PCTS PLEDGE TO ACHIEVE FIRST EVER PERFORMANCE TARGETS ON RACE EQUALITY AND HEALTH
Written by Musmirah_Shahzada on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 09:48
Press Release
NOT FOR PUBLICATION BEFORE: 12 Noon Thurs 6 Dec
Contact: Jack O'Sullivan, Race for Health 07779 655585
Leading NHS Primary Care Trusts have pledged to achieve the first ever key performance indicators for cutting race inequality and health.
They have pledged to develop and implement plans to tackle dramatic inequalities for BME communities in four disease areas: diabetes, peri-natal mortality, mental health, plus coronary heart disease and stroke,
The 19 PCTs are all members of Race for Health, a Department of Health funded programme that develops best practice in the field which is then rolled out across the country.
The pledges are announced today (Dec 6) at a major conference in at the Cavendish Centre in Westminster, London, hosted by Race for Health and the Health Service Journal. It is addressed by Ivan Lewis, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and by Surinder Sharma, National Director for Equality and Human Rights at the Department of Health.
The pledges (below) respond to the following serious inequalities:
- People from the South Asian community are six times more likely to suffer type 2 diabetes than those from the white population and at a much younger age.
- Infant mortality in England and Wales for children born to mothers from Pakistan is double the average.
- South Asian people are 50 per cent more likely to develop heart disease and kidney failure, two of the key consequences of diabetes.
- The prevalence of stroke among African Caribbean and South Asian men is 40 per cent to 70 per cent higher than for the general population
- Young black men are six times more likely than young white men to be sectioned for compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act.
Surinder Sharma said:
'These pledges need to be translated into real action, giving clear messages to local partnerships, to the BME communities who use services and to the broader NHS community. They demonstrate that the time for talking about race equality is over. We are - together - doing something about it, and the NHS is ready to be judged on its success in moving equality and human rights forward.'
'This is no box-ticking exercise. It is a re-invigoration of the battle to eliminate inequality, to highlight the real problems and deliver speedy action. It is a genuine, purposeful and testable pledge to narrow the unfairness that blights so many lives. I am proud to be associated with such a commitment to change.'
Evelyn Asante-Mensah, chair of Race for Health, said:
'These pledges offer the NHS new ways of working. The 19 Race for Health PCTs are making themselves accountable to the millions of black and minority ethnic citizens who have a right to expect a great service from the National Health Service. '
The 19 PCTs signing up to the pledges are: Berkshire East PCT, Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT Bristol PCT, Ealing PCT, Haringey Teaching PCT, Hastings and Rother PCT, Lambeth PCT, Leeds PCT, Leicester City PCT , Liverpool PCT, Luton Teaching PCT, Manchester PCT, Oldham PCT, Shropshire County PCT, South Birmingham PCT , Suffolk PCT, Wandsworth Teaching PCT ,Westminster PCT, Wolverhampton City PCT.
The Pledge in full is:
Our Pledge
Primary Care Trusts belonging to the Race for Health programme are committed to achieving real and measurable improvement for people from black and minority ethnic communities in relation to health, health services, health outcomes and employment within the NHS.
All Race for Health PCTs pledge to:
- Achieve 100% compliance with the Race Relations Amendment Act with regards to:
- Producing and publishing an effective and comprehensive Race Equality Scheme;
- Collecting, analysing and publishing workforce data and ethnicity relating to selection, access to training, career progression, grievances and disciplinaries;
- Undertaking race equality impact assessments and publishing the results and related activities.
- Undertake and publish the results of race equality impact assessments of:
- Local Delivery Plan;
- Commissioning strategy;
- Workforce strategy.
- Demonstrate that race equality is effectively addressed at Board level through the PCT's Board development programme.
- Develop detailed plans for activity and improvement on:
- Diabetes;
- Perinatal mortality;
- Coronary heart disease and stroke
- Mental health
using the Race for Health template or an adaptation that will deliver the same measurable outcomes; and including appropriate mechanisms for capturing and reporting on patient experience.
PCTs that are members of Race for Health undertake to provide a written report of performance against these pledges, supported and endorsed by their Thinking Partner, by 31 March 2008.
Notes to Editors:
- The Achieving Race Equality in the NHS is hosted by the Health Service Journal and Race for Health at the Cavendish Centre, Westminster, London W1G. If you wish to attend, please contact Jack O'Sullivan, 07779 655585.
- Race for Health supports Primary Care Trusts to make the NHS locally, regionally and nationally significantly fairer for black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, and aims to deliver measurable improvements in the health outcomes of BME people. RfH has developed a growing network of 19 PCTs across the country, working in partnership with local communities, local authorities and other stakeholders. Together they seek to deliver health services that respond effectively to the different needs of local communities and individuals, drawing on the great benefits of the NHS's diverse workforce. Our PCT-led programme of work is funded by the Department of Health and hosted by Manchester PCT.
Contacts:
Press: Jack O'Sullivan 07779 655585 jack@raceforhealth.org
Administration: Anurita Mulchand 0161 958 4081
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