Equality, diversity and inclusion

What we do

Equality, diversity and human rights issues have always been high on our agenda. We have a people strategy in place which sets out our commitment and direction to our whole equality, diversity and human rights agenda.

Through our dedication and work we seek to:

Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation
Advance the equality of opportunity between different groups
Foster good relationships between different groups
Improve existing practices and embed new initiatives to continuously enhance our equality and diversity activity

Our Trust’s commitment starts right at the top of the organisation and we have a director-led workforce committee in place to give a steer on all equality and diversity activity. Through this committee, we have developed, implemented and monitored the protected characteristics as define by the Equality Act 2010.

We also have staff networks in place for any of our colleagues to join to discuss issues surrounding protected characteristics. The staff networks feed back into our workforce committee to make sure we are implementing changes that positively impact not only our staff, but our patients and visitors as well.

We currently have staff networks in place for:

LGBTQ+
Black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME)
Ability
Multi-faith
Age – younger employees
Age – older employees
Women
Men

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is a proud member of the regional equality, diversity and human rights group that meet monthly. This ensures any regional and national issues are fed directly to the Trust to inform and implement positive change.

Our Trust takes part in the NHS Equality Delivery System (EDS) – a systematic framework to equality, diversity and inclusion. The whole system approach means that we are assessed on the different complexities in our organisation so that we can integrate sustainable, long term change instead of simply ticking a box.

Reporting on equality and diversity

We produce an annual report on equality and diversity.

Our latest and past reports can be found in our resource centre

Equality and Diversity Reports

2024 reports:

Equality and diversity for our patients and service users

Our Trust is committed to the fair treatment of all patients and services users, regardless of protected personal characteristics. These include but are not limited to:

Age
Disability
Ethnicity or race
Gender or gender reassignment
Religion or belief
Sexual orientation

We adhere to national standards to ensure equal access to our services as set out by the NHS Constitution, the Care Quality Commission, the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998.

Consideration is given to all personal characteristics with the ultimate aim being that every patient, client, carer and relative must receive an excellent experience in all contact with the Trust.

I want to make a complaint about equality

At North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, we take every concern and complaint seriously and we are always here to listen.

We respond to complaints in a timely manner and encourage early resolution by staff in direct contact with patients or through our dedicated patient experience team.

To submit a complaint contact our patient experience team.

Equality objectives

Our equality objectives are outlined by our EDS grading in partnership with our staff, patients and service users.

The Trust’s equality objectives are to:

Engage with patients, the local community and stakeholders to ensure effective provision of services
Enable staff to work alongside patients and carers to determine realistic adjustments in our delivery of safe, effective care to people with literacy problems, learning difficulties and dementia
Promote equality, diversion and inclusion across the Trust
Explore and reduce discrimination experience by our staff

The above list is not exhaustive and we will not overlook any other issued. We have identified additional actions based on feedback from our staff, patients and service users which we address and continuously monitor.

Health and wellbeing pledge

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is committed to making sure inclusivity and wellbeing is at the heart of all that we do. This includes, for our staff, patients, carers and visitors.

We are committed to supporting the physical and mental health and wellbeing on our local population in Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool and the surrounding areas.

As a Trust, we have pledged to raise awareness of mental health, promote positive attitudes and challenge any stigma towards mental health issues. Our aim is to ultimately provide a workplace where staff can come together and thrive.

We promise to:

Provide information and raise awareness of mental wellbeing
Provide opportunities for employees to look after their mental wellbeing
Develop skills in our managers to promote mental wellbeing and learn how to spot the signs of and deal with mental health issues and stress
Ensure inclusion and opportunity for all

Information for veterans and armed forces members

Our Trust is proud to be a supporter of the armed forces, an employer or reservists and a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. This is a promise the ensure that those who serve or have served in the UK Armed Forces (and their families) are treated fairly.

We commit to provide the best care possible to veterans and members of the armed forces.
For more information and a directory of useful additional services please visit the Veterans’ Gateway website.