The Trust promotes an inclusive culture built on our values. This is articulated through our vision of ‘Excellent care at the heart of the community’.
This vision is supported by a specific ambition of: ‘equitable care at the heart of all our communities’ delivered by the Trust’s equality strategy.
Our ambition emphasises that care excellence always includes equality and it respects that we are all – staff, patients and carers alike – part of many different communities.
"The trust recognised the importance of valuing the diversity of its staff and specific staff group networks had been established." Care Quality Commision Report 11 September - 18 October 2018
Compassionate
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Working
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Achieving
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Delivering
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promotes dignity and accessibility for all and eliminates discrimination |
respectfully fosters good relations, widens participation and tackles stigma |
promotes peoples independence and their rights with fairness |
advances equality of opportunity in care, health, wellbeing and employment |
The Trust promotes an inclusive culture by setting standards in the Trust’s equality policy and promoting accountability from Board to frontline services, engaging with people to include them in their care and in their workplaces and through a range of leadership development opportunities to foster good relations.
The Trust’s equality objectives are delivered by the Trust’s equality action plan. The objectives for 2017-18 are listed below:
Improve BME people’s experiences of urgent care |
Promote workforce racial equality |
Promote LGBT+ wellbeing |
Promote accessibility and a positive experience of care for disabled people |
Promote workforce disability equality |
Improve chaplaincy and pastoral support |
Equal pay for equal work between the sexes |
Being an equitable business grounded in our diverse communities |
Annual Equality Reports
A report about how well the Trust is delivering the equality duty and the NHS Equality Delivery System (EDS) is published every year. Links to these reports are below:
Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES)
The Trust wants employees from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds have equal access to career opportunities and receive fair treatment in the workplace. The Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) is used by the Trust to measure progress. The standard consists of a number of indicators that we report on annually:
Annual Gender Pay Gap Report
The Trust proactively publishes details of the levels of pay across the organisation and is fully committed to ensuring equal pay between the sexes. You can find out more here:
The Trust’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group (EDIG) meets every two months and oversees progress against the Trust’s equality plan. Equality is delivered by services collaborating on projects or initiatives, coordinated by EDIG members for each area or division:
There are a number of sub-committees and working groups bringing people from across the Trust and beyond together to work on projects and initiatives to promote equality:
The group oversees work to increase the number of people with a learning disability and autism in successful employment and provided with other vocational opportunities. It is a partnership group with the following core members:
If you are a manager who has a job or a potential job or work experience that you can offer within your team please contact our Placement Coordinator, Stef Ransley, stefanie.ransley@nhs.net
The Trust wants to make sure that people who have a disability or sensory loss get information that they can access and understand, and any communication support that they need.
The Trust has adopted the Accessible Information Standard to make sure that patients and service users, and their carers and parents, can access and understand the information they are given. This includes making sure that people get information in accessible formats.
If you would like to discuss any communication or other support needs that you may have, please contact a member of staff using the contact details on your appointment or admissions letter to arrange support. See further information about supporting your communication needs below.
The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff network is open to all people working at the Trust. The network exists to engage BME staff to promote racial equality of opportunity in Trust workplaces and to promote a positive staff experience for BME people.
The Trust’s board champion for race equality is Susan Marshall, Chief Nurse, who advocates for the network at the highest level.
The network rotates its meetings and staff are allowed reasonable time off to attend and pursue network activities at work with the prior agreement of their line manager.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBT+) staff network is about promoting a culture which values LGBT+ people. It is a safe place that is visible, open and supportive.
The network includes experts by experience who can help educate the rest of the Trust about issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. It recognises that LGBT+ staff experience is very closely linked with LGBT+ patient experience. It is an evolving network that is open to discussion.
It is accessible to every member of staff working at the Trust; it will rotate venues for meetings and will use different means for staff to get involved, such as video conferencing. The network will include lunch and learn events around different topics. It will also organise informal social events at safe venues outside work.
The network is open to everyone. It is growing but is starting with people who identify as LGBT+. The network will build relations between people of different sexual and gender identities. It will include two levels of membership: LGBT+ members and associate members for straight allies. Staff are allowed reasonable time off to attend and pursue network activities at work with the prior agreement of their line manager.
