Item 7 - Summary and minutes of the Equality Committee June

GLOUCESTERSHIRE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
MINUTES OF THE EQUALITY STEERING COMMITTEE
HELD ON MONDAY 10 th JUNE 2013
IN HR MEETING ROOM, BEACON HOUSE, GRH
THESE MINUTES MAY BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND PERSONS OUTSIDE OF THE TRUST AS
PART OF THE TRUST’S COMPLIANCE WITH THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
PRESENT
Clive Lewis
Dave Smith
Mike Seeley
Sally Pearson
Mark Read
Carol McIndoe
Richard Giles
Ian Tait
APOLOGIES
Thomas Less
Judi Brown
Maggie Arnold
Kate Jeal
Gill Bliss
CL
DS
MS
SP
MR
CM
RG
IT
TL
JB
MA
KJ
GB
Non-Executive Director (Chair)
Director of Human Resources/OD
Associate Director of HR
Director of Clinical Strategy
Chaplain
Disability Officer
Equalities Officer
Director of Estates and Facilities
LNC
Governor
Nursing Director
Comms Specialist
Joint Staff Chair
Item Details Action
01/13 The minutes of the last meeting were agreed to be a correct record of the
meeting.
02/13
Matters arising
CL reported that he had written to Clair Chilvers for the Equalities Steering
Committee to have delegated governance for reporting to main board; and that
this would be considered at the June full Board meeting.
A replacement for LNC Representative had still not been found but volunteers
from the LNC Group will be requested and update provided in due course.
Heather Beer, Head of Patient Experience, who commences post in July 2013,
will lead on the Equality Stakeholder Matrix and Engagement Plans, therefore
this will be picked up as an agenda item at the next meeting.
RG
HB
03/13
Equality Committee Objectives 2013/14
MS commented that consistent monitoring of the objectives across the year has
been problematical. CL stated that this should become a standing agenda item
at future meetings with a brief update being provided from all of the leads
before each meeting to discuss. A Red, Amber and Green (RAG) system in
place to highlight each objective so assessment is clearly defined.
ALL
04/13 Creating a Personal, Fair and Diverse NHS
This is a campaign run by NHS Employers, working closely with the Equality
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and Diversity Council (EDC), to encourage NHS staff to become champions.
The aim is to create a vibrant network of champions who are committed to
taking action, however small, to create a personal, fair and diverse NHS.
SP stated that our trust should become corporate ambassadors to underpin this
campaign with a separate agenda. Message to staff should not be from a
corporate standpoint but as a general communication to encourage staff to sign
up. RG to confirm agreed approach with KJ.
RG said that he would follow this through with Kate Jeal to include in future
editions of Outline and arrange for communication materials to be ordered from
NHS Employers
DS commented that the Equality Board game discussed at the last meeting
could be used as a tool when arranging sessions to promote PFD and that we
would look to purchase a copy of the game. This could also be used in the Top
100 Leaders meeting probably in November. The Trust Board had participated
actively in the session at the recent Board seminar and we will find
opportunities to run a few more pilot sessions internally.
MR will be using the board game at the Band 5 nurses Equality and Diversity
update. DS will use it within his HR Manager team meeting.
KJ/RG
DS
MS
05/13
MS will invite Paula Vasco-Knight, Chief Executive of South Devon Healthcare
NHS Foundation Trust along to a future meeting to discuss being a PFD
Ambassador and how we can promote this within the trust.
Update from Dr Habib Naqvi, Senior Equality Manager, NHS England
Dr Naqvi had not provided a copy of his presentation from the last meeting
which he was unable to show due to IT issues; however this will be chased and
circulated to the group.
An email request had been sent to Kate Milton, Senior Equality and Health
Inequality Manager, regional coordinator for the South of England to discuss
and update on the network arrangement.
RG
RG
06/13
07/13
Update on Terms of Reference
MS provided an updated copy of the Terms of Reference which was distributed
to the group. It states that the committee has an Equalities Officer however the
individual referred to CMd is not an Equalities Officer but a Disabilities Officer,
the title should be changed to show their actual job.
Judi Brown had asked to stay on committee as a member but not as
Constituency Governor. SP commented that she could remain as ‘co-opted’ but
a new Governor should be elected.
Communications
No update was available due to Kate Jeal’s absence; however it was felt that a
schedule of up and coming Equality and Diversity events should be timetabled
so the committee can discuss these in advance to put advance plans in motion.
MS
KJ/RG
KJ/RG
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GLOUCESTERSHIRE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
08/13 Any Other Business
IT requested his withdrawal from the committee as Divisional Representative
because he was not listed on the membership in the Terms of Reference. This
was agreed by the committee. However the design of our estate is crucial to
ensuring equal access opportunities are considered in design. It will be
important that if no direct representation from estates, these issues are
progressed via individual committee members through appropriate forums such
as reconfiguration.
DS
CM talked about producing letters in large print and discussed this with the
booking office where they originate from; these changes need to start with
ophthalmology patients. DS stated that this needs to be taken forward with the
Cultural Change Steering Group.
SP raised the issue that the Information Governance Committee needed to get
involved in sending out an email to change the font size which would help with
reader software installed on PC’s. PAS system to be reviewed to incorporate
this
09/13 Date of next meeting
The following meeting will take place on Monday 22 July 2013 in the HR
meeting room, Beacon House, GRH, 14.30 -16.30
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