Humber Achieves Highest Disability Confident Leader Accreditation

Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust has achieved the Disability Confident Leader accreditation for their work in creating an inclusive workplace where disabled people can thrive. This achievement makes Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust one of the only top tier Disability Confident NHS Trusts in the local area.

Disability Confident Leader status is level three, the highest level within the UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme, recognising the organisation’s proactive and sustained approach to inclusion.

The accreditation process requires a thorough review of processes and practices across the NHS Trust’s organisation. The process highlighted that in the last four years the Trust demonstrated a notable 38% increase in disabled staff securing management level roles in the workforce. They also noted particularly strong NHS staff survey results relating to inclusion and reasonable adjustments.

The organisation was praised for their highly developed approaches to incorporating lived experience and co-production into their services and workforce. The Trust offers its staff multiple opportunities to share their views and impact change, with consistently high levels of visibility across the senior leadership team.

The report recognises that the Trust is not treating Disability Confident as a compliance exercise but as a continuous improvement programme embedded within wider equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and workforce development activity.

John Duncan, Workforce Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Partner at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust said, “We are incredibly proud to have achieved Disability Confident Leader status. This recognition reflects the work of our staff, networks and leaders in creating a culture where disabled colleagues feel valued, supported and empowered. While this achievement is important, it is also a commitment to continue listening, learning and improving so that inclusion is embedded in everything we do.”

The Disability Confident Leader validation demonstrates that the Trust has moved beyond compliance and is increasingly operating as a regional leader in disability inclusion.