My trust is at the early stages of embedding health inequalities work and there are lots of objectives in this guide – where should we start?
We recognise that trusts will be at different stages. For trusts who are starting out with this work, we have recommended a small set of objectives to help build the foundations for reducing health inequalities.
How do these objectives relate to wider work in the NHS on quality improvement and reducing unnecessary variations in care?
Addressing inequalities is as a crucial part of the quality agenda and continuous improvement approaches should endeavour to take an equity lens. NHS Impact (Improving Patient Care Together) provides a single improvement approach to support providers to develop their strategy for continuous improvement (NHS England, 2023i).
There are several objectives related to health inequalities training, where can I access training tools?
Training events, resources, and tools on the topic of health inequalities are available nationally and we have outlined some options below, although this is not an exhaustive list. Trusts may also wish to consider training opportunities and resources that are available locally or regionally. Trusts could also seek to develop their own training resources that can be embedded within their organisational learning processes.
Training for clinicians and practitioners includes:
- eLearning for Health – Health inequalities training.
- NHSE (formerly Health Education England) webpage on health inequalities.
- NHS Leadership Academy course on tackling inequalities through population health management.
- Royal College of General Practitioners – Health inequalities training.
For training resources applicable to NHS board level, we recommend NHS Providers Health Inequalities programme for trust boards. The programme aims to help trust leaders make sense of health inequalities and embed it as part of core business, with resources informed by our research and engagement with trust leaders, through webinars, briefings and peer learning events.
NHS Confederation offer an EDI Directors programme, for strategic leaders delivering improvement through tackling inequity.
We also recommend exploring the Health Inequalities Improvement Programme section of NHS England’s Futures NHS webpage, which brings together the latest information and resources relating to health inequalities. There are also networking and forum opportunities on the NHS Futures site.
My ICB has its own strategy for health inequalities, how does that relate to this guide?
Alongside these national documents, trusts are encouraged to review local and system level policies and resources to ensure that actions and strategies relating to health inequalities are aligned.
How often should the self-assessment tool be completed?
There are no requirements in relation to the self-assessment tool, it is a tool to inform where the trust could prioritise their actions on health inequalities. We recommend completing the self-assessment tool at appropriate intervals for the trust to monitor organisational progress (e.g. annually).
What happens to my data when I complete the self-assessment tool?
The self-assessment tool will not store any of your data and NHS Providers are not able to access your data. When you close your web-browser, any data entered will be erased. When you select ‘download’ a PDF document will be downloaded to your device, please download before exiting the tool. The PDF contains a unique link, when you click the link, the tool will re-generate your answers using a unique code. Your responses are not retained anywhere. You may share this as you choose.
I work in an ambulance trust, should I use the self-assessment tool recommended in this guide?
The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) have a programme of work in place to support ambulance trusts in reducing health inequalities. As part of this, there is sector specific maturity matrix tool, which should be used by ambulance trusts to guide the choice of objectives from this guide. The questions in both self-assessment tools are similar.
Will the guide be updated?
NHS Providers will plan to update this guide on a regular basis, to incorporate any additional relevant guidance on health inequalities that are applicable to trust boards. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact: health.inequalities@nhsproviders.org