28.11.16
Ambulance services sign up to ‘watershed’ race equality measures
Measures designed to tackle racial discrimination and harassment in the NHS have been formally adopted by the ambulance service, in what has been declared a “watershed” moment.
The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) promised all trusts will be required to commit to short, medium and long-term goals to improve their performance in four of the nine Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) indicators.
The indicators are 1, 2, 5 and 6 from the list, which relate to:
- The percentage of black and minority ethnic (BME) compared to white staff in each pay band and at board level
- BME staff’s relative likelihood of staff being appointed to a post from a shortlist
- The rate of complaints from BME staff about harassment, bullying and abuse from patients, relatives and the public in the past 12 months, compared to white staff
- The rate of complaints from BME staff about harassment, bullying and abuse from colleagues in the past 12 months, compared to white staff
Tracy Myhill, chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service and the diversity and inclusion lead for the AACE, said: “This is a watershed moment for ambulance services as we have made a joint and determined commitment to improve the experiences of our black and minority ethnic colleagues.
“Equality in our ranks does not only make us fair and attractive employers, but also excellent healthcare providers. We serve diverse communities and our workforce should reflect this.”
The AACE represents all 10 NHS ambulance trusts in England, their partners and associate members from devolved nations.
The WRES was introduced to help discuss concerns about race in the NHS following Robert Kline’s 2014 report, ‘The “snowy white peaks” of the NHS’.
The first WRES results report, published in July, found that staff at 80% of ambulance trusts had a higher rate of BME staff complaining about harassment from colleagues, and 60% had a higher rate of complaints about harassment from patients and the public.
Speaking at the NHS Confederation this summer, Kline, now director of WRES research and engagement, said that reducing racial discrimination in the NHS will require “leaders who are determined that change will happen”.
Yvonne Coghill, director of the WRES implementation team, said she was “absolutely delighted” that the AACE was taking race equality in the ambulance service seriously.
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