Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13 - Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Business Reviewl access - related to clinical servicesand/or employment and promotionopportunitiesl the degree of independence they haveto make decisions affecting their lives.l treatment - related to both clinical careand employmentAs part of the Equality Act 2010, thereare nine protected characteristics. Theseare gender, race, disability, religion orbelief, sexual orientation, age, genderreassignment, pregnancy and maternityand civil partnership or marital status.Decisions made in relation to thesecharacteristics are made in a fair andtransparent way. As a public sectororganisation, there are some additionalequality duties which we are committedto achieving. This means that the Trustmust have due regard to the need to:l eliminate unlawful discrimination,harassment and victimisation andother conduct prohibited by the Actl advance equality of opportunitybetween people who share aprotected characteristic and thosewho do notl foster good relations between differentpeople when carrying out their duties,tackling prejudice and promotingunderstandingl ensure that policies and servicesare appropriate and accessible to allmeeting their different needsHaving due regard to these areas meansthat the Trust can provide an efficient andeffective service.There are also some specific dutiesthat we are required to adhere to. TheTrust must be transparent about howit is responding to the Equality Dutypublishing relevant, proportionateinformation showing compliance with theEquality Duty on an annual basis, andmust set and monitor equality objectives.This information must be available tostaff, service users and the general public.The Trust’s website publishes informationon how it believes the organisationmeets these duties and this informationis updated regularly. This includesinformation on recruitment and retentionand development and support of disabledemployees. The Single Equality Schemeand Action Plan sets out the Trust’svision for 2011-2015. It clearly identifiesa number of objectives that the Trust isworking to achieve during this period.4.13 Reducing our carbonfootprintThe NHS aims to reduce its carbonfootprint by 10% between April 2007 andApril 2016. In support of this target, theFoundation Trust (RBCH) has developeda Sustainable Management Plan (SMP)that was sign by the Board of Directorsin January 2011. It affirms the Trust’sobjectives and targets for reducingcarbon emissions and enables theorganisation to contribute to the NHS aimof becoming a low carbon, sustainableprovider of high quality healthcare.The Trust is committed to continuallyimprove on minimising the impact ofits activities on the environment, and indoing so reinforcing its commitmentsto both the Good Corporate CitizenshipModel and cost improvement.The NHS has set an overall carbonreduction target for NHS trusts to achievea 10% reduction by April 2016 (from2007/08 baseline year). The Trust hasadopted a series of carbon reductiontargets in support of the NHS target toreduce emissions by 10% by April 2016.The key areas for action are:l energy, water and carbonmanagementl sustainable procurement and foodl low carbon travel, transport andaccessl waste reduction and recyclingl green spacesl staff engagement and communicationl buildings and site designl organisational and workforcedevelopmentl partnership and networksl governance, IT and finance52Annual Report and Accounts 2012/13