Equality and Human Rights

As a public authority, East Cheshire NHS Trust must uphold and promote human rights in everything we do. The Equality Act 2010 replaced the former duties around race, disability, and gender with a new streamlined and strengthened equality duty, which has been extended to cover nine protected characteristics. These are as follows:

1. Disability
2. Age
3. Gender re-assignment
4. Marriage and Civil partnership
5. Race, including national identity and ethnicity
6. Religion or belief
7. Sex
8. Sexual orientation
9. Pregnancy and maternity

The overall aim of the act is to ensure that people get fairer opportunities and better public services. The act focusses on the following: 

• promoting equality of opportunity;
• promoting good relations;
• promoting positive attitudes;
• eliminating harassment; and
• eliminating unlawful discrimination.

East Cheshire NHS Trust improved its performance against the Equality Delivery System (EDS) launched by the Department of Health in 2012. 

EDS provides a tool which helps us to deliver against our statutory Equality Act requirements in promoting equality and the value of the diversity of our staff and service users.  In partnership with patients and the public, staff and staff-side organisations are involved to review equality performance and to identify future priorities and actions.
 

Equality Delivery System 2 (EDS 2)

In order to ensure we maintain our commitment towards continuous equality improvements and meet our requirements under the Equality Act, the trust participates in EDS 2 on an annual basis. EDS 2 is a national framework against which performance on equality can be assessed. In partnership with patients and the public, staff and staff-side organisations are involved to review equality performance and to identify future priorities and actions.

Follow this link to view details on the Equality Delivery System 2, the outcomes and gradings: A refreshed equality delivery system for the NHS.

The Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) is in place to demonstrate how NHS organisations are addressing race and disability equality issues and encourage continuous accountability so that ethical practices promoting race and disability equality becomes business as usual activity.

This annual report for East Cheshire NHS Trust contains the key highlights our key areas for focus, whilst our associated action plans will help ensure we continue to make progress in delivering on our ambition to be a fair workplace where the difference is recognised and valued and everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.