The EDS is designed to support NHS commissioners and providers to deliver better outcomes for patients and communities and better working environments for staff, which are personal, fair and diverse. The EDS is all about making positive differences to healthy living and working lives.
CPFT has adopted the EDS and is fully committed to its implementation. The EDS should help organisations to start the analysis that is required by section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (“the public sector Equality Duty”) in a way that promotes localism and also helps them deliver on the NHS Outcomes Framework, the NHS Constitution and the Human Resources Transition Framework. It will help providers to continue to meet CQC’s “Essential Standards of Quality and Safety”.
The EDS is a tool for both current and emerging NHS organisations – in partnership with patients, the public, staff and staff-side organisations - to use to review their equality performance and to identify future priorities and actions. It offers local and national reporting and accountability mechanisms.
While the EDS can help inform the decision-making process, it is important to ensure that it is used as a tool to assist with evidence gathering and evaluation as part of the decision-making process. Nor of itself does it satisfy the public sector Equality Duty. In every case, organisations need to ensure that the decisions they make are in accordance with the requirements of public law. It should be implemented within a culture that already recognises the equality challenges it faces, is ready to engage with patients, communities and staff, and has the resolve to move forward positively.
At the heart of the EDS is a set of 18 outcomes grouped into four goals. These outcomes focus on the issues of most concern to patients, carers, communities, NHS staff and Boards. It is against these outcomes that performance is analysed, graded and action determined. The four EDS goals are:
The grades are as follows:
1. Excelling – Purple
2. Achieving - Green
3. Developing – Amber
4. Undeveloped – Red