At Cheshire and Wirral Partnership equality, diversity and inclusion underpins our commitment to provide person centred care for those who access services, their carers, friends and families, and for our people who work at the Trust.
We are also committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer, and are signed up to a number of national schemes and programmes to solidify this commitment and support us to recruit and retain the best people from the widest possible talent pool.
Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 puts various requirements on NHS organisations when exercising their functions. The general duty requires NHS organisations to have due regard to:
By publishing relevant equality information, it is hoped that it will make public boards more transparent about their decision-making processes and accountable to people who access CWP services. It also aims to give the public the information they need to be able to hold public bodies accountable for their performance on equality.
Standing Together Against Racism at Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, our position is clear: racism, in any form, is unacceptable.
We recognise that racism exists – whether visible or hidden within systems, structures, or assumptions – and we understand that standing by and doing nothing allows it to persist.
We therefore operate a policy of Zero Tolerance towards any act or form of racism or racist behaviours.
Our Commitment As a Trust:
Ongoing Action
Being anti-racist is not a single action; it is an ongoing commitment from every one of us to demonstrate courage, honesty, and accountability at every opportunity.
Our promise: if racism appears, we will face it directly, remove it decisively, and learn from the experience to ensure it does not return.
We remain committed to delivering personal, fair and diverse services for communities across the whole of the Trust’s geographic footprint. We recognise the different needs of communities and always look to develop services in line with this principle to ensure the care we provide is accessible to all. We believe passionately in creating positive and diverse workplaces for all our staff. We recognise the value employees from all backgrounds bring to their role and the importance of having teams that reflect the diversity of the community they serve.
CWP does not tolerate any form of prejudice, discrimination, bullying harassment or abuse on the basis of any protected characteristic. Sexist, racist, antisemitic, biphobic, homophobic or transphobic behaviour will not be tolerated within any CWP services.
Making anti-racism work
At CWP, we serve a diverse population and our vision to work in partnership to improve health and well-being by providing high-quality, person-centred care ensures every person, regardless of race or ethnicity, can access the required support without the fear of discrimination.
Our approach is grounded in the principles of partnership, trust, and justice. We are committed to effective leadership, lived experience, cultural sensitivity and partnership with the communities we serve.
What is PCREF?
The Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) is a national initiative led by NHS England, developed in response to decades of evidence showing significant racial disparities in mental health care. PCREF is designed to help mental health providers like us tackle these inequalities. It requires working in partnership with communities that experience racial inequalities to build anti-racism into systems and culture while taking meaningful and measurable action to improve experiences and outcomes.
Why PCREF?
PCREF aligns with our legal and ethical responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, Human Rights Act 1998, the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES), Equality Delivery System (EDS22), and the NHS Long Term Plan. It also supports the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in monitoring how well we meet our obligations to deliver fair, safe, and person-centred care for all.
In line with our commitment, the Trust will:
Our PCREF document sets out to describe the steps we have taken so far, the inequalities we aim to address, the actions and partnerships we are building to bring about sustainable, anti-racist change.
A key element of our Board Development Plan and the CWPi strategy is to increase people's involvement in their own care through advocacy and facilitation to improve outcomes for people from minority ethnic groups which feeds into our PCREF action plan.
Our action plan sets out a focused, time-bound programme to strengthen delivery of the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) at CWP.
The plan demonstrates how PCREF delivery will be prioritised and accelerated, moving from baseline compliance to measurable improvement in access, experience, safety, and outcomes for racialised patients and carers.
We will achieve this through coproduction, we value your experience, ideas and feedback to ensure we continue to deliver the change our colleagues, service users and communities want to see.
We encourage our service users, carers, communities, volunteers and governors to get involved.
Want to get involved? Contact: cwp.equalitydiversityandinclusioncwp@nhs.net
CWP have signed up to the national rainbow badge initiative, reinforcing the Trust's commitment to being a diverse and inclusive employer and care provider.
The initiative, which originated at Evelina London Children's Hospital, gives colleagues a simple, visual way to show that CWP offers open, non-judgemental and inclusive support for all people who identify as LGBT+ and their families and friends.
Colleagues are being encouraged to sign up for the scheme and pledge their support, sending a positive message that we offer open, non-judgmental and inclusive support and care for all.
To support the initiative, CWP has launched a training programme to provide colleagues wearing the badges with the knowledge and awareness to support LGBT+ people with any issues they may face.
In October 2010 the Equality Act came into effect. Prior to this time there had been over 100 pieces of legislation covering equalities protections and alongside them there are three associated public duties for race, gender and disability. The Equality Act has nine protected characteristics defined as:
The ‘Accessible Information Standard’ directs and defines a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents, where those needs relate to a disability, impairment or sensory loss.
You can read more about the accessible information standard in the NHS England Accessible Information Standard document.
Equality Delivery System 2022 (EDS2022) is aligned to NHS England’s Long-Term Plan and its commitment to an inclusive NHS that is fair and accessible to all and in relation to the 9 protected characteristics. It is assessed in year and comprises eleven outcomes spread across three Domains, which are:
(1) Commissioned or Provided Services
(2) Workforce Health and Well-Being
(3) Inclusive Leadership.
Read our latest EDS2022 Assessment.
