Workforce Race Equality Standard
The Trust has published the Workplace Race Equality Standard report and action plan for 2021 in line the requirement under Service Condition 13 of the NHS Standard Contract.
The Standard is intended to provide real impetus, not just on race equality, but on equality generally, for all those who still experience unfairness and discrimination within our health and care system. For sustained improvement in this area, the focus will not simply be upon compliance with implementing the Standard, but on using the Standard as an opportunity to help improve the wider culture of NHS organisations for the benefit of all staff and patients alike.
The Standard will, for the first time, require organisations employing almost all of the 1.4 million NHS workforce, to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators of workforce race equality, including a specific indicator to address the low levels of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Board representation. All providers, subject to the NHS Standard Contract 2015/16, except ‘small providers’ and primary care, was implemented the Standard in July 2015.
An annual report is required to be submitted to the Co-ordinating Commissioner outlining the providers’ progress on implementing the Standard. Provider organisations should publish their Annual Report on the Standard as a separate report on their web site so that progress on implementing the Standard is easily accessible to all staff, patients and the wider public.
What is the WRES?
Watch the video below to discover what the WRES is about and how it works.
You can read more about the WRES on NHS England website, equally you can download a copy of the Workforce Race Equality Standard report.
In the short video below Simon Stevens, Chief executive of NHS England, explains why the WRES and diversity are important.