Promoting Equality and Diversity

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1 Promoting Equality and Diversity Purpose The purpose of this newsletter is to widen awareness of equality across all the 9 Protected Characteristics, encouraging input from staff into equality and diversity discussions and promoting the work of Rotherham CCG. Introduction NHS Rotherham CCG is committed to promoting equality as an employer and commissioner. Equality protects against discrimination and promotes equality of opportunity to protected groups. Diversity is about recognising and valuing our differences and creating a culture where everyone can participate, thrive and contribute. Human Rights are rights which have been set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 which protect everyone s right to: Life Not to be tortured or treated in an inhumane or degrading way Liberty A fair trial Respect for private and family life Not to be discriminated against in respect of our human right Our Equality Priorities As an employer we will recruit, develop and retain a workforce that reflects the diversity of Rotherham and the region. We will work to remove any unintended barriers that prevent equal opportunities for all staff. As a commissioner of health services we will work with the people of Rotherham to continually assess and understand their changing needs. We will use the insight they give us to plan and deliver the right health services, support and information to increase accessibility and choice. Our Legal Duties We have a statutory duty to eliminate discrimination and promote equality in employment and service provision. The Equality Act 2010 sets out new duties that will become effective from April These duties apply to people on the grounds of their: Age Disability Ethnicity (race) Gender Reassignment Marriage & Civil Partnership Pregnancy and Maternity Religion / Belief Sex Sexual Orientation Everyone who works for NHS Rotherham CCG or uses our services is protected by our duty to eliminate discrimination and promote equality. If you think we are not meeting these duties and you are personally 1

2 affected, you can raise issues initially through your line manager. If this remains unresolved you can raise the matter through the Grievance Procedure. If you think we are not meeting the service requirement for Rotherham resident. You can raise this through your Line Manager or, if unresolved, through the Whistle Blowing Policy and Complaint Procedure. Protected Characteristics Ethnicity Rotherham BME population has doubled in size to 8.1%. The largest minority ethnic group remains Pakistani with 3% of the total. However, the Black African population has increased 9 fold since It s important we understand the needs of different ethnic groups so our services can match the needs of the population. Disability The law defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a long term and significant impact on someone s ability to perform day to day tasks. This includes people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health problems. As an employer and a commissioner of services we need to make adjustments for people with disabilities. This includes making all services and communications easily accessible. Age Rotherham s population is ageing with a 16% increase in the number of people aged 65 contrasting with a 4.5% decrease in the number of children. For this reason we have developed a specific health care strategy to support older people, especially those with long-term conditions. In addition, we assess all of our services as part of our equality impact assessment process to ensure that services are available and accessible for all age groups, as far as possible.

3 Sexual Orientation As an employer and commissioner of health services, we promote equal opportunities and work to eliminate discrimination or harassment in this area. We have no exact information about Rotherham s population, but research from Stonewall estimates that around 6% of the national population is lesbian, gay or bisexual. We will continue to raise awareness of how our local health services could better respond to the different needs of gay, lesbian or bisexual people through consultations and engagement. Religion and Belief Rotherham s largest faith group is Christian (66.5%), followed by Muslim. The largest numbers of people stating that they have no religion is 22.5% which has more than doubled. 6.6% of population has no declared faith. By including faith in our equality impact assessment process, we hope to increase our knowledge and awareness of different faith groups. This will help us to understand and commission services for different requirements and needs. Other Protected Characteristics Details on the other protected characteristics can be found NHS Rotherham CCG Equality and Diversity Strategy Patient Experience Patients in Rotherham are at the forefront in influencing the way local health services are delivered as part of a drive to put them at the centre of all future decision making in the NHS. Patients will have an influence on our strategies, to enable us to meet the longer-term health needs of local people. Our patients voices will be crucial in delivering improved healthcare and highlighting areas of concern. Many of the recommendations from the Francis report on Mid Staffordshire hospital are as a direct consequence of lessons learned from patient experiences. By learning from the experiences of Rotherham patients we can shape the design of key health services and ensure Rotherham patients have continued access to high quality, safe services in the future. What we expect from you Everyone within the organisation has a responsibility to behave in a way that promotes equality, values diversity and respects human rights. Equality and diversity is integral to all structures and functions of the organisation. Whatever your responsibility in the organisation you can promote equality by increasing your knowledge of different cultures and communities in Rotherham, valuing diversity, and treating all colleagues and service users with respect and understanding. All policies, strategies and service specifications must undergo an Equality Impact Assessment. If you are in a role where you write policies, strategies or service specifications, this will be part of your role. As well as meeting our legal duties, equality impact assessments can be a very helpful business tool in developing and understanding of needs and impact. Please refer to our Equality Impact Assessment Guidelines and Template for further information is available on intranet

