CDE Appendix 1 Literature Review - Central East Local Health ...

The Culture, Diversity and Equity Project: Literature Review
Box 4.1 continued
The NHS London Mission (what is NHS London’s role?) reads:
Our role is to:
• Provide strategic leadership for the NHS in London
• Build a sustainable, affordable and innovative health service in London
• Ensure health resourcing tackles inequalities and shifts the balance of
resources towards community services
• Encourage the NHS in London to work in partnership with stakeholders
(NHS London, 2008).
The NHS London Strategy to achieve its vision and mission includes, as the first of seven strategy components:
• “Work in partnership with pan-London organisations to improve
health and reduce health inequalities” (NHS London, 2008, p.4).
The NHS London Strategic Plan lists a further three more specific, concrete strategic goals, as desired outcomes over the
next three to five years, in relation to the above strategy:
• Average life expectancy of Londoners increased by at least 2 years
for males and females
• Number of primary care clinicians per population to increase as a
function of deprivation so that the most deprived boroughs have more
primary care clinicians
• The difference in life expectancy between the best and worst boroughs in
London is reduced by 10 per cent.
Source: NHS London, 2008.
4.2. LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE in support of accountability and compliance
Governance arrangements for health equity policies and strategies are also critical to establishing accountability and
ensuring compliance. Governance – how decision-making power, authority, accountability/responsibility (reporting
relationships) and performance management is organized and configured 25 – should extend to the highest authority
in the health system (‘the tree top’) to ensure coherent integration of health equity concerns across all policy,
program, service/function areas and effective performance management and coordination across the system.
25 The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services defines governance in its
(2002) cultural competence assessment domain framework as “the goal-setting, policy-making, and other oversight vehicles an organization uses
to help ensure the delivery of culturally competent care”.
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