In this annual equality report, we have focused on variation in care specifically for older people and younger people, and differences on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
We have identified that there is still too much variation in people’s access, experience and outcomes in many health and social care services on these grounds.
The report looks at the experiences of people using health and social care services, as well as for staff working in social care. The report also looks at our work with regard to equality in health and social care and at equality in our own workforce. It also looks to the future and sets out our Equality Objectives for 2015-17.
Our work in 2015/16 and beyond
We want to go further in achieving change in equality for people who use health and social care, and for our own staff.
We will build on and develop our human rights approach to regulation and inspection. We will develop a new People Strategy. We will work with others, such as the NHS Equality and Diversity Council and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to bring about change.
We will prioritise our new Equality Objectives 2015-17 to:
- Objective 1: Deliver learning and development for all CQC staff by March 2016 to address unconscious bias. This will help to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in our regulatory work, in employment at CQC and in our wider relationships with colleagues.
- Objective 2: Include race equality for staff (through the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard) as a factor in our judgements about whether hospitals are well-led.
- Objective 3: Improve our regulatory insight and action about the safety and quality of mainstream health services for people with a learning disability or dementia, or those experiencing mental ill-health.
- Objective 4: Help our inspectors to pursue key lines of enquiry and to make consistent and robust judgements about particular aspects of equality. We will focus on adult social care services meeting the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual people and people with a sensory impairment, and look at the transition of young disabled people into adult services.
- Objective 5: Work towards having no difference in the employment outcomes for our staff or potential recruits because of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender reassignment, religion or belief or sexual orientation.
We will be measuring our progress in relation to employment, starting by using the new NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard. Our staff equality networks will also continue to provide valuable advice to CQC, and we will maintain a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment in the workplace with the support of our Dignity at Work advisors programme.
As the quality regulator for health and adult social care services in England, CQC is committed to working with providers, commissioners, people who use services, and our own staff to encourage the improvements needed for everyone to receive good care – no matter who they are.
We expect providers to meet the needs of all people who use their service, and take action to ensure equality for their staff, as this will improve the quality of the care that they provide.