Meeting our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion priorities for patients, service users and carers

As part of NHS Employers Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week #EQW2022, we wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the equality, diversity and inclusion work undertaken with Patients, Service Users and Carers.

Over the past year the Trust undertook a wide range of initiatives to meet the Trust’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion priorities for Patients, Service Users and Carers.  These included:

• Hosting the Trust’s Armed Forces virtual awareness week where a series of events were arranged to celebrate National Armed Forces Day (26 June 2021) with a schedule of events, speakers and resources in June/July 2021.
• Hosting the Trust’s Pride in Humber virtual awareness week where a series of events were arranged to celebrate Hull Pride with a schedule of events, speakers and resources in July 2021.
• Virtual services continue to be hosted by the Trust Chaplain (Eve Rose).
• We introduced the Humber Youth Action Group (HYAG) to bring together young people between the ages of eleven and twenty-five to get involved in Trust activities.
• Hosting a two-year engagement lead post to support Learning Disabilities and Autism services across Hull, East Riding, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.  Key area of focus is to engage people with lived experience to offer them development opportunities to get involved in co-production activities.
• Introduced the Panel Volunteer initiatve across all services in the Trust to give an opportunity for members of the public to sit on interview panels to influence recruitment and selection decisions.
• Co-produced animation film created to reach out and encourage greater research participation amongst more underserved communities.
• Development and implementation of the Armed Forces Community Navigator (AFCN) role. 
• Development of Accessible Information Standard guidance to ensure that patients, service users, carers and parents with information or communication needs relating to a disability, impairment or sensory loss receive information in a format they can understand and any communication support they need to enable them to access services appropriately.
• Development of a Clinical Template for Collecting Demographical Data including Protected Characteristics and Health Inequalities.
• Development of an information brochure to explain to patients, service users, carers and staff on why we collect demographical data including protected characteristics and health inequalities.
• Coproduction of a Patient and Carer Experience training programme to share the different opportunities that are available for everyone to get involved in.  There are eight modules which are accessible to all via the Recovery College website.

A workshop was held on 7 April 2022 where patients, service users, carers, staff and partner organisations participated in group work to share what matters most to them in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.  From the workshop feedback.  Four priorities have been identified for the Trust to progress during 2022/23: