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Equality, Diversity and Human Rights

In this section you can learn about our role and commitment to equality and diversity.

NHS East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group is committed to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between different groups of people. You can find out about this commitment including details of our current equalities objectives in our latest Equality and Inclusion Strategy 2017 – 2021.

Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act was introduced in 2010 to make it easier for people and organisations to understand discrimination law. The Act provides protection to groups of people who may be discriminated against because of certain characteristics they share; and provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all.

For further information, see Equality Act 2010.

Within ELR CCG, we also consider the healthcare needs of other vulnerable groups, such as carers and consider health inequalities associated with social deprivation to:

Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act (2010)
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

Health and Social Care Act (2012)

ELR CCG has a legal duty under the Health and Social Care Act (2012) to reduce inequalities between patients regarding their ability to access health services, and to ensure that services are provided in an integrated way. The Act also places duties on the CCG to promote the NHS Constitution, to enable choice, and to promote patient, carer and public involvement in shaping health services.

To do this effectively, ELR CCG works with its partners to reduce health inequalities among those in the greatest need and embeds this requirement into its health and wellbeing strategies. The CCG is also required to demonstrate how it provides culturally sensitive services and ensures all patients can exercise choice and be involved in decision making.

Additionally, the CCG is required to consider how it proposes to pay due regard to the need to reduce inequalities in its annual commissioning plan and must include an assessment in its annual report to explain how effectively the CCG has paid due regard in its work. For more information, please see the Health and Social Care Act (2012).

Accessible Information Standard (AIS)

From 1 August 2016 onwards, all organisations that provide care or adult social care are legally required to follow the AIS and CCGs are expected to give consideration to this duty and ensure that their providers are meeting this standard.

The AIS aims to make sure that people who have a disability, impairment, sensory loss, or varying communication needs are provide with information that they can easily read and understand, or receive the support they require to be able to communicate effectively with health and social care services.

Further information about the Accessible Information Standard can be found on the NHS England website.

ELR CCG Equality Objectives

The Equality Act (2010) sets out specific duties which require the CCG to publish information annually on how it is meeting the Public Sector Equality Duty and, every 4 years, to produce a set of Equality Objectives.

The latest Equality Objectives for the CCG were approved by the Governing Body in March 2016, and subsequently approved to be carried forward for the duration of the Equality and Inclusion Strategy 2017 – 2021.

Equality and Inclusion Publications

In meeting the duty to publish information, the CCG continues to collate information and evidence on an annual basis, which should provide an understanding of how the CCG is approaching equality and inclusion in its activities. Activity to date has been summarised below:

Equality Delivery System (EDS2)

The EDS2 is a national toolkit mandated by NHS England that supports CCGs to provide better working practices and environments that are free from discrimination.

It helps us understand how well we are responding to the equality issues that matter most to patients and staff. It also tracks CCG performance against national benchmarks, including the CCG Assurance Framework.

The results of the grading group were collated and published in October 2015. Further updated equalities information was published in our EDS2 High Level Summary 2015-16. Work continues in relation to publishing the recent EDS2 information.

Equality Impact and Risk Assessments (EIRA)

The CCG currently uses an online EIRA to help us assess the likely (or actual) effects of our policies on our patients in respect of the protected characteristics, and whether there are positive or adverse quality and safety considerations for our patients and staff. Final documents will be uploaded in due course.

Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

The Modern Slavery Act came into force in March 2015. The main thrust of the Act focuses on illegal activity in the UK; however, the legislation also looks at the potential for slavery down the supply chain outside of the UK. The Act has direct implications for businesses operating in any sector in the UK.

As a public sector organisation, ELR CCG has a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that it implements the requirements of the Act. This statement identifies the steps the CCG has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business or our supply chains.

This statement sets out the steps that the CCG has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business or our supply chains.

NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES)

In 2015, NHS England introduced the WRES to enable employees from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds to have equal access to career opportunities and receive fair treatment in the workplace.

The WRES requires NHS organisations to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators of workforce equality. Implementation of the WRES is a requirement on both NHS Commissioners and NHS Provider organisations. The main purpose of the WRES is to:

Help local and national NHS organisations to review their data against the nine WRES indicators
Produce an action plan to help close the gaps in workplace experience between White and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff
Improve BME representation at Board level of the organisation

As the CCG has two roles in relation to the WRES (i.e. as commissioners of NHS services and as an employer), the CCG collated the attached WRES information 2018-19 in relation to its workforce, which was approved by the Governing Body in August 2019.

Workforce

As at January 2019, the CCG employed 103 members of staff and, therefore it is not required to produce detailed staff profiles by protected characteristics. This also protects the privacy of employees as any profiles of protected characteristics may allow individuals to be identified. However, the CCG is committed to ensuring the working environment is inclusive and appropriate support is provided to any member of the organisation that may require it.

The CCG’s internal workforce policies have been developed, and continued to be updated, in line with current legislative requirements, including the Equality Act 2010.

These policies cover the recruitment, selection and appointment process as well as all aspects of working for the CCG.

In addition, the CCG developed its organisational vision and values to support continued organisational development in supporting and valuing the diversity of its employees and creating an inclusive working environment.