Development of a Race Strategy and Action Plan for Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust

The growing clamour for social justice globally has resulted in increasing efforts to embed equality at sub-national systems, especially at the organisational level. This has seen the enactment and adoption of laws that aim to eliminate inequalities and ensure better outcomes for all groups in society. Thus, corporations and organisations have begun placing greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion initiatives to strengthen organisational adaptability, gain competitive advantage, and reduce legal risk. Despite this trend, many still struggle with varying degrees of discrimination and relevant policymaking. Following a procurement process and tendering exercise MRL ® Public Sector Consultants Ltd was engaged by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust to provide expertise and guidance for updating the Trust’s race and equality strategy and action plan. The brief included a comprehensive review of the existing strategy and the development an associated race action plan. Working with the Trust’s Associate Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, MRL ® subsequently developed a process that involved engagement with Trust staff to identify root causes of racism and assess the magnitude of the challenge; and review existing data to understand trends. We engaged the staff in general, and in particular, key staff networks and groups to review their experiences and receive as to the priority actions. We then worked with the Trust’s team to identify objectives for the Race Action Plan based on the feedback from the assessments and earlier recommendations from an independent review conducted by The Colour Brave Avengers. We also develop a new governing framework to guide the implementation of the strategy and action plan, rebooted the system for reporting and closing out race-related grievances, and ensured that the Terms of Reference for key staff groups related to race equality were reviewed.