Healthcare Commission warns of non-compliance
Written by admin on Thursday, August 24, 2006 13:13
Trusts fail to meet responsibilities of RRAA 2000
Taken from the Healthcare Commission website.
The Healthcare Commission has warned that it suspects the NHS of widespread non-compliance with legislation on race relations designed to promote equality.
It has released results of an audit suggesting most trusts have not met responsibilities to publish information under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
Inspectors spent 30 minutes scanning each website of all 570 NHS trusts, looking for information that legislation has required public bodies to publish since May 2002.
In that half an hour, they could only find this information the websites of seven NHS trusts, around one per cent of the total.
As part of a duty to promote race equality, all NHS trusts should publish:
- a race equality scheme and action plan setting out how the organisation will make race equality central to all its functions, reviewed every three years
- annual employment monitoring statistics showing the ethnic profile of the workforce, including access to training and promotion, as well as numbers of job applicants and short-listed candidates
- the outcome of race equality impact assessments demonstrating what action has been taken to address any adverse impact of an organisation’s policies.
In the time allowed under the audit, Commission inspectors could find:
- none of the information required on 31 per cent of trust websites
- an updated race equality scheme on 60 per cent of trust websites
- employment monitoring statistics on six per cent of trust websites
- race equality impact assessments on two per cent of trust websites
The Commission stresses that the audit is not a definitive test of compliance, but says the findings do suggest a significant problem with the number of trusts meeting statutory codes of practice.
As a result, the inspectorate has this week written to NHS trusts urging them to check they meet their legal responsibilities. It plans to identify the apparent worst offenders and warn them that unless they demonstrate action they risk taking a hit in the annual performance ratings.
It has also passed the findings to the Commission for Racial Equality, which has powers to warn and prosecute organisations that fail to comply.
Jamie Rentoul, the Healthcare Commission’s Head of Strategy, said: “It is not unreasonable to expect legislation to take a little time to bed in. But we were surprised and disappointed by the apparent extent of the problem at this stage.
"Trusts should take this seriously because NHS services have not always found it easy to reach all sections of the community. They employ a particularly large and diverse section of the workforce so it is important they demonstrate what they are doing.
"This is why we are putting trusts on notice that they must put their houses in order. If they fail to do so then we, and the CRE, will have to take action. The duty to promote race equality is not an optional extra.”
Surinder Sharma, the National Director for Equality and Human Rights, said: "The Department of Health takes these findings very seriously. All NHS organisations must ensure that they are fully compliant with the Race Relations Act and publicly set out how they are meeting their responsibilities.
"Whilst the Healthcare Commission's audit is not a definitive test of co-operation, it does point to serious issues of concern. I am personally looking to every NHS Trust to give immediate attention to remedying this situation, not just to comply with legislation, but also because race equality remains a core element of our drive to improve access to healthcare, combat health inequalities and develop a diverse workforce.“
The Department of Health says it will notify all NHS chief executives of the importance of responding to these findings in a prompt professional manner, and will be issuing new equality guidance to non-executive directors of NHS boards.
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