The CWP Annual Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Monitoring Report updates the Board on the progress in relation to the Trusts work around Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. The report provides details of our current performance, how the Trust is meeting its legal obligations, ongoing work to date, identified challenges and sets key actions for moving forwards. EDI Annual Monitoring Report
From 6 April 2017, employers in Great Britain with more than 250 staff are required to publish their gender pay gap information annually, using six different measures covering pay and bonuses.
The latest report for CWP provides a snapshot of pay data and is also published on the Gender Pay Gap Reporting pages of the Gov.uk website. The purpose of reporting is to increase awareness, improve pay transparency and to encourage closure of the gap.
View our 2024 Gender Pay Gap Report.
At CWP we are committed to care, compassion, inclusivity and teamwork and our employee-led staff networks are at the heart of this. They provide welcoming, psychologically safe spaces where colleagues with shared identities, lived experiences or interests can connect, learn and lead. More than support groups, they raise awareness and help shape policies ensuring that every voice can influence how we work and grow together.
They serve as advocates for change while providing a supportive and empowering environment for all. Everyone is welcome to join any of the groups.
Our staff networks are:
Adoptive Parents Network: offer a space for parents with adopted children to share experiences, discuss challenges, and provide practical advice and mutual support.
Carers Connect: a supportive community for colleagues who have caring responsibilities offering resources, advice, and a safe space to share experiences.
Diversity Alliance Network: celebrates cultural diversity and promotes racial equality. The network focuses on creating an inclusive environment for colleagues from minority ethnic groups where everyone feels supported and valued, regardless of their ethnicity or background.
Equity and Inclusion Network: advocates accessibility and inclusion for colleagues with disabilities, neurodivergent or long-term health conditions to create a culture where everyone can thrive, regardless of physical or mental health needs.
Green Network: for colleagues who are championing sustainable, preventative and low carbon healthcare and their allies.
Rainbow Tree Network: dedicated to creating a safe and welcoming space for colleagues from the LGBTQ+ communities and their allies, advocating for inclusivity and celebrating diversity.
The Armed Forces Community Network: includes members of staff from CWP and representation from third sector organisations. The network helps shape and deliver the care and support we provide to our armed forces community. Membership of the network is open to anyone who is passionate about making a real difference for our armed forces community. Previous armed forces experience isn’t essential.
Women’s Network: supports the personal and professional growth of women encouraging them to thrive in their careers and inspires positive change Trustwide.
CWP is committed to providing equal access to our services for all our service users and carers. We place a high value on the respect and dignity of individuals and recognise the social and cultural diversity of the communities we serve. Interpreting and translation provision for non-English speaking people who access CWP service users and carers remains vital for those who need communication support including people with different ethnic backgrounds, D/deaf, deaf/blind visually impaired and learning disabilities.
The purpose of the Translation and Interpretation Report is to review the interpretation & translation services used across the Trust and:
Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) was introduced in 2018. It consists of a set of specific measures to enable us to compare the experiences of disabled and non-disabled staff since research shows that a motivated, included and valued workforce helps to deliver high quality patient care, increased patient satisfaction and improved patient safety. For more information, view CWP’s Workforce Disability Equality Standard Report.
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) was introduced in 2015. The WRES seeks to prompt inquiry to better understand why it is that BME staff often receive much poorer treatment than White staff in the workplace and to facilitate the closing of those gaps. For more information, view CWP’s Workforce Race Equality Report.
CWP is listed as being in the top 10 best performers in England (2021) for providing "equal opportunities for career progression or promotion" and "its percentage of board members by ethnicity compared to BME workforce within NHS Trusts by region". Our most recent WRES report identified a 21.4% Board percentage figure against 5.5% for the overall Trust, 7.08% for the local population and a 12.6% NHS national average.
Cheshire and Wirral Partnership is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer.
Disability Confident organisations play a leading role in changing attitudes for the better. At CWP, we’re changing behaviour and cultures within the Trust, our networks and our communities, and reaping the benefits of inclusive recruitment practices.
The scheme helps us to recruit and retain great people, and:
Draw from the widest possible pool of talent
Secure high quality staff who are skilled, loyal and hard working
Improve employee morale and commitment by demonstrating that we treat all employees fairly
CWP has signed the Armed Forces Covenant to demonstrate its commitment towards our armed forces community. The Covenant recognises that the whole nation has a moral obligation to members of the armed forces community and how they should be treated. The two main principles of the Covenant are that:
In addition to signing the Covenant, the Armed Forces Act 2021 places a legal Covenant Duty on specified organisations (including NHS Trusts) that are responsible for delivering statutory functions in healthcare, education, and housing services, and raises awareness regarding how Service life can impact our armed forces community.
CWP has achieved a gold award with the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme which recognises the work that employer organisations undertake to pledge, demonstrate and advocate support to defence and our armed forces community, and to align their values with the armed forces covenant.
Veteran AwareAccredited by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance, CWP is proud to be a Veteran Aware organisation in recognition of its commitment to improving and supporting NHS care for our armed forces community.
CWP is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and meeting our statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010. The Trust therefore uses a comprehensive system of Equality Analysis (EA), also referred to as Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs). The process ensures that any proposed service, strategy, policy, function, or similar directive is systematically analysed. The process also identifies the effect, or likely effect, on the people who come into contact with the Trust.
