Trusts to be rated on race equality

Race equality is to become a key performance measure for all trusts and will contribute towards star-ratings, NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp has revealed.

Sir Nigel spoke to HSJ as he launched the Leadership and Race Equality action plan at an NHS leadership conference last week.

The plan includes a specific directive to the Department of Health 'and all NHS leaders [to] build race equality into the new standard and target-setting regime, into local performance management systems and the new inspection model'.

Sir Nigel, who will lead the new strategy, said: 'We published the [24 core] standards in February.

Now we need to make sure that within those standards there is something that is really relevant to cultural and racial issues.'

And to ensure the strategy worked, he said, it would need 'more than one set of teeth'.

As well as star-ratings and a revised performance management regime, Sir Nigel expected increased local accountability through patient choice, payment by results and foundation status to have an impact.

Race equality will also have to be embedded into future local development plans.

Sir Nigel said: 'Whatever the target is, we will look at what the needs of the ethnic minority group in your area are.'

However, particular attention will be paid to chronic-disease management and health inequalities, as well to the recruitment and development of ethnic minority staff. Sir Nigel added that these were now fundamental 'business issues' for all trusts.

The launch of the strategy comes less than a month after the independent inquiry into the death of mental health patient David 'Rocky' Bennett. It called for urgent national action to 'eliminate institutional racism' from the NHS.

Sir Nigel said that progress on general access targets means there is now 'space' to make race equality performance a top priority.

A Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection spokesperson said CHAI will examine how to build trusts' responsibilities to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act into its inspection framework.

It will look in particular at 'monitoring equality of access and equity of provision of healthcare in relation to black and minority ethnic communities'.

Sir Nigel's office wants to recruit a new 'equality lead' to head its race equality strategy team of six, which is responsible for developing the 'next steps' of the plan in the coming six months. This includes allocation of 'practical support', such as financial resources.

Commission for Race Equality chair Sir Trevor Phillips will head an independent panel of four experts from outside the NHS, 'with experience of taking on race issues elsewhere'. The panel is charged with monitoring national progress against the action plan, and will make its first report to chief executives in September.