At Cheshire and Wirral Partnership equality, diversity and inclusion underpins our commitment to provide person centred care for those who access services, their carers, friends and families, and for our people who work at the Trust.
We are also committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer, and are signed up to a number of national schemes and programmes to solidify this commitment and support us to recruit and retain the best people from the widest possible talent pool.
Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 puts various requirements on NHS organisations when exercising their functions. The general duty requires NHS organisations to have due regard to:
By publishing relevant equality information, it is hoped that it will make public boards more transparent about their decision-making processes and accountable to people who access CWP services. It also aims to give the public the information they need to be able to hold public bodies accountable for their performance on equality.
We remain committed to delivering personal, fair and diverse services for communities across the whole of the Trust’s geographic footprint. We recognise the different needs of communities and always look to develop services in line with this principle to ensure the care we provide is accessible to all. We believe passionately in creating positive and diverse workplaces for all our staff. We recognise the value employees from all backgrounds bring to their role and the importance of having teams that reflect the diversity of the community they serve.
CWP does not tolerate any form of prejudice, discrimination, bullying harassment or abuse on the basis of any protected characteristic. Sexist, racist, biphobic, homophobic or transphobic behaviour will not be tolerated within any CWP services.
CWP have signed up to the national rainbow badge initiative, reinforcing the Trust's commitment to being a diverse and inclusive employer and care provider.
The initiative, which originated at Evelina London Children's Hospital, gives colleagues a simple, visual way to show that CWP offers open, non-judgemental and inclusive support for all people who identify as LGBT+ and their families and friends.
Colleagues are being encouraged to sign up for the scheme and pledge their support, sending a positive message that we offer open, non-judgmental and inclusive support and care for all.
To support the initiative, CWP has launched a training programme to provide colleagues wearing the badges with the knowledge and awareness to support LGBT+ people with any issues they may face.
In October 2010 the Equality Act came into effect. Prior to this time there had been over 100 pieces of legislation covering equalities protections and alongside them there are three associated public duties for race, gender and disability. The Equality Act has nine protected characteristics defined as:
The ‘Accessible Information Standard’ directs and defines a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents, where those needs relate to a disability, impairment or sensory loss.
You can read more about the accessible information standard in the NHS England Acccessible Information Standard document.
The main purpose of the Equality Delivery System (EDS2) was, and remains, to help local NHS organisations, in discussion with local partners including local populations, review and improve their performance for people with characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010. By using the EDS2, NHS organisations can also be helped to deliver on the Public Sector Equality Duty. For further information, you can read the latest EDS2 Assessment report.
The CWP Annual Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Monitoring Report updates the Board on the progress in relation to the Trusts work around Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. The report provides details of our current performance, how the Trust is meeting its legal obligations, ongoing work to date, identified challenges and sets key actions for moving forwards.
From 6 April 2017, employers in Great Britain with more than 250 staff are required to publish their gender pay gap information annually, using six different measures covering pay and bonuses.
The latest reports for CWP provide a snapshot of pay data and are also published on the Gender Pay Gap Reporting pages of the Gov.uk website. The purpose of reporting is to increase awareness, improve pay transparency and to encourage closure of the gap.
View our 2021 Gender Pay Gap Report
View our 2020 Gender Pay Gap Report
If you join #TeamCWP, you will be able to join one of our three staff networks, which aim to increase awareness, allow people to network with others, act as a source of support and enable people to have a voice in influencing changes to working practices to the benefit of everyone within the Trust.
These networks are:
CWP is committed to providing equal access to our services for all our service users and carers. We place a high value on the respect and dignity of individuals and recognise the social and cultural diversity of the communities we serve. Interpreting and translation provision for non-English speaking people who access CWP service users and carers remains vital for those who need communication support including Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME), D/deaf, deaf/blind visually impaired and learning disabilities.
The purpose of the Translation and Interpretation Report is to review the interpretation & translation services used across the Trust and:
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) was introduced in 2018. It consists of a set of specific measures to enable us to compare the experiences of disabled and non-disabled staff since research shows that a motivated, included and valued workforce helps to deliver high quality patient care, increased patient satisfaction and improved patient safety. For more information, view CWP’s Workforce Disability Equality Standard report.
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) was introduced in 2015. The WRES seeks to prompt inquiry to better understand why it is that BME staff often receive much poorer treatment than White staff in the workplace and to facilitate the closing of those gaps. For more information, view CWP’s Workforce Race Equality Standard report.
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer.
Disability Confident organisations play a leading role in changing attitudes for the better. At CWP, we’re changing behaviour and cultures within the Trust, our networks and our communities, and reaping the benefits of inclusive recruitment practices.
The scheme helps us to recruit and retain great people, and:
Draw from the widest possible pool of talent
Secure high quality staff who are skilled, loyal and hard working
Improve employee morale and commitment by demonstrating that we treat all employees fairly
The Stonewall Diversity Champions programme is the leading employers’ programme for ensuring all LGBTQ+ staff are free to be themselves in the workplace.
We are one of over 900 organisations across the UK signed up to the programme and we share Stonewall’s core belief in the power of a workplace that truly welcomes, respects and represents LGBTQ+ employees.
We are also a member of the NHS Rainbow Badge scheme. The NHS Rainbow Badge is a special rainbow edition of the NHS logo, which is worn by NHS staff who have made a pledge to reduce inequalities and provide support and signposting to LGBT+ people.
By signing up, we are demonstrating that we offer open, non-judgmental and inclusive support and care for all.
We are proud to be one of 75 Veteran Aware NHS trusts. Being a Veteran Aware trust means we have been accredited as exemplars of the best care for veterans, helping to drive improvements in NHS care for people who serve or have served in the UK armed forces and their families. Veteran Aware Trusts are leading the way in improving veterans’ care within the NHS, as part of the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA).