Equality and Diversity

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust provides a range of acute and specialist services for more than half a million people in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire.

We recognise that to deliver good equality practice and to provide equal opportunity for everyone, equality and diversity must be embedded within our day to day running of the hospital. Making sure that this is at the heart of our organisation is essential to enable us to successfully fulfil our role and duties to the patients we treat, and as an employer.

It is important that we ensure the needs of patients, visitors and staff are met when designing and delivering our services irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We have a clear commitment within The Workforce Strategy to develop and promote a culture within the Trust, which is diverse, where individual differences are valued and respected and to further develop a workforce which reflects the community we serve. The Trust runs an Equality and Diversity Committee toi ensure the Trust meets the needs of every patient and every member of staff.  It is the responsibility of each and every one of us as members of the public, service users or staff to proactively promote equality and value diversity. It is everyone’s responsibility to eliminate discrimination and to work to ensure the people of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire receive the very highest standard of service.

Equality Delivery System (EDS)

Working within the SHIP (Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth)cluster, the Trust has adopted the NHS Equality Delivery System as the framework to achieve compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

To compy with this duty, the Trust must demonstrate due regard in the exercise of its functions to the nine protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Using the EDS the Trust has completed a baseline assessment of progress on Equality and Diversity.  The assessment has involved gathering evidence for each of the NHS EDS goals and outcomes from across the organisation.  This baseline assessment can be downloaded here and further updates will be published as they become available.

The Trust will be working to the following objective:

'To promote equality and diversity as a core value of the organisation which will enable the delivery of the requirements of the Equality Delivery Scheme' 

If you have any queries or comments you can contact The Equality and Diversity Department on 023 9232 2062 or 02392 286401.