Case study: Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Introduction

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHCFT) has reduced disparity within their disciplinary processes by implementing a 'Cultural Ambassador Programme', alongside training for the board, HR team and managers and wider initiatives to support their ambition to become an anti-racist organisation.

BCHCFT was formed in April 2022 after the merger of Black County Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. With a workforce of over 3,000, of which 30% are from an ethnic minority background, BCHCFT provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for over a million people across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The trust has been awarded The RACE Equality Code Mark for its work towards race equality and tackling discrimination in the workplace.

The trust's 2022/23 NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) submission showed that, against metric three – the relative likelihood of ethnic minority staff entering the formal disciplinary process compared to white staff – BCHCFT ethnic minority staff were 1.24 times more likely than white staff to enter a formal disciplinary process (where 1.0 is more likely). This is an improvement from 2021/22, where this metric stood at 1.6.

The NHS Providers Race Equality programme and Hempsons team spoke to Ashi Williams, chief people officer (CPO), and Will Cooling, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) partner, at BCHCFT to hear more about the organisation's work to address the disparities between ethnic minority and white staff within the disciplinary process. In this case study, we share details of the interventions they have implemented, their impact, challenges faced, and advice they would give to other board members.

BCHCFT's five top tips for board members 

• Focus on wider culture change within the organisation to improve the experience of ethnic minority staff and support the impact of specific interventions such as the Cultural Ambassador Programme.
• Constantly challenge and avoid being defensive - never stop listening to what staff are telling you.
• Celebrate the successes, whilst understanding that those who still experience disadvantage will rightly demand that work continues until the challenges they face are fully addressed. Likewise, recognise progress can itself raise fresh issues - for example, ethnic minority staff may find themselves encountering new forms of discrimination as they progress into more senior roles.
• Race equality is everyone's responsibility, but the board must play a leadership role.
• Do not lose sight of the race equality agenda when focussing on the operational needs of the organisation – it should be embedded into everything you do.