Anti-racism award for Stockport NHS

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has received a Bronze award from the North West Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Assembly for the development of its anti-racism efforts.

The award recognised the success of the trust’s anti-racist initiatives, which were the result of partnership between its inclusion and colleague experience team, patient experience team, and its race equality staff network members, with support from the trust’s board of directors .

The trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital and community NHS services in the area, is now currently one of only four NHS trusts in Greater Manchester to achieve a Bronze accreditation, alongside Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHSFT, Pennine Care NHSFT, and Northern Care Alliance NHSFT.

The North West Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Assembly supports NHS organisations across the region to be unapologetically anti-racist organisations, recognising that racism and discrimination are major drivers behind the health inequalities we still see today.

The framework encourages NHS organisations to take an actively anti-racist stance, taking action to eliminate racism in our organisations, stand with colleagues when they experience racism, and eradicate the inequalities in access, outcomes and experience of health care that some of our communities face.

Considerable evidence of anti-racist activities was required for the award application, including the publication of an anti-racist statement, and the appointment of an executive EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) sponsor with a commitment to advancing anti-racism within the organisation.

Tony Bell, Non-Executive Board Member and Board Sponsor of the trust’s Race Equality Staff Network was selected as EDI sponsor. Tony said:

“It was an honour to accept the role of sponsor and to help guide our many separate anti-racist initiatives through. We have a diverse workforce providing care for everyone in our local population. They should be able to provide this care without having to experience racism themselves, and we are determined to live up to that commitment.”

To gain the award, trust had to demonstrate its anti-racism work in the past year, with an extensive action plan to tackle racism.

It’s ‘Giving Racism the Red Card’  Yellow and Red Card Policy demonstrates a zero-tolerance attitude to any abuse received by colleagues when providing care to patients.

Working with its collaborating with the race equality staff network, it also had regular educational and celebratory calendar events throughout the year, such as Black History Month, a Trust Iftar meal during Ramadhan, and Windrush Celebrations that prove very popular with colleagues.

The trust also demonstrated its work in partnership to reduce specific health inequalities through an anti-racism lens. It’s Health Service Journal Award nominated work within the maternity department for their response to the maternity needs of asylum seekers in Stockport, plus collaboration with Healthwatch and the Patient Experience Group, demonstrated its ongoing commitments to reducing health inequalities.

Marisa Logan-Ward, Non-Executive Director at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We are delighted to have received this Bronze award recognising the trust’s commitment to being anti-racist organisation.  We are working to remove systemic racial discrimination and to improve the experience of our staff and all who use our services. We are co-creating an environment where our staff, patients, partners and the public hold us to account for delivery against this commitment.  The award is a great testament to all the hard work that the inclusion and colleague experience team, patient experience team,  and our race equality staff network members have made in getting this to work. We recognise that this is just the first step towards becoming a truly anti-racist organisation and we will continue to develop our equality, diversity and inclusion plans and take a zero-tolerance approach to racism.”