provisions of the Act.

Key steps to consider based on Brown’s principles (www.gov.uk):

· Understanding and awareness of the duties

· Inequalities taken into account before and whilst decision is being considered

· Sound evidence and information underpins decision making

· Duty is considered continuously throughout the decision-making process

* Protected groups as defined by the Equality Act 2010 - age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.

Contacts

If you have any comments or suggestions about our services either as a service user or as a member of our workforce, please contact: 

For service users please contact:
Jayne Glynn, Quality Commissioning & Patiet inclusion Lead, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Level 7, Derriford Hospital, Derriford Road, Plymouth, PL6 8DH Tel:   01752 439695

For workforce users please contact:
Jenny Birchall, HR Business Partner, HR Department,  Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Level 2, NU Building, Brest Rd, Plymouth PL6 5YE. Tel: 01752 437042