Equal opportunities and diversity
Providing equality of opportunity for patients, their carers and our staff is a central element of our pursuit of excellence in care provision. Here you will find information about equal opportunities and diversity in our Trust.
Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2025
We have launched the first joint Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy between Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust and Barnet, Enfield, and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust.
Read our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2025 (PDF document)
Anti-Racism Statement
As a partnership we are proud to endorse the anti-racism statement for London.
We will identify and take action to tackle structural racism and wider health inequalities, embedding reflection and learning at all levels.
We are committed to embedding a strong strategic anti-racism approach in London’s Health and Care System.
- In the places our people work in
- In the provision of the care we provide
- Across all Systems of health and care we deliver for the people of London
We openly acknowledge the repeated negative experiences of staff from multiple ethnic groups within our NHS health and care system.
We recognise that these lived experiences arise from embedded policies, practices and processes, many of which have become normalised and unchallenged in our systems; representing (for staff) institutionalised racism.
We further acknowledge that racism serves as an issue in and of itself, but also, as a surrogate for discriminatory practices against other characteristics such as gender, sexual orientation, religion, belief, disability and others that can detrimentally intersect for individuals.
As set out in our London Workforce Race Strategy (2020), we will create environments where all our staff can be their full, true and authentic selves and thus deliver to their best potentials and progress to their ultimate goals. We commit to actively seeking to identify, measure and call out discriminatory practice and to take steps to deal consistently and effectively with poor behaviour where present in any of our staff or organisations. We will not be complicit by silence.
The NHS England – London Promise
- We will listen and hear when staff raise concerns
- We will choose to be curious, humble and considerate and avoid defensive thinking. We will take action where discrimination is evident
- We will pro-actively co-design new systems with staff and stakeholders and institute polices, practices and cultural expectations for belonging and inclusion
- We will embed a strategic approach to commissioning to help reduce systemic bias, focused on creating the right environment for reducing systemic bias in commissioning that will improve patient care and experience
- We will hold ourselves accountable, individually and collectively, as leaders to delivering to these commitments
Our Equality Statement
We are committed to the elimination of unlawful and unfair discrimination and value the differences that a diverse workforce brings to the organisation.
We aim to be a fair employer and strive to achieve equality of opportunity for all, creating inclusive workplace environments where everyone can work effectively towards the provision of better healthcare. As a Trust we have a comprehensive policy, setting out how it will work to deliver high quality services to all in fair and equitable ways.
Meeting our public sector equality duty
Under the Equality Act 2010 as a public body we have a general public sector equality duty to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination,
- Promote equality of opportunity and
- Foster good relations between people with different backgrounds.
As an NHS body the Trust is also under a specific duty to publish information on its performance and to set itself equality objectives designed to address any areas where service users or staff have identified weaknesses. The Trust published much of that information in its annual equality performance reports.
Equality and Diversity Report 2021 (PDF document)
Equality and Diversity Report 2018 (PDF document)
Equality and Diversity Report 2017 (PDF document)
Equality and Diversity Report 2016 (PDF document)
Other performance measures
Like all other NHS bodies, we use the NHS Equality Delivery System (EDS). This is a performance framework which measures how well the people who use our services or work for us think we are doing in meeting their specific needs regardless of their sex, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, disabilities, sexual orientation, marital status or whether they are pregnant or a nursing mother.
We provide evidence to local stakeholders on its performance against the four goals which are broken down into 18 outcomes. The stakeholders then grade our performance based on its evidence and their own experience of the Trust as a care provider or employer. Our equality objectives and EDS grades are set out at the bottom of this page.
Workforce equality standards
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES)
Since 2015, all NHS Trusts have been required to collect and publish data on their progress around delivering race equality for staff. The WRES was introduced in part because of the association between the quality of outcomes for patients, and the way Trusts address equality for their black, Asian and other minority ethnic staff. The Trust prioritises equality and inclusion work because if our staff are representative of our patients and service users, they can better meet their needs and their health outcomes will be improved. We all want to work in an environment where a person makes the career progress they deserve, and are not artificially held back by the colour of their skin, their accent or their culture. If you want to know more about the national WRES, you can visit NHSE/I here.
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES)
Since 2017, all NHS Trusts have similarly been required to collect and publish data on their progress around delivering equality for staff with disabilities and long term health conditions. Like the WRES, we know that staff experience of being employed in the NHS varies by health status, and that people with disabilities experience discrimination in the workplace from a range of sources. Supporting staff with disabilities improves their confidence to do their job well, to challenge discrimination and to make career progress in line with their ambitions. Employing a workforce where some of our staff members have experience of long term conditions, including mental health problems, means we can deliver even more compassionate and respectful care. If you want to know more about the national WDES, you can visit NHSE/I here.
NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard Information progress 2014-15 to 2017-18 (PDF document)
2019 Workforce Race Equality Standard Action plan (PDF document)