Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust spotlights best anti-racist practices in a new publication by the NHS Confederation
Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (CWPT) is delighted to announce we’ve been listed in the NHS Confederation’s latest publication ‘Excellence through equality: anti-racism as a quality improvement tool’. Our Cultural Inclusion Network and our work on the Mental Health Act detentions have been spotlighted as good examples of best anti-racist practices.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Cultural Inclusion Network (CIN) was established by CWPT and the ICB in January 2022. The CIN empowers grassroots organisations, particularly those serving ethnic minority communities, within the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. Through collaboration and innovative funding, including projects like the ‘Long COVID initiative’, the CIN exemplifies effective healthcare partnerships while ensuring support for small organisations.
CIN’s approach focuses on strengthening representation in strategic meetings, improving public sector relationships, and increasing opportunities for small organisations to shape decision-making to reduce health inequalities.
Locally, Black males are 2.3 times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than the average male population. Racialised communities face barriers in accessing mental health support, often only receiving assistance when their conditions escalate to the point of detainment. This can lead to heightened distrust towards mental health services.
CWPT is leading the work to address this disproportionality, which includes working with partners such as the Police, Social Care, Public health, VCSE and Experts by Experience.
CWPT’s Strategic Lead for Health Equity, Lexi Ireland, said: “We are so proud of our local work being recognised at a national level as examples of best practice. Patient-centred care is truly at the heart of everything we do, and being part of a movement to ensure that voices from racialised communities are being included is so important.
If you would like to know more about either of these projects or the wider work around addressing health inequalities that is taking place at CWPT, please do feel free to get in touch.”