4 How we manage equality in NHS Rotherham CCG Our Equality Steering Group oversees the implementation of our Equality Act 2010 duties and reports the results to the NHS Rotherham CCG Governing Body via Operational Risk, Governance & Quality Management Group. Supporting Policies and Reference Documents Equality, Diversity & Human Rights Strategy Equality Impact Assessments Guidelines and Template Bullying and Harassment Policy Grievance Policy Whistling Blowing Policy Flexible Working Policy Rotherham Census 2011 Understanding how equality and diversity fit together This model represents individual diversity. The yellow layer represents those characteristics that are protected by equality law, but as individuals we have a myriad of other characteristics. We all have elements of these characteristics that make us unique and also that make us part of a group or a community. The essence of equality and diversity is about valuing what makes us unique and understanding the needs and barriers that individuals and groups may face when accessing employment or services. Model of Individual Diversity Protected Characteristics Behaviour Likes/Dislikes Circumstances Life Choices Income Education Background Personality Gender Identity Age Pregnancy Carer for dependants Associations Sexual Orientation Ethnicity Religion / Marriage / Belief Civil Partnership. Gender Disability Address Values Attitude Health Physical Qualities Skills Accent Experience Talents Dress Image Elaine Barnes is our Equality and Diversity Manager who works within NHS West and South Yorkshire & Bassetlaw Commissioning Support Unit. If you have any queries or views on equality within our organisation, give Elaine a ring on or elaine.barnes3@nhs.net

5 Age Discrimination Legislation On 1 October 2012, Age Discrimination came into force that makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of age unless the practice is covered by an exception from the ban, or good reason can be shown for the differential treatment or 'objective justification'. Whilst there are some exceptions to the ban (e.g. age-based concessions, age-related holidays, age verification, clubs and associations concessions, financial services, immigration, residential park homes and sport) there are no specific exceptions to the ban on age discrimination for health or social care services. This means that any age-based practices by the NHS and social care organisations would need to be objectively justified, if challenged. Below is an age related quiz to test your knowledge. The closing date is 31 st August your answers to elaine.barnes3@nhs.net Ageism Quiz (1)You are asked for your date of birth on an application form. A friend tells you this is ageist and an employer can now be sued for age discrimination. Is asking for date of birth: (2) You are asked in a job interview how you would feel about being managed by a younger manager? Is this: (3) Your colleague is heading for the big 40 and you buy a great card with references to being over the hill but your manager refuses to sign the card and tells you that this type of card is ageist and is now against organisational policy. Is sending a card like this: (4)You are due to retire in six months; your manager refuses to put you forward for a training course, though everyone else in the team has been offered a place. Is this: (5) You ve just joined the NHS and the Trust refuses to let you join the pension scheme until you are 21. Is this: (6) You are due to retire in 12 months and your employer has told you that you can ask to continue working but it is very unlikely you will be able to do so. Nobody is allowed to stay on past 65. Is this: (7) Your employer agrees to let you stay on past the default retirement age, but wants to change your terms and conditions. Is this: (8) You decide that you want to keep working after retirement age but would like to change your hours; your employer tells you that you can continue to work but you must work the same hours as before. Is this: (9)Your department head tells you that you can t bring a claim of age discrimination for being told you are too young to manage a team because you need to be at least 25 to command respect from patients. Is this: Thank you