Equality Delivery System

The Equality Delivery System Outcomes Framework 2011 - 2015 

Dorset HealtCare University NHS Foundation Trust (DHUFT) is committed to supporting diversity, delivering equality of opportunity and recognising the human rights of staff, patients, their relatives and members of the public.  As a provider of health services across Dorset and an employer of approximately 6,000 staff, we are aware of our responsibility for promoting equality and diversity principles and practice across all our services.

The Trust’s equality agenda is supported by legislation that makes it illegal to discriminate, victimise or harass someone because of a real or perceived difference.  The Equality Delivery System (EDS) Outcomes Framework, 2011 - 2015, presents the structure within which we will deliver our public commitment to meeting our general and specific duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010, and the way in which this will play a part in making DHUFT a leading equality organisation.  

The Outcomes Framework is part of the Trust’s Diversity and Human Rights Implementation Scheme previously called the Single Equality Scheme, and will be reviewed regularly to ensure its continued relevance. 

The overall aim of the NHS EDS Outcomes Framework 2011 – 2015 is to set out the way in which the Trust makes a public commitment to meeting its obligations under equality legislation over the next three years and how, in doing so, it will make a real and positive difference to those affected by the work of the Trust. 

The objectives of the Trust’s EDS Outcomes Framework are to:  

• support the achievement of the Trust’s corporate objectives within a changing NHS environment; 

• discharge the Trust’s responsibilities to promote equality of opportunity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote good relations between different groups and ensure compliance with legal responsibilities;  

• develop a sustainable plan for embedding equality and human rights into the work of DCHFT ensuring that the Trust has in place the systems needed to deliver on equality, diversity and human rights;

monitor the Trust’s progress against objectives and report on achievements; and

• meet the requirement of the public sector duties detailed in the Equality Act 2010.

Legislative and Compliance Framework  

The Equality Act 2010 

The Equality Act 2010 is the most significant piece of equality legislation for many years.  It draws together and extends previous anti-discrimination laws within one single Act, simplifying and streamlining equality legislation by removing inconsistencies and making it easier for people to understand their legal rights and obligations.  It also strengthens the law in important ways to help tackle discrimination and inequality. 

The Act protects people from discrimination on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’, which for services and public functions are as follows:  

• extends the ban on age discrimination from employment only, to the provision of services and public functions;
• strengthens the use of ‘positive action’ by allowing its use to alleviate disadvantage by those who share a protected characteristic, giving employees and service providers greater freedom to address disadvantage and under-representation;
• extends protection for disabled people from direct discrimination only, to include indirect and third party or associative harassment and/or discrimination;
• makes socio-economic factors central to decision making.  

The protected characteristics covered by the Act are:  age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.  Marriage and civil partnerships are also included, but only in respect of the requirement to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination.

Also inextricably linked to the equality strands are Human Rights, being derived from the same principles of social justice, deferential treatment and dignity for everyone.  A human rights approach treats the individual as a whole person and strives to address their requirements holistically.  The Equality and Human Rights Commission identifies 15 rights protected by the Human Rights Act 1998.  These can be summarised as:  

• being treated fairly and with dignity;
• participating in the community;
• living the life you choose; and
• being safe and protected from harm. 

General Equality Duty 

The Equality Act contains a general duty, requiring public bodies to have due regard to the need to: 

eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited under the Act;

• advance equality of opportunity between people from different groups; and
• foster good relations between people from different groups. 

Specific Duties 

As a public sector service, the Trust has specific duties and is required to: 

publish equality objectives every four years;

• publish information annually to demonstrate compliance with the general Equality Duty;
• publish information relating to employees and others, for example, service users, affected by the Trust’s policies and practices. 

The new public sector equality duty places greater emphasis on the following: 

• demonstrably evidenced increased levels of engagement (localism);
• greater transparency and distribution of data and information;
• increased focus on outcomes rather than process.  

Equality Objectives 

The Trust is also required to set Equality Objectives by April 2012.  These objectives must:

consider the information published before preparing the objectives;

• ensure the objectives are specific and measurable;
• set out how progress will be measured.

The Trust has developed the EDS Goals and Objectives by working in Cluster with NHS Dorset, NHS Bournemouth and Poole PCT.

The agreed Goals and Objectives for year one are:

• Changes across Services for individual patients are discussed with them, and transitions are made smoothly.
• Patients' ans Carers complaints about services, and subsequent claims for redress, should be handled respectfully and efficiently.
• Staff are free from abuse, harassment, bullying, violience from both patients and their relatives and colleagues, with redress being open and fair to all.
• Boards and senior leaders conduct and paln their business so that equality is advanced, and good relations fostered, within their organisations and beyond.    

The Department of Health have provided the Trust with a reporting framework to deliver on 4 Key Objectives over 18 Outcomes in the Equality Delivery System (EDS). This will be used as the monitoring and reporting tool on progress and the development of future services. Further useful information can be found on this page.

Staff, Patients, Carers and local groups will shortly be given the opportunity to review and comment on the current and future goals and objectives of the Trust.