Race Equality Matters is pleased to announce that Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded Silver Trailblazer status!

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust offers inpatient, and community based mental health, physical health, and learning disability services to the residents of Berkshire. The Trust prides itself on being an anti-racist organisation, and their application has effectively demonstrated this commitment. They provided clear evidence that “it is important for all to feel valued, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or level of experience, and to have a voice that others will listen to.” As a result, 83.3% of judges voted for Berkshire Healthcare to receive Silver Trailblazer status, endorsing them as a positive force making a real impact in their sector.

Actions and Initiatives

Learning and Development

The organisation has developed a comprehensive suite of educational resources to promote a culture of anti-racism. These resources include a White Allyship reflection video, an Anti-Racism Book Club, an E-learning Webinar Series, and a Conversation Toolkit and ’12 Reflective Anti-Racism Questions’. The principles of anti-racism have been integrated into recruitment processes using Trac Jobs and NHS Jobs, through utilising systems   such as the Electronic Staff Record (ESR), and the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) to inform actions. The Trust has also updated its new staff EDI induction to cover critical topics such as anti-racism, microaggressions, and allyship. Additionally, the organisation received the NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award for International Nurses and Midwives, and its Race Equality Network (REN) for staff hosts a Village Voice forum to provide a psychologically safe space for its members.

Commitment

The Trust has produced its anti-racism strategy with contributions from its workforce and communities, culminating in the publication of a detailed action statement. Ethnicity pay gap reporting has been introduced and is accessible via the Trust’s website. To enhance transparency, the organisation developed a workforce ethnicity data dashboard and targeted staff groups less likely to share ethnicity data to encourage them to do so. An Anti-Racism Taskforce was established to coordinate efforts in delivering their anti-racism strategy and are also implementing the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF). EDI board-level objectives now emphasise anti-racism, and the Trust ‘abuse statement’ has been revised to explicitly address racism, integrating this stance into patient communications and site signage.

Collaboration

The organisation’s race action plans highlight collaboration, leading to changes in disciplinary approaches and the sharing of the annual casework report with staff networks. Key equality events, such as South Asian Heritage Month, Black History Month, and Windrush Celebrations, have been expanded. An anti-racism CommUNITY forum has been launched, and phonetic name badges for staff have been introduced. The Trust is actively working on health inequality projects, including health visiting services for marginalised communities and partnering with MIND to address disproportionate mental health detentions of Black communities. Additionally, a multi-faith project with Buckinghamshire New University has been initiated, and the Trust supports the integrated care system in becoming an anti-racist health and care system, including co-leading a Mirror Board project with regional partners.

Impact and Ethnically Diverse Staff Endorsement

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust ensured that colleagues from ethnically diverse backgrounds, with lived experience, were actively engaged in all their initiatives. This approach guaranteed that the Trust’s actions were well-informed and responsive to the unique needs of communities. Results include:

• The Trust has seen improvements in most Workforce Race Equality Standard indicators and staff survey metrics.
• Disproportionate disciplinary actions decreased significantly, from being 4.59 times more likely to be disciplined to 1.21 times, due to collaboration with the staff networks and the introduction of Just Culture principles.
• The proportion of unknown ethnicity data decreased from 3.3% to 2.6%. There have also been improvements in disability, religion, and sexual orientation data, resulting in a 94% data quality score.
• The expansion of events has led to better engagement and awareness of the Trust’s approach and commitment, with positive feedback from post-event surveys.
• The Trust’s dashboard now includes extensive data on retention, turnover, starters & leavers, and sickness, as well as health inequality and patient experience data. This supports effective departmental action planning.
• All teams are required to include anti-racism and health inequality objectives in their ‘Plan on a page’, reinforcing the Trust’s commitment to these issues.
• The EDI staff induction received 100% positive feedback, with delegates appreciating its interactive nature and new ideas, leading to high engagement and effective learning.
• The ‘#MyNameIs’ badge campaign had a high impact, scoring 9.00 out of 10.00 for supporting inclusion, with ethnically diverse colleagues finding the campaign meaningful for respect and identity.
• The Trust achieved top scores in several areas in the 2023 NHS National Staff Survey, including engagement. Staff response rate increased by 2% to 67%, with compassionate and inclusive scores also above average (7.8 vs. 7.58).
• The percentage of ethnically diverse staff who believe the organisation provides equal opportunities for career progression improved from 45% in 2021 to 53% in 2023.

Feedback from an Ethnically Diverse Panel

The judges commended the organisation for its comprehensive data collection methods, which include tools such as the Electronic Staff Record (ESR), TRAC Jobs, Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES), NHS National Staff Survey, incident reports, and Freedom to Speak Up (whistleblowing). One judge highlighted “This comprehensive approach ensures a wide range of data sources and improves data accuracy and reliability”. The integration of various data points provides a holistic view of the workforce, helping to identify specific areas requiring intervention and enabling the development of targeted strategies to address the unique challenges faced by ethnically diverse employees.

The judges also praised the organisation’s “multifaceted” approach to tackling racial inequality, noting its alignment with Trust values of caring, committed, and working together. The organisation’s actions, including the development of educational resources, launch of leadership programs, update of EDI staff induction content, introduction of ethnicity pay gap reporting, and establishment of an anti-racism task force, were recognised for addressing racial inequality from multiple angles. This broad engagement reflects strong internal communication and a commitment to inclusivity at all levels, ensuring comprehensive and sustainable progress.

The level of senior leadership involvement was another area of significant praise. Judges noted that senior leaders’ active participation in leading workstreams and visibly supporting anti-racism initiatives demonstrates a top-down commitment. One judge remarked that this involvement contributes to a more cohesive and effective implementation of the organisation’s anti-racism strategy, while another emphasised that leadership buy-in “set the tone from the top.” This top-down commitment is crucial for providing necessary resources, fostering accountability, and integrating anti-racism efforts into the core values and operations of the organisation.

Additionally, the judges were impressed by the high level of engagement across the organisation. The #MyNameIs campaign, in particular, was highlighted as a successful initiative that positively impacted team members by respecting and correctly pronouncing their names. The combination of positive staff feedback and high attendance at workshops and networks demonstrated the effectiveness of the organisation’s communications efforts and its commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace culture. This widespread involvement is essential for driving meaningful change and ensuring that employees feel valued and motivated to participate.

Next Steps…

The Trust is committed to delivering action plans led by five executive colleagues. Key highlights of the action plans include:

• An ongoing project aims to address experiences of racism among colleagues in a specific service area.

• The Trust is focused on effectively implementing revised Equality Impact Assessments tools and providing necessary support.

• Exploration of the outputs from a deeper review of disaggregated data concerning access to training, Continuous Professional Development (CPD), and leadership development.

• A task and finish group has been launched to address bullying and harassment, with actions to be developed.

• Implementation of the Trust-wide core behaviour framework and the rollout of a newly developed leadership competencies framework.

• Execution of a project aimed at educating and engaging the workforce on multi-faith care.

• Expansion of topics covered in EDI dashboards to include areas such as recruitment, temporary staffing, and training access.

• Continued development of the ‘Berkshire Healthcare CommUNITY Forum’ to strengthen scrutiny and enhance collaboration with racialised communities.

• Creation of a hub to share examples of good practice.

• Advancement of strategies for talent management and succession planning.

Follow Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s Lead: Become a Trailblazer!

If your organisation is driving change for Race Equality and you can demonstrate impact, endorsement from ethnically diverse employees and share future plans; register your interest for the next round of trailblazers.