Draft Single Equality Scheme 2010 Consultation Feedback Report of meetings held; th Wrexham Medical Institute 11 February 2010 rd Ysbyty Gwynedd 23 February 2010 Feedback from consultation questionnaire SES/EqualitiesDept/HMS/Cjones/March2010 Contents 1 Purpose of the workshop 2 Agenda 3 Welcome and Introductions 4 Background 5 Overview of the BCUHB’s approach to the development of a Single Equality Scheme 6 The Consultation questionnaire 7 Roundtable discussion and emerging key themes with comments 8 Final remarks and close 9 Amendments to scheme following consultation Appendices 1 Invitation and Distribution list 2 1. Introduction and Purpose of the workshop Across North Wales, 7 former NHS organisations have produced separate, Disability, Race and Gender equality schemes; 2 have developed single equality schemes. There were therefore 23 pre-existing schemes and action plans in place which required review and development in response to organisational reform. Further development resulted in a draft Single Equality and Human Rights Scheme and Improvement Plan for health in North Wales. A meeting was held in October 2009 within Ysbyty Glan Clwyd to present the Draft Single Equality Scheme and Action Plan to staff and members of the public. The scheme was written to draw together the existing Equality Schemes (Race, Disability and Gender) of all former Trusts and Health Boards and include all strands of equalities. The feedback and output from this meeting helped to inform the final version of the draft scheme, which was then published in December 2009. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board recognise that we could not have developed a scheme which would be ‘fit for purpose’ for the people of North Wales without public involvement. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the development of this work. The initial meeting which took place in October was attended by both staff and service users. The open meeting was held as an introduction to the scheme and to give individuals the opportunity to highlight areas of importance and what they felt were the key priorities. Following on from the October meeting, 2 further meetings were scheduled for February 2010 which were held to build upon the recommendations made by stakeholders, review the draft Single Equality Scheme and to identify any gaps to enable us to; • Share our approach in advancing equality at BCUHB • Consult with individuals on the proposed plan to address issues previously raised • Seek help in working with the BCUHB to sustain engagement and further develop a shared vision for Equality in Health in North Wales This report details the outcomes of the 2 meetings held in Wrexham Medical Institute on 11th February 2010 and Ysbyty Gwynedd on 23rd February 2010 and the key themes identified as a priority for the BCUHB. 3 2. Agenda 6pm - Welcome and Introductions - Mr Geoff Lang, Executive Director of Primary, Community and Mental Health Services and Mr Martin Jones, Executive Director, Work Force and Operational Development. 6.15pm - Background to the event - Mr Mark Sykes, Assistant Director Workforce and Organisational Development and Ms Sally Hughes Jones, Head of Equality, Diverstiy and Human Rights. 6.30pm - Overview of approach and developing the Single Equality Scheme - Mr. Mike Townson and Mrs Clair Tipton, Senior HR Manager. 6.45pm - Overview of emerging themes and action planning – the Improvement Plan - Ms Sally Hughes Jones 7pm - Round table discussion – the consultation questions 7.30pm - Feedback, questions and summary – Mr Mark Sykes / Ms Sally Hughes Jones 7.45pm Closing Remarks - M. Geoff Lang / Rev Wynne Roberts 3. Welcome and Introductions Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is the largest health organisation in Wales, providing primary, community, mental health and acute hospital services for a population of around 676,000 people across the six counties of North Wales as well as some parts of Mid Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire. An employer of around 18,000 staff with a budget of around £1.1 billion. The BCUHB are responsible for the operation of 3 district general hospitals 22 other acute and community hospitals, and a network of over 90 health centres, clinics, community health team bases and mental health units. BCUHB also coordinates the work of 121 GP practices and NHS services provided by North Wales Dentists, Opticians and Pharmacies. 4. Background to the event The strategic direction of the BCUHB 2009-2012 sets out BCUHB’s ‘Blueprint for The Future’ is an organisation where “…citizens can access the same standard and quality of care as others irrespective of who they are, the language they speak, where they work and live.” The values of fairness, justice and self-determination underpin the strategy. 