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Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We want to be outstanding for everyone. Data shows us that a significant number of staff and patients from minoritised groups experience inequalities.

These result in poor experience, or what we call differentials of experience.

Tackling this inequality and discrimination is our top priority and will require purposeful, collective effort to bring about a cultural change, where everyone takes an active role to ensure inclusion and belonging for all.

Our Culture, Inclusion, and Equity framework 2025-2028 sets out our aim of creating an organisational culture that supports inclusion and belonging.

Read our Culture, Inclusion, and Equity framework 2025-2028 (pdf document)

 

The Equality Act 2010 protects all individuals against discrimination in employment and service delivery.

There are nine protected characteristics under the Act:

  • Gender reassignment
  • Race
  • Religion or belief
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation
  • Marriage and civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity

As a Trust, we’re also bound by the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) to:

  • Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation
  • Advance equality of opportunity
  • Promote good relations between people with protected characteristics

To continue reducing health inequality, we even go further than the PSED and include socio-economic disadvantage into our considerations.

To meet this, we carry out an equality analysis and impact assessment for every one of our policies. You can find the relevant information at the end of our policy documents.

We also report our performance annually and publish our equality objectives.

Berkshire Healthcare is committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation, in a purposeful and impactful way, as part of our corporate strategy.

We take an active role in identifying and addressing all types and impacts of racism, not just when it is obvious.

The Board holds the responsibility for leading our anti-racism efforts and ensuring measurable objectives are achieved.

We firmly believe that anti-racism activity should not be solely placed on racialised groups. Instead, we embrace actively involving our Race Equality Network, colleagues, and communities to make meaningful change.

Our approach to achieving this includes:

  1. Making changes and taking positive actions that promote racial equity in all parts of our organisation
  2. Allocating resources to support our anti-racism agenda and monitor progress
  3. Supporting and encouraging our colleagues and community to actively participate in anti-racist practices
  4. Regularly and openly communicating our commitments and progress

Find out more

WRES and WDES reports

In April 2015, NHS England mandated the Workplace Race Equality Standard (WRES) for all large NHS service providers and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

The WRES is designed to help us achieve greater diversity in our workforce to match our local communities.

Read more about the WRES reports on the NHS website (opens new browser tab)

As part of the standard, we’re required annually to publish our workforce ethnicity data.

We also publish our Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) reports.

Read our WRES and WDES reports

Our commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion is demonstrated through our active participation in local Pride engagement, where we build better awareness of our services, partner to support health checks and engage with the community to understand what we can improve.

Our Pride Network offers a space for LGBTQ+ employees, fostering an inclusive work environment.

Our inclusive approach is consistently recognised through achievement of our Top 100 Gold Stonewall employer accreditation, most recently awarded in 2023.  

Find out more about our staff networks (opens new browser tab)

Visit the Stonewall website to find out more (opens new browser tab)

We’re committed to providing a safe and supportive working environment, free from abuse, harm and harassment. This includes protecting the sexual safety of our patients and staff.

Sexual Safety Charter

As signatories of the NHS Sexual Safety in healthcare organisational charter, we have made a clear commitment to eliminating inappropriate, unwanted and harmful behaviour in our organisation.

Under the charter, we’ve also committed to ten core principles and actions to help protect the sexual safety of all our people. This includes ensuring we have appropriate and clear policies, training and support in place, and taking timely action against alleged perpetrators.

See the sexual safety charter (opens in new window)

Our Violence Prevention and Reduction group is working to ensure that we meet our commitments and actions under the charter, ensuring we have the right policies, support and training in place to protect staff.

We know that our ethnically diverse community experience inequalities in access, experience and outcomes in health services compared to white groups. We're committed to becoming an anti-racist organisation, in a purposeful and impactful way as part of our corporate strategy.

Read our Unity Against Racism action statement and our five key tactics

Pay reports