The Equality and Diversity Council (EDC) consulted upon a Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) for the NHS. This was in response to the evidence of systemic workforce race discrimination in the NHS. (Kline, R. 2013; 2014) and the evidence of the impact of workforce race discrimination on patient experience and care (Dawson, 2009: West, M 2012).
This standard was widely consulted upon over a three month period with key stakeholders and was seen as a positive step forward.
The WRES has now been included in the 2015/2016 NHS standard contract.
The WRES requires NHS organisations to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators of workforce equality, including a specific indicator to address the low levels of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Board representation.
Our obligations under the new standard
As a provider organisation we should provide an annual report to our Co-ordinating Commissioner outlining our progress on the WRES. In addition we must publish additional annual statistics to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators.
Care Plus Group Equality Objectives
Provision of information in languages and formats that are appropriate to the individual
- We will ensure we deliver to individuals in a clear concise format to meet their needs
Support for verbal communication in the form of appropriate high quality interpretation
- We will provide support for people accessing services i.e. languages and formats
Timely facilitation of health and care consultations supported with relevant communication aids
- We will raise awareness about access to speech and language therapist
To view Care Plus Group’s Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) Report please click here