4 5. Overview of approach and developing a Single Equality Scheme BCUHB has; 1. Reviewed existing schemes from former North Wales NHS Trusts and Local Health Boards 2. Learned about adopting a Human Rights based approach in practice from Mersey Care NHS 3. Ensured that the plan is responsive, informed and shaped by inclusive stakeholder engagement 4. Reviewed what has already been learned from previous engagement events and activity which has been achieved through joint working and collaboration with PPI colleagues, Community Health Councils, Voluntary Service Councils and other representatives from the third sector. 6. The consultation questionnaire A consultation pack was made available to all service users in a variety of formats upon request. The questionnaire was available on the BCUHB internet page (as below) Link to Draft schemes and consultation questionnaire The questions contained within the consultation pack were; 1. Do you agree with the priorities identified within the Scheme and the improvement plan? Yes or No 2. Do you wish to identify any further equality priorities that you think we should consider? Yes or No 5 3. If you have selected ‘Yes’ to question 2, please tell us more and include examples of how these issues could be addressed 4. Please let us know if there is anything else you wish to tell us 7. Roundtable discussion - comments taken from both groups held in Wrexham and Gwynedd and email responses When both groups were asked if they agreed with the priorities identified in the Improvement Plan? The groups discussed the question and initially commented that the themes identified were accurate and a true reflection of the outcomes of previous consultations. Comments received by email included; I agree with the principles within the scheme, however have doubts about the priorities as they are too general and do not appear to take note of local cultural differences from coastal to very rural population. The content and wording is good, but as a service user and parent carer of users of the service, I have difficulty in seeing how the scheme will be implemented. I have from recent experience serious doubts about how you will achieve the change to inbred attitudes towards people with disabilities and the elderly. Will there be an Independent person(s) within the scheme to ensure transparency and commitment. Will there be a champion for the scheme. If there are incidents of non adherence to the scheme how will these be dealt with? I’ve read through your scheme and can see that you have managed to identify a significant amount of information. In addition, the fact that you have had to bring together a number of organisations has added another level of challenge. Within that context I hope that you will take the following comments as constructive rather than critical. In general I found the document as a whole difficult to follow. Therefore, it would be helpful to have distinct sections on service users and employees. To give some specific examples the 3 current public sector duties are mentioned in various parts but a major focus is on learning disabilities / mental health; gypsy travellers and older people. There is also mention of work done with the Chinese community in the past in Gwynedd. However, age is not currently a duty, although obviously important. On page 19 you use the term “protected characteristics” with no explanation of what these are and the fact that they relate to the Equality Bill. There is mention of religion in some parts and spiritual needs (page 34) but the current employment regulations cover religious and philosophical belief and “climate change” 6 has just been found to be an example of the latter. As religion and belief come within the “protected characteristics” this needs clarifying. Although EIAs are mentioned along with the information that they can be accessed via your website I can find no trace of any. Finally, I liked the information on your website re Betsi Cadwaladr. Have you thought about mentioning her in the introduction to your SES as a role model for E&D? This would give your scheme an individual slant and make it much more personal to your trust. The groups at both Wrexham and Gwynedd were then asked to identify further key themes and comments or concerns regarding the scheme and improvement plan. 7 Key themes identified within SES and improvement plan Theme Further comments Effective leadership and Role Models to set examples ownership Highlighting that Equality and Diversity is a key responsibility for all, not an individual responsibility for HR. Knowledge, training and Education to develop understanding but this understanding doesn’t have to be formal, patient stories – this is what happened and this is what it felt like very powerful. How do you change attitudes, values, cultural expected behaviours, Operational Development. Education – doesn’t have to be formal – story telling / innovation. Training – how will it involve service users, families and carers? People need to understand cultural religious issues Resources Workforce – pressures, management support required. Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring progress and implementation of plan.