Why do we need a strategy?

We need equity, diversity, inclusion and justice at the core of delivery of healthcare services.

West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is committed to ensuring that equity, diversity, inclusion and justice are at the core of NHS leadership and the delivery of healthcare services and embedded into our way of working.

We hope this new strategy will make a difference to everyone who lives and works in West Yorkshire so they can access healthcare in the way that works best for them and can live a healthy life.

A new strategy will help health and care partners focus on progressing equity, diversity, inclusion and justice. It will enable us to build on the positive work already happening with our partners and strengthen our collective commitment to advancing equity, diversity, inclusion and justice.

What do we mean by equality, equity, diversity, inclusion and justice?

Equality

Equality in health and social care means having equal and fair access to services, care and treatment to give people the same chance to stay well and recover from illness. But treating everyone the same does not always help because we are all different and have different needs. Some people may need extra or different help.

Equity

Equity means treating everyone fairly but understanding that everyone is different and may have different needs or start from a different place. It is important we understand the barriers that our health and social care system and wider society create for people and give people different or extra help to overcome these barriers.

Diversity

Diversity means recognising and valuing people's differences, such as their backgrounds, cultures, experiences, beliefs, and skills. In health and care, people should be able to see someone like them working in services and as leaders. This can increase confidence, trust and safety when using services.

Inclusion

In health and care, inclusion means making sure everyone feels welcome, comfortable and that they belong in places they receive or give care. This can relate to factors such as language, signage, images and room layout. Inclusion helps to make sure that people can use services easily, feel included in planning their care and that people and staff can bring their whole self to health and care without fear of being judged.

Social justice

Social justice means being fair and doing what is right, such as giving unbiased care. Social justice in health and care focuses on fixing bigger social issues that affect health, like economic inequalities, housing, access or transport. In this strategy, we will call both ideas ‘justice.’

Here are some of things our stakeholder event attendees had to say:

"Social justice is the absence of the causes of inequalities not the absence of discrimination."

"We need to think about what is not making it more equal and what disadvantages people face."

"It’s about everyone having basic human rights, regardless of who they are."

"Equality is not to ignore the patient and talk to other people who support them."

"Equality is being fair, and the way you speak to people."

We know that health is impacted by broader factors. Those factors include where we live or if we work, and barriers to access rooted in systemic issues. This strategy focusses on what we can do in health and care, ensuring fair resource distribution, unbiased care and equitable treatment of people, communities and staff.

For work addressing the broader factors of health, see the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) Equity Diversity and Inclusion plan 22-25 and their Inclusivity Champion Plan.

We need equity, diversity, inclusion and justice to be everyone’s business

When we all take responsibility for equity, diversity, inclusion and justice, we build systems and communities where everyone can thrive. This way, progress will benefit everyone in West Yorkshire, not just a select few. We need advocates, allies and ambassadors to lead the change.

We all have a role to:

educate ourselves about the issues and understand our role in perpetuating or challenging inequities
advocate for inclusive practices in health and care settings, workplaces and communities
challenge biases and discrimination, both within ourselves and in others
support policies and actions that promote justice and equitable access to health and care opportunities
engage in conversations that amplify marginalised voices and perspectives
think about how we make everything we do more equitable, fair and inclusive.

“Not another strategy that will sit on a shelf”

There are clear links from this strategy to our West Yorkshire mission, values and behaviours and to our 10 big ambitions. In addition, this strategy will help us achieve equity within the work we do every day, and link priorities in our workforce.

This new strategy has set out key objectives for the partnership over the next five years, 2025 to 2030. The new strategy and workplan will help us prioritise our efforts and resources and take advantage of the benefits of system working.

The key objectives were developed in response to the following steps:

Step 1 - what we have heard from those with lived experience - see 'What you told us' on the 'Why we need to change' page.
Step 2 - what the data tells us - see 'Data for population, people and communities' on the 'Why we need to change' page.
Step 3 - what legislation says we must do – see 'What we must do' on the 'Why we need to change' page.

... whilst recognising and building on the current initiatives we are already working on – Step 4.

Why do we need a strategy?

Power of one power of many

Foreword

Introduction – context