Equality Impact Assessments

hands from a variety of people of different ethnicities placed into the centre

Most people and organisations want to be fair and to treat people equally. We tend to think that everything is okay because our services are open to everyone. Anyone can come through the door and join in.

But this doesn't work if everyone is different. If someone can't read, they won't be able to read the leaflets. If someone can't hear, they won't be able to join in the conversation. If someone has come from another country, they might not know that a service exists. And if someone has had a bad experience of using the services or joining groups, they won't come to the service unless someone talks to them.

This is what Equality Impact Assessments are about - thinking long and hard about how some people might be excluded from the services offered. This is often not deliberate, but the way an organise thinks or the assumptions made, will mean they can't join in, or if they try to, it won't really work for them.

The Trust ensures that policies, strategies, procedures, processes or change to service  are equality impact assessed. This means anything that affects staff or patients. For more information about Equality Impact Assessments, you can contact the Head of Equality and Diversity on 024 7636 8944.