The Trust’s board champion for sexual orientation and gender identity equality is Richard Curtin, Chief Operating Officer. He is actively involved with the network and provides high level support.
If you speak little or no English and would benefit having things explained in a language you are more comfortable with, we can arrange for professional interpreting services to be available at your appointment or during your visit.
If you would like to discuss any communication or other support needs that you may have, please contact a member of staff using the contact details on your appointment or admissions letter to arrange support.
The main organisations we work with are:
We can provide letters or patient information in different formats including:
Members of our chaplaincy and pastoral support services are happy to talk to patients and their families or staff about any spiritual or pastoral concerns whether you have a religious belief or not. Chaplains or pastoral support workers can be found for most belief groups (including none).
When you are ill or face times of crisis, your spiritual, religious and personal beliefs should be considered as an integral part of your treatment plan.
Your beliefs can be unsettled by illness, but they are often a resource from which strength can come.
If you would like to discuss any pastoral, religious or spiritual needs that you may have, please contact a member of staff using the contact details on your appointment or admissions letter to arrange support.
Chaplains and pastoral support workers offer spiritual care to all patients and their carers, friends and family.
Each chaplain or pastoral support worker is a specialist accredited by their own governing body to work with people with any religious or philosophical belief (or none).
Chaplains and pastoral support workers can support you in the following ways
Some of our community hospitals have dedicated chapels and prayer rooms. Please speak to your member of staff to find out more information. Staff members who require prayer rooms can speak to their line manager who can assist you locate a suitable space.
In emergencies, the switchboard operator can contact a chaplain or pastoral support worker directly for you.
In non-emergencies, ask the switchboard to put you through to the following phone numbers:
Area / site |
Name |
Telephone |
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West |
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Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital |
Rev Graham Reeves |
01243 791900 / 07767 830509 |
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Salvington Lodge Hospital |
Rev Anthony Trevithick |
01903 202195 |
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Zachary Merton Hospital |
Rev Patrick Brooks |
01903 858100 |
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Central |
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Horsham Hospital |
Rev John Du Bois |
01737 768511 |
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Crawley Hospital |
Rev John Glasspool |
01737 768511 ext.6120 |
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The Kleinwort Centre |
Rev Peter Wells |
01273 696955 ext.67495 |
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East |
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Lewes Victoria Hospital |
Rev Peter Wells |
01273 696955 ext.67495 |
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Brighton and Hove Palliative Care Partnership |
Rev Nicolas Roddick |
01273 273400 |
Other sites and services maintain links with local faith leaders and volunteers. Please contact your member of staff for further information.
Chapels and designated quiet rooms are available for you at certain sites. A list is provided below including which floor these rooms are located on. If your site is not listed please speak to a member of staff who will make other arrangements to try and support your spiritual needs.
Chapels and quiet rooms can be used to support prayer or contemplation by anyone. Some rooms are kept locked but may be unlocked on request. Please speak to your member of staff to find out more information.
Town / City |
Site |
Floor |
Room |
West |
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Bognor Regis |
Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital |
Main Hospital Building, Ground Floor |
Chapel |
Quiet Room |
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Chichester |
Bicentennial Building |
Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
Rustington |
Zachary Merton Hospital |
Ground Floor |
Chapel |
Central |
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Crawley |
Crawley Hospital |
Yellow Wing, Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
Haywards Heath |
The Kleinwort Centre |
Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
Horsham |
Horsham Hospital |
Main Hospital Building, Ground Floor |
Chapel |
East |
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Brighton & Hove |
Hove Polyclinic |
Lower Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
Mile Oak Clinic (Portslade) |
Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
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Lewes |
Lewes Victoria Hospital |
Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
Chailey Clinical Services |
Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
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Uckfield |
Uckfield Community Hospital |
Ground Floor |
Quiet Room |
If you have specific requirements for using a room for spiritual or pastoral reasons, please ask a member of staff to contact the chaplain.
Employees who require rooms for prayer or for practicing their beliefs at work can speak to their line manager/supervisor to find out more information.