Everyone should have equal access to our services and all of our staff should all have equality of opportunity.
The Equality Act 2010 outlines a series of characteristics that are protected by law:
We have refreshed our equality objectives and new objectives were agreed in March 2024. We have six objectives and an action plan to achieve these by 2028.
Our equality and inclusion priorities are supported across our organisation, and you can find out more about this in updates and reports accessible on this page.
If you would like a copy of any of these documents in an alternative format, please email EDI@shsc.nhs.uk
We issue reports every year on our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. These reports are in the sections below.
If you’d like to see documents from earlier than 2017 please email liz.johnson@shsc.nhs.uk or if you would like a version in an alternative format please email EDI@shsc.nhs.uk.
A summary document is also available to download here.
The NHS Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) is NHS England’s first ever anti-racism and accountability framework to tackle and eliminate the unacceptable racial inequalities in access, experience and outcomes faced by racialised and ethnically and culturally diverse communities and to significantly improve their trust and confidence in mental health services.
SHSC has been an early adopter site of this work and as an organisation we are fully committed to ensuring the disparities faced by culturally diverse communities are addressed.
You can read the PCREF framework here (available in standard, easy read and audio formats).
Our PCREF programme is focused on the three core components also known as three priorities:
Part one: Leadership and governance – legislative and regulatory obligations (leadership and governance) – The Trust’s board will be leading on establishing and monitoring plans of action which fulfil our statutory and legal requirements.
Part two: National organisational competencies (NOCs) – these are coproduced core competencies a culturally responsible mental health service should demonstrate. These are created through engagement with local racialised communities.
Part three: The patient and carers feedback mechanism – this component seeks to embed patient and carer voices at the heart of the planning, implementation and learning cycle.
There are six areas of focus identified to improve the experience of racialised and ethnically and culturally diverse communities these are:
These are reported to NHS England on a quarterly basis. You can read the most recent report here:
Implementing our PCREF is a key organisational priority for us for 2025/2026 and this page will be regularly updated.
If you would like any more information regarding the PCREF work please contact engage@shsc.nhs.uk
To know more about about our work on equality, diversity and inclusion, or to have the information in another format or language please email our Head of Equality and Inclusion, liz.johnson@shsc.nhs.uk or call 0114 271